28664 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 98 / Tuesday, May 22, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

(AT&L) DPAP (CPF), IMD 3C132, 3062 

Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 

20301–3062. Comments also may be 

submitted by facsimile at (703) 602–

7887, or by e-mail at 

John.McPherson@osd.mil. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

John McPherson, by telephone at (703) 

602–0296, or by e-mail at 

John.McPherson@osd.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DoD 

policies on contract financing are 

described in Part 32 of the Federal 

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Part 

232 of the Defense FAR Supplement. 

These policies cover a variety of 

contract finance issues, including noncommercial item purchase financing; 

commercial item purchase financing; 

loan guarantees for defense production; 

advance payments for noncommercial 

items; progress payments based on 

costs; contract debts; contract funding; 

assignment of claims; prompt payment; 

performance-based payments; electronic 

funds transfer; electronic submission 

and processing of payment requests; and 

levies on contract payments. 

DoD is interested in receiving public 

input on these contract financing 

policies, particularly with regard to 

those that are considered to be 

especially effective or ineffective, along 

with supporting rationale. 

Michele P. Peterson, 

Editor, Defense Acquisition Regulations 

System. 

[FR Doc. E7–9751 Filed 5–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Status of the Rio Grande 

Cutthroat Trout 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to initiate a 

status review. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce our 

intent to initiate a candidate status 

review for the Rio Grande cutthroat 

trout (Oncorhynchus clarki virginalis) to 

determine if candidate status is 

warranted. The Endangered Species Act 

of 1973, as amended (Act), requires that 

we identify species of wildlife and 

plants that are endangered or 

threatened, based on the best available 

scientific and commercial information. 

Through the Federal rulemaking 

process, we add these species to the List 

of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

at 50 CFR 17.11 or the List of 

Endangered or Threatened Plants at 50 

CFR 17.12. As part of this program, we 

maintain a list of species that we regard 

as candidates for listing. A candidate is 

one for which we have on file sufficient 

information on biological vulnerability 

and threats to support a proposal to list 

as endangered or threatened but for 

which preparation and publication of a 

proposal is precluded by higher-priority 

listing actions. During or prior to April 

2008, we will make a determination 

concerning the results of the status 

review for the Rio Grande cutthroat 

trout, and, shortly thereafter, we will 

publish this determination in the 

Federal Register. 

DATES: We will accept comments and 

information from all interested parties 

for our use in the status review and in 

preparing a revised finding until July 6, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, 

you may submit your comments and 

materials by any of the following 

methods: 

1. You may mail or hand-deliver your 

written comments and information to 

Wally ‘‘J’’ Murphy, Field Supervisor, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New 

Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, 

2105 Osuna NE, Albuquerque, New 

Mexico 87113. 

2. You may fax your comments to 

Wally ‘‘J’’ Murphy, Field Supervisor, 

New Mexico Ecological Services Field 

Office, at (505) 346–2542. 

3. You may send comments by 

electronic mail (e-mail) to 

R2FWE_AL@fws.gov. 

4. You may go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

In the event that our Internet connection 

is not functional, please submit your 

comments by one of the alternate 

methods mentioned above. 

Comments and materials received, as 

well as supporting documentation used 

in the preparation of candidate status 

review, will be available for public 

inspection, by appointment, during 

normal business hours at the New 

Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, 

at the street address above (telephone: 

(505) 346–2525). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Wally ‘‘J’’ Murphy, Field Supervisor, 

New Mexico Ecological Services Field 

Office (see ADDRESSES) (telephone: (505) 

346–2525; facsimile: (505) 346–2542). 

Persons who use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 

Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 800/877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On February 25, 1998, we received a 

petition from the Southwest Center for 

Biological Diversity requesting that the 

Service add the Rio Grande cutthroat 

trout (Onchorynchus clarki virginalis) to 

the List of Endangered and Threatened 

Wildlife. The petition addressed the 

range-wide distribution of the Rio 

Grande cutthroat trout, including 

populations in Colorado and New 

Mexico. 

Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act requires 

that we make a finding on whether a 

petition to list, delist, or reclassify a 

species presents substantial scientific or 

commercial information indicating that 

the petitioned action may be warranted. 

We subsequently published a notice of 

a 90-day finding in the Federal Register 

(63 FR 49062, September 14, 1998). In 

the 90-day finding, we concluded that 

the petition did not present substantial 

information indicating that listing of the 

Rio Grande cutthroat trout may be 

warranted. 

On June 9, 1999, the Southwest 

Center for Biological Diversity filed a 

complaint challenging the September 

14, 1998, 90-day petition finding as 

violating the Act and the Administrative 

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et seq). On 

November 8, 2001, a settlement 

agreement executed by both parties (the 

Service and the Southwest Center for 

Biological Diversity) was filed with the 

court. The settlement agreement 

stipulated that we would conduct a 

candidate status review for the Rio 

Grande cutthroat trout. 

After completing the candidate status 

review for the Rio Grande cutthroat 

trout, the Service made a determination 

that listing of the trout was not 

warranted because the trout was neither 

endangered nor likely to become 

endangered within the foreseeable 

future throughout all or a significant 

portion of its range. Notice of that 

determination was published in the 

Federal Register on June 11, 2002 (67 

FR 39936). Since that time, the Service 

has further defined how it analyzes 

what constitutes a ‘‘significant portion’’

of a species’’ range. For example, in the 

recent finding regarding the status of the 

Western Great Lakes distinct population 

segment of gray wolf (72 FR 6052, 

February 8, 2007), the Service outlined 

a framework for analyzing whether a 

species is in danger of extinction 

throughout a significant portion of its 

range. In addition, in the 5 years since 

the June 2002 deterimation, a significant 

amount of new information and data 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 98 / Tuesday, May 22, 2007 / Proposed Rules 28665 

relevant to the Rio Grande cutthroat 

trout’s status has been collected, such 

that a new candidate status review is 

prudent. 

In light of these developments, the 

Service has withdrawn the June 11, 

2002, candidate status review and the 

determination based upon that status 

review. The Service is initiating a new 

candidate status review for the Rio 

Grande cutthroat trout that is consistent 

with the new framework for analyzing 

‘‘significant portion of its range’’ and 

that incorporates new information. 

Request for Information 

Our determination of candidate status 

for the Rio Grande cutthroat trout will 

be based upon the best available 

scientific and commercial data, as 

required under section 4(b)(1)(A) of the 

Act. We request that you submit any 

information on the Rio Grande cutthroat 

trout not previously submitted for our 

review. We are particularly interested in 

any relevant information gathered since 

June 2002 concerning the following: 

(1) Current population status (e.g., 

population estimates, age-structure, 

trend) for any of the populations of the 

Rio Grande cutthroat trout, including 

methodology used for population 

estimation and confidence intervals if 

available; 

(2) Rio Grande cutthroat trout’s 

susceptibility to whirling disease, and 

distribution of Rio Grande cutthroat 

trout infected by whirling disease in 

New Mexico and Colorado; 

(3) Distribution of Tubifix tubifix 

worms in the streams of New Mexico 

and Colorado and the susceptibility of 

these worms to infection; 

(4) Genetic classification of any Rio 

Grande cutthroat trout population(s); 

(5) Condition of occupied habitat; 

(6) Restoration projects that have been 

completed, including translocation, new 

barrier construction or barrier repair, 

habitat improvement projects, or 

nonnative trout removal projects; 

(7) Results of barrier surveys; 

(8) Distribution of nonnative trout or 

their population size and structure in 

streams currently occupied by Rio 

Grande cutthroat trout; 

(9) Status of any of the thirteen ‘‘core’’

populations identified in the 2002 status 

review (see 67 FR 39936); 

(10) Current and future threats to Rio 

Grande cutthroat trout populations and 

remaining habitat areas; and 

(11) Other regulatory mechanisms that 

address those threats, and the success of 

those mechanisms to date. 

(12) Whether any portion of the range 

of the species is a significant portion of 

the range, and whether there are threats 

in that portion sufficient to meet the 

standards for listing under the Act. 

Our candidate status review will take 

into consideration all comments and 

any additional information received, 

including all previous comments and 

information submitted during the 

previous candidate status review. As 

such, information provided during the 

previous status review does not need to 

be resubmitted. 

If you are submitting e-mail 

comments, please include ‘‘Attn: Rio 

Grande cutthroat trout’’ in your e-mail 

subject header. If you do not receive a 

confirmation from the system that we 

have received your e-mail, contact us 

directly by calling our New Mexico 

Ecological Services Field Office at (505) 

346–2525. Please note that comments 

must be received by the date specified 

in the DATES section in order to be 

considered and that the e-mail address 

(R2FWE_AL@fws.gov) will be 

unavailable at the termination of the 

public comment period. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—;may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us to withhold your 

personal identifying information from 

public review, we cannot guarantee that 

we will be able to do so. 

Author 

The primary author of this notice is 

the staff of the New Mexico Ecological 

Services Field Office. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

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

Dated: May 11, 2007. 

Kenneth Stansell, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–9590 Filed 5–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 


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