Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 2004 / Proposed Rules 70971

Issued November 30, 2004. 

Stephen R. Kratzke, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.

[FR Doc. 04–26753 Filed 12–7–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–C

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018–AI78

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Notice of Availability of 

Draft Economic Analysis and 

Reopening of the Public Comment 

Period for the Proposed Designation of 

Critical Habitat for Astragalus 

jaegerianus (Lane Mountain Milkvetch)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of 

availability of draft economic analysis 

and reopening of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 

availability of a draft economic analysis 

for the proposed designation of critical 

habitat for Astragalus jaegerianus (Lane 

Mountain milk-vetch) under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). We are also reopening 

the public comment period for the 

proposal to designate critical habitat for 

this species to allow all interested 

parties to comment on the proposed rule 

and the associated draft economic 

analysis. Comments previously 

submitted on the proposed rule need 

not be resubmitted as they have been 

incorporated into the public record as 

part of this reopening of the comment 

period, and will be fully considered in 

preparation of the final rule.

DATES: We will accept all comments and 

information received on or before 

January 7, 2005. Any comments that we 

receive after the closing date may not be 

considered in the final decision on this 

proposal.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, 

you may submit your comments and 

materials concerning this proposed rule 

by any one of several methods: 

(1) You may submit written comments 

and information to the Field Supervisor, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura 

Fish and Wildlife Office, 2493 Portola 

Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 

93003, or by facsimile 805/644–3958. 

(2) You may hand-deliver written 

comments to our office, at the address 

given above. 

(3) You may send comments by 

electronic mail (e-mail) to: 

fw1Lanemv@r1.fws.gov. Please see the 

Public Comments Solicited section 

below for file format and other 

information about electronic filing. In 

the event that our Internet connection is 

not functional, please submit your 

comments by the alternate methods 

mentioned above. 

Comments and materials received, as 

well as supporting documentation used 

in preparation of the proposed critical 

habitat rule, will be available for public 

inspection, by appointment, during 

normal business hours at the above 

address. You may obtain copies of the 

draft economic analysis for Astragalus 

jaegerianus by contacting the Ventura 

Fish and Wildlife Office at the above 

address. The draft economic analysis 

and the proposed rule for critical habitat 

designation are also available on the 

Internet at http://ventura.fws.gov/. In 

the event that our Internet connection is 

not functional, please obtain copies of 

documents directly from the Ventura 

Fish and Wildlife Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Connie Rutherford, Ventura Fish and 

Wildlife Office, at the address listed 

above (telephone 805/644–1766; 

facsimile 805/644–3958).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Comments Solicited 

We intend any final action resulting 

from this proposal to be as accurate and 

as effective as possible. Therefore, we 

solicit comments or suggestions from 

the public, other concerned 

governmental agencies, the scientific 

community, industry, or any other 

interested party concerning the 

economic analysis or the proposed rule 

to designate critical habitat for 

Astragalus jaegerianus (69 FR 18018, 

April 6, 2004). We particularly seek 

comments concerning: 

(1) The reasons why any habitat 

should or should not be determined to 

be critical habitat as provided by section 

4 of the Act, including whether the 

benefits of exclusion outweigh the 

benefits of specifying such area as part 

of the critical habitat; 

(2) Specific information on the 

amount and distribution of Astragalus 

jaegerianus habitat, and what habitat is 

essential to the conservation of this 

species and why; 

(3) Land use designations and current 

or planned activities in the subject area 

and their possible impacts on proposed 

habitat; 

(4) Any foreseeable economic, 

national security, or other potential 

impacts resulting from the proposed 

designation of critical habitat; in 

particular, any impacts on small entities 

or families; 

(5) Whether the economic analysis 

identifies all State and local costs 

attributable to the proposed critical 

habitat designation. If not, what costs 

are overlooked;

(6) Whether the economic analysis 

makes appropriate assumptions 

regarding current practices and likely 

regulatory changes imposed as a result 

of the designation of critical habitat; 

(7) Whether the economic analysis 

correctly assesses the effect on regional 

costs associated with land use controls 

that derive from the designation; 

(8) Whether the designation will 

result in disproportionate economic 

impacts to specific areas that should be 

evaluated for possible exclusion from 

the final designation; 

(9) Whether the economic analysis 

appropriately identifies all costs that 

could result from the designation; and 

(10) Whether our approach to critical 

habitat designation could be improved 

or modified in any way to provide for 

greater public participation and 

understanding, or to assist us in 

accommodating public concern and 

comments. 

All comments and information 

submitted during the initial comment 

period on the proposed rule need not be 

resubmitted. If you wish to comment, 

you may submit your comments and 

materials concerning the draft economic 

analysis and proposed rule by any one 

of several methods (see ADDRESSES

section). 

Please submit Internet comments to 

fw1Lanemv@r1.fws.gov in an ASCII file 

format and avoid the use of special 

characters and encryption. Please also 

include ‘‘Attn: Lane Mountain Milkvetch Critical Habitat’’ in your e-mail 

subject header, and your name and 

return address in the body of your 

message. If you do not receive a 

confirmation from the system that we 

have received your Internet message, 

contact us directly by calling our 

Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office (see

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section). 

Our practice is to make 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 rulemaking record, which we will 

honor to the extent allowable by law. 

There also may be circumstances in 

which we would withhold from the 

rulemaking record a respondent’s 

identity, as allowable by law. If you 

wish for us to withhold your name and/

70972 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

or address, you must state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comment. 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. 

Comments and materials received, as 

well as supporting documentation used 

in preparation of the proposal to 

designate critical habitat, will be 

available for inspection, by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours, in our Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office at the above address. 

