[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2879-2880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-896]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of a Technical Agency Draft Recovery Plan
for Six Mobile Basin Aquatic Snails for Review and Comment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability and public comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability
of the technical agency draft recovery plan for six Mobile Basin
aquatic snails. The six snails included in the recovery plan are: the
endangered cylindrical lioplax (Lioplax cyclostomaformis), flat
pebblesnail (Lepyriam showalteri), and plicate rocksnail (Leptoxis
ampla); and the threatened painted rocksnail (Leptoxis taeniata), round
rocksnail (Leptoxis ampla), and lacy elimia (Elimia crenatella). All
are endemic to the Mobile River Basin (Basin) where they inhabit
shoals, rapids and riffles of large streams and rivers above the Fall
Line. All six species have disappeared from more than 90 percent of
their historic ranges as a result of impoundment, channelization,
mining, dredging, and pollution from point and non-point sources. The
technical agency draft recovery plan includes specific recovery
objectives and criteria to be met in order to reclassify (downlist) the
cylindrical lioplax, flat pebblesnail, and plicate rocksnail to
threatened species and for the eventual delisting of all six species
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We solicit
review and comment on this technical agency draft recovery plan from
local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public.
DATES: In order to be considered, we must receive comments on the
technical agency draft recovery plan on or before March 21, 2005.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to review this technical agency draft recovery
plan, you may obtain a copy by contacting the Jackson, Mississippi
Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View
Parkway, Jackson, MS 39213 (telephone (601) 965-4900), or by visiting
our recovery plan Web site at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans. If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments
by any one of several methods:
1. You may submit written comments and materials to the Field
Supervisor, at the above address.
2. You may hand-deliver written comments to our Jackson,
Mississippi Field Office, at the above address, or fax your comments to
(601) 965-4900.
3. You may send comments by e-mail to [email protected]. For
directions on how to submit electronic filing of comments, see the
``Public Comments Solicited'' section.
Comments and materials received are available for public inspection
on request, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Hartfield (Telephone 601-321-
1125).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 28, 1998 (63 FR 57610), we listed six aquatic snails, in
the Mobile River Basin, as threatened (painted rocksnail, round
rocksnail, lacy elimina) or endangered (cylindrical lioplax, flat
pebblesnail, plicate rocksnail) under the Act. These six snails are
endemic to portions of the Mobile River Basin in central Alabama. The
cylindrical lioplax, flat pebblesnail, and round rocksnail are found in
the Cahaba River drainage; the lacy elimina and painted rocksnail are
in the Coosa River drainage; and the plicate rocksnail is in the Black
Warrior River drainage. These snails require rock, boulder, or cobble
substrates and clean, unpolluted water and are found on shoals and
riffles of large streams and rivers. Impoundment and water quality
degradation have eliminated the six snails from 90 percent or more of
their historic habitat. Known populations are restricted to small
portions of stream drainages. These surviving populations are currently
threatened by pollutants such as sediments and nutrients that wash into
streams from the land surface.
Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is
a primary goal of the endangered species program. To help guide the
recovery effort, we are preparing recovery plans for most listed
species. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary
[[Page 2880]]
for conservation of the species, establish criteria for downlisting or
delisting, and estimate time and cost for implementing recovery
measures.
The Act requires the development of recovery plans for listed
species, unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a
particular species. Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide a
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment during
recovery plan development. We will consider all information presented
during a public comment period prior to approval of each new or revised
recovery plan. We and other Federal agencies will take these comments
into account in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
The objective of this technical agency draft plan is to provide a
framework for the recovery of these six aquatic snails so that
protection under the Act is no longer necessary. As reclassification
and recovery criteria are met, the status of these species will be
reviewed and they will be considered for reclassification or removal
from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants
(50 CFR part 17).
Public Comments Solicited
We solicit written comments on the recovery plan described. We will
consider all comments received by the date specified above prior to
final approval of the draft recovery plan.
Please submit electronic comments as an ASCII file format and avoid
the use of special characters and encryption. Please also include your
name and return address in your e-mail message. If you do not receive a
confirmation from the system that we have received your e-mail message,
contact us directly by calling our Mississippi Field Office (see
ADDRESSES section).
Our practice is to make all comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home addresses from the record, which we will honor to the extent
allowable by law. In some circumstances, we would withhold also from
the rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If
you wish for us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state
this prominently at the beginning of your comments. However, we will
not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
Authority
The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533 (f).
Dated: December 15, 2004.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 05-896 Filed 1-14-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P