67602 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 222 / Thursday, November 18, 2004 / Notices 

degradation due to urban development, 

recreation, agricultural conversion and 

practices, and altered hydrology; nonnative invasive species; inadequate 

regulatory mechanisms; incompatible 

grazing regimes; and stochastic events. 

All species covered in the draft recovery 

plan primarily are threatened by the 

loss, fragmentation, or degradation of 

vernal pool habitat throughout the 

following areas: the Central Valley of 

California, the southern Sierra foothills, 

the Carrizo Plain, portions of the Coast 

Ranges, the Modoc Plateau, the 

Transverse Ranges, Los Angeles, and 

San Diego areas of California, and the 

Klamath Mountains region in Oregon. 

Therefore, areas currently, historically, 

or potentially occupied by the species 

are recommended for habitat protection 

and/or special management 

considerations. 

The objectives of this draft recovery 

plan are to: (1) Ameliorate the threats 

that caused the species to be listed, and 

ameliorate any other newly identified 

threats in order to be able to delist these 

species; and (2) ensure the long-term 

conservation of the species of concern. 

These objectives will be accomplished 

through implementation of a variety of 

recovery measures including habitat 

protection, management and restoration; 

monitoring; reintroduction, 

introduction, and enhancement; 

research and status surveys; and public 

participation, outreach, and education. 

Public Comments Solicited 

We solicit written comments on the 

draft recovery plan described. All 

comments received by the date specified 

above will be considered in developing 

a final recovery plan. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is section 

4(f) of the Endangered Species Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: October 21, 2004. 

Paul Henson, 

Manager, California/Nevada Operations 

Office, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service.

[FR Doc. 04–25540 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Draft Recovery Plan for the Tidewater 

Goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability 

for review and comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (we) announces the availability 

of the Draft Recovery Plan for the 

Tidewater Goby (Eucyclogobius 

newberryi) for public review and 

comment. The tidewater goby is a small 

fish that inhabits coastal brackish water 

habitats entirely within California, 

ranging from Tillas Slough (mouth of 

the Smith River, Del Norte County) near 

the Oregon border south to Agua 

Hedionda Lagoon (northern San Diego 

County). This draft recovery plan 

describes the status, current 

management, recovery objectives and 

criteria, and specific actions needed to 

reclassify the tidewater goby from 

endangered to threatened, and to 

ultimately delist it. We solicit review 

and comment from local, State, and 

Federal agencies, and the public on this 

draft recovery plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery 

plan must be received on or before 

January 18, 2005 to receive our 

consideration.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the draft recovery 

plan is available for review, by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours at the following location: U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura Fish 

and Wildlife Office, 2493 Portola Road, 

Suite B, Ventura, California 93003 

(telephone 805–644–1766). An 

electronic copy of the draft recovery 

plan is also available on the World Wide 

Web at http://pacific.fws.gov/

ecoservices/endangered/recovery/

plans.html and http://

endangered.fws.gov/recovery/

index.html#plans. Printed copies of the 

draft recovery plan will be available for 

distribution in 4 to 6 weeks.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chris Dellith, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, at the above Sacramento 

address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background 

Restoring endangered or threatened 

animals and plants to the point where 

they are again secure, self-sustaining 

members of their ecosystems is a 

primary goal of our endangered species 

program. To help guide the recovery 

effort, we are working to prepare 

recovery plans for most of the listed 

species native to the United States. 

Recovery plans describe actions 

considered necessary for the 

conservation of the species; establish 

criteria for the recovery levels for 

downlisting or delisting them, and 

estimate time and cost for implementing 

the recovery measures needed. 

Section 4(f) of the Endangered Species 

Act (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

requires that public notice and an 

opportunity for public review and 

comment be provided during recovery 

plan development. We will consider all 

information presented during the public 

comment period prior to approval of 

each new or revised recovery plan. 

Substantive technical comments will 

result in changes to the plan as 

appropriate. Substantive comments 

regarding recovery plan implementation 

may not necessarily result in changes to 

the recovery plan, but will be forwarded 

to appropriate Federal or other entities 

so that they can take these comments 

into account during the course of 

implementing recovery actions. 

Individual responses to comments will 

not be provided. 

This draft recovery plan was 

developed by the Tidewater Goby 

Recovery Team. We coordinated with 

the California Department of Fish and 

Game and a team of stakeholders, which 

included landowners and managers, 

agency representatives, and nongovernment organizations. 

The tidewater goby was listed as an 

endangered species on March 7, 1994 

(59 FR 5494). The tidewater goby is 

threatened primarily by modification 

and loss of habitat as a result of coastal 

development, channelization of habitat, 

diversions of water flows, groundwater 

overdrafting, and alteration of water 

flows. Actions needed to recover the 

tidewater goby include: (1) Monitor, 

protect, and enhance currently occupied 

tidewater goby habitat; (2) conduct 

biological research to enhance the 

ability to integrate land use practices 

with tidewater goby recovery and revise 

recovery tasks as pertinent new 

information becomes available; (3) 

evaluate and implement translocation 

where appropriate; and (4) increase 

public awareness about tidewater 

gobies. 

Public Comments Solicited 

We solicit written comments on the 

draft recovery plan described. All 

comments received by the date specified 

above will be considered in developing 

a final recovery plan. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is section 

4(f) of the Endangered Species Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: October 20, 2004. 

Vicki L. Campbell, 

Manager, California/Nevada Operations 

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 04–25541 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

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