Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules 58033

(1) What activities are prohibited?

Except as noted in paragraph (b)(2) of

this section, all prohibitions of § 17.31

will apply to the Chiricahua leopard

frog.

(2) What activities are allowed on

non-Federal land? Incidental take of the

Chiricahua leopard frog will not be

considered a violation of section 9 of the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended (Act), if it results from

livestock use of, or maintenance

activities at, livestock tanks located on

any non-Federal lands. A livestock tank

is defined as an existing or future

impoundment in an ephemeral drainage

or upland site constructed primarily as

a watering site for livestock.

Comments Solicited

Pursuant to 50 CFR 424.16(c)(2), we

may extend or reopen a comment period

upon finding that there is good cause to

do so. Full participation of the affected

public in the species listing process,

allowing us to consider the best

scientific and commercial data available

in making a final determination on the

proposed action, is deemed as sufficient

cause. Additionally, this reopened

comment period will allow the public to

consider and comment on the

clarification of the special rule provided

in this notice.

Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act, as

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

requires that a public hearing be held if

it is requested within 45 days of the

publication of a proposed rule. In

response to 11 such requests, we will

hold two public hearings (see DATES and

ADDRESSES).

Anyone wishing to make an oral

statement for the record is encouraged

to provide a written copy of their

statement and submit it at the start of

the hearing. In the event there is a large

attendance, the time allotted for oral

statements may have to be limited. Oral

and written statements receive equal

consideration. There are no limits to the

length of written comments submitted at

the hearings or mailed to the Fish and

Wildlife Service.

The comment period on this proposal

closed on September 12, 2000. In order

to accommodate public hearings, we

now reopen the public comment period.

Written comments may now be

submitted until October 27, 2000, to our

office in the ADDRESSES section.

Author: The primary author of this

notice is James Rorabaugh (see

ADDRESSES).

Authority: The authority for this action is

the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

U.S.C. 1531–1544).

Dated