Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2004 / Proposed Rules 77173

years. In addition, there has been 

widespread and intensive use of the 

shorezone since European settlement. 

Today, shorezone conditions are 

influenced by heavy recreational use, 

boating, construction of piers and boat 

launches, and dam operations that 

control lake elevation. 

Annual surveys are conducted to 

determine population numbers, site 

occupancy, and general disturbance 

regimes. During the 2003 annual survey 

period, the lake level was approximately 

6,224 ft (1,898 m). This was the third 

consecutive year of low water. The 

survey located Tahoe yellow cress at 45 

of the 72 sites surveyed (65 percent 

occupied), up from 15 sites (19 percent 

occupied) in 2000 when the lake level 

was high at 6,228 ft. Approximately 

25,200 stems were counted or estimated 

in 2003, whereas during the 2000 

annual survey, the estimated number of 

stems was 4,590. Over the past 3 years, 

the survey effort has increased 

considerably, largely due to our 

elevation of this species to candidate 

status. 

Many Tahoe yellow cress sites are 

intensively used for commercial and 

public purposes and are subject to 

various activities such as erosion 

control, marina developments, pier 

construction, and recreation. The U.S. 

Forest Service, California Tahoe 

Conservancy, and California Department 

of Parks and Recreation have 

management programs for Tahoe yellow 

cress that include monitoring, fenced 

enclosures, and transplanting efforts 

when funds and staff are available. 

Public agencies (including the Service), 

private landowners, and environmental 

groups collaborated to develop a 

conservation strategy, coupled with a 

Memorandum of Understanding/

Conservation Agreement. The 

conservation strategy, completed in 

2003, contains goals and objectives for 

recovery and survival and a research 

and monitoring agenda, and will serve 

as the foundation for an adaptive 

management program. 

Because of the continued 

commitments to conservation 

demonstrated by regulatory and land 

management agencies participating in 

the conservation strategy, we have 

determined the threats to Tahoe yellow 

cress from various land uses have been 

reduced from a high magnitude to a 

moderate magnitude. However, since 

these threats are still ongoing, they are 

imminent. Thus, based on the change in 

magnitude of threats, we are changing 

the LPN from a 2 to an 8. 

Request for Information 

We request you submit any further 

information on these three species as 

soon as possible or whenever it becomes 

available. We are particularly interested 

in any information: 

(1) Recommending areas that we 

should designate as critical habitat for a 

species, or indicating that designation of 

critical habitat would not be prudent for 

a species; 

(2) Documenting threats to any of 

these three species; 

(3) Describing the immediacy or 

magnitude of threats facing these 

species; and 

(4) Pointing out taxonomic or 

nomenclature changes for any of the 

species. 

Submit your comments on southern 

Idaho ground squirrel or Rorripa 

subumbellata (Tahoe yellow cress) to 

the Regional Director (TE), U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Eastside Federal 

Complex, 911 NE. 11th Avenue, 

Portland, Oregon 97232–4181 (503/231–

6158). 

Submit your comments on the sand 

dune lizard to the Regional Director 

(TE), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 500 

Gold Avenue SW., Room 4012, 

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 (505/

248–6920). 

Our practice is to make comments, 

including names and home addresses of 

respondents, available for public 

inspection. Individual respondents may 

request that we withhold their home 

addresses from the public record, which 

we will honor to the extent allowable by 

law. In some circumstances, we can also 

withhold from the public 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 request 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 

This notice is published under the 

authority of the Endangered Species Act 

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

Dated: December 17, 2004. 

Marshall P. Jones, Jr., 

Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 04–28168 Filed 12–23–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 121504I]

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing; request 

for comments.

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a public hearing to solicit 

comments on ‘‘Draft Amendment 3 for 

Addressing EFH Requirements, Habitat 

Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs), 

and Adverse Effects of Fishing in the 

Following Fishery Management Plans of 

the Gulf of Mexico: Shrimp, Red Drum, 

Reef Fish, Stone Crab, Coral and Coral 

Reef in the Gulf of Mexico and Spiny 

Lobster and the Coastal Migratory 

Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 

and South Atlantic.’’ The Amendment 

contains proposed alternatives to further 

identify essential fish habitat (EFH), 

establish HAPCs, and, to the extent 

practicable, prevent adverse impacts of 

fishing activities on coral in HAPCs.

DATES: The public hearing will be held 

January 4, 2005, beginning at 7 p.m. and 

concluding no later than 10 p.m. Public 

comments received by mail that are 

received in the Council office by 5 p.m., 

January 5, 2005, will be presented to the 

Council.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be 

held at the DoubleTree Grand Key 

Resort, 3990 South Roosevelt Boulevard, 

Key West, FL 33040; phone: (888) 310–

1540.

Send written comments to: Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council, 

3018 U.S. Highway 301, North, Suite 

1000, Tampa, FL 33619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick 

Leard, Deputy Executive Director, Gulf 

of Mexico Fishery Management Council; 

phone: (813) 228–2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Following 

the judicial decision in American 

Oceans Campaign v. Daley (Civil Action 

No. 99–982), NOAA Fisheries and the 

Council prepared an ‘‘Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) for the Generic 

Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) 

Amendment to the Following Fishery 

Management Plans of the Gulf of 

Mexico: Shrimp, Red Drum, Reef Fish, 

Stone Crab, Coral and Coral Reef in the 

77174 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

Gulf of Mexico and Spiny Lobster and 

the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources 

of the Gulf of Mexico and South 

Atlantic.’’ The EIS analyzes within each 

fishery a range of potential alternatives 

to: (1) describe and identify essential 

fish habitat for each fishery; (2) identify 

other actions to encourage the 

conservation and enhancement of such 

EFH; and (3) identify measures to 

minimize to the extent practicable any 

adverse effects of fishing on such EFH. 

Based on this EIS, the Council has 

subsequently developed ‘‘Draft 

Amendment 3 for Addressing EFH 

Requirements, Habitat Areas of 

Particular Concern (HAPCs), and 

Adverse Effects of Fishing in the 

Following Fishery Management Plans of 

the Gulf of Mexico: Shrimp, Red Drum, 

Reef Fish, Stone Crab, Coral and Coral 

Reef in the Gulf of Mexico and Spiny 

Lobster and the Coastal Migratory 

Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 

and South Atlantic.’’

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

Dawn Aring at the Council (see 

ADDRESSES) by December 28, 2004.

Dated: December 17, 2004.

Alan D. Risenhoover,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–28129 Filed 12–23–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S