Background

Astragalus jaegerianus (Lane 

Mountain milk-vetch) is a member of 

the pea family (Fabaceae) that is 

restricted in its range to a portion of the 

west Mojave Desert north of Barstow, in 

San Bernardino County, CA. It is a 

wispy perennial herb with cream-topurple flowers, whose zig zag stems 

grow up through low desert shrubs, 

referred to as host shrubs, that provide 

it with support. The stems wither at the 

end of each growing season, and the 

plant overwinters as a taproot. The 

visibility of populations can fluctuate 

dramatically from year to year, 

depending on climatic conditions. In 

favorable years, seed production may be 

substantial. In unfavorable years, the 

plants may desiccate prior to flowering 

or setting seed, or the taproots may 

remain dormant and not resprout. 

Populations of Astragalus jaegerianus

are concentrated in four geographically 

distinct areas that are arrayed more or 

less linearly along a 20 mile (32 

kilometer) long axis that trends in a 

northeasterly-to-southwesterly 

direction. The Goldstone and Brinkman 

Wash-Montana Mine populations occur 

entirely on Department of Defense 

(Army) lands at Fort Irwin. The Paradise 

Wash population occurs primarily on 

Army lands, with a portion on Federal 

lands administered by the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM). The 

Coolgardie population occurs primarily 

on BLM-managed lands, with a portion 

on small privately owned parcels 

scattered between the Federal lands. 

We listed Astragalus jaegerianus as 

threatened on October 6, 1998 (63 FR 

53596) due to threats of increasing 

habitat loss and degradation. The 

primary threat is loss of individuals and 

habitat due to proposed military 

training activities. Other potential 

threats include recreational mining, offhighway vehicle use, and alteration in 

habitat from the encroachment of 

nonnative species. 

On April 6, 2004, we published a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register

(69 FR 18018) to designate critical 

habitat for Astragalus jaegerianus. We 

proposed to designate approximately 

29,522 acres (ac) (11,947 hectares (ha)) 

of critical habitat in San Bernardino 

County, CA. The first comment period 

on the proposed critical habitat rule for 

Astragalus jaegerianus closed on May 

21, 2004. 

Critical habitat identifies specific 

areas, both occupied and unoccupied, 

that are essential to the conservation of 

a listed species and that may require 

special management considerations or 

protection. If the proposed rule is made 

final, section 7 of the Act will prohibit 

destruction or adverse modification of 

critical habitat by any activity funded, 

authorized, or carried out by any 

Federal agency. Federal agencies 

proposing actions affecting areas 

designated as critical habitat must 

consult with us on the effects of their 

proposed actions, pursuant to section 

7(a)(2) of the Act. We note, however, 

that a recent 9th Circuit judicial 

opinion, Gifford Pinchot Task Force v. 

United State Fish and Wildlife Service,

has invalidated the Service’s regulation 

defining destruction or adverse 

modification of critical habitat. We are 

currently reviewing the decision to 

determine what effect it (and to a 

limited extent Center for Biological 

Diversity v. Bureau of Land 

Management (Case No. C–03–2509–SI, 

N.D. Cal.)) may have on the outcome of 

consultations pursuant to Section 7 of 

the Act.

Section 4 of the Act requires that we 

consider economic and other relevant 

impacts prior to making a final decision 

on what areas to designate as critical 

habitat. We have prepared a draft 

economic analysis for the proposal to 

designate certain areas as critical habitat 

for Astragalus jaegerianus. This analysis 

considers the potential economic effects 

of designating critical habitat for A. 

jaegerianus. It also considers the 

economic effects of protective measures 

taken as a result of other Federal, State, 

and local laws that aid habitat 

conservation in areas proposed for 

designation. 

Approximately 52 percent of the 

lands within the proposed designation 

of critical habitat for Astragalus 

jaegerianus occur on Army lands at Fort 

Irwin, and 32 percent of the lands occur 

on BLM lands. Less than 1 percent of 

the lands proposed are State lands, and 

approximately 15 percent of the lands 

proposed are on privately owned 

parcels interspersed with BLM lands. 

We know of no Tribal lands within 

these boundaries of proposed critical 

habitat. 

The economic analysis addresses the 

impacts of Astragalus jaegerianus

conservation efforts on activities 

occurring on lands proposed for 

designation. The analysis measures lost 

economic efficiency associated with 

mining and off-highway vehicle 

recreation, as well as potential 

uncertainty to landowners and project 

delay. 

The economic analysis includes both 

pre-designation and post-designation 

economic costs to various entities as a 

result of Astragalus jaegerianus

conservation activities. Pre-designation 

costs are those costs estimated to have 

occurred from the time the species was 

listed until the proposal of critical 

habitat. The estimated pre-designation 

costs range from $1.58 million to $2.1 

million. These costs are associated 

primarily with two major conservation 

efforts: those taken by the Army to plan 

for and implement conservation actions 

at Fort Irwin, and those taken by the 

BLM to plan for, and implement, 

conservation actions within the 

framework of the West Mojave Plan, a 

multiple species habitat conservation 

plan and amendment to the California 

Desert Conservation Area Plan. 

The total post-designation costs are 

expected to range from $5.84 million to 

$13.01 million. These costs are 

associated primarily with land 

acquisition, land management activities, 

and project-related surveys and 

monitoring associated with conservation 

of Astragalus jaegerianus over a 20-year 

time period. 

With respect to the Army lands at Fort 

Irwin, the analysis only focuses on the 

direct costs associated with Astragalus 

jaegerianus conservation, and does not 

attempt to quantify the potential 

impacts to military readiness, if any, 

that may result from critical habitat 

designation. 

Author 

The primary author of this notice is 

Connie Rutherford, Ventura Fish and 

Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES section). 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: December 1, 2004. 

Craig Manson, 

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 

Parks.

[FR Doc. 04–26876 Filed 12–7–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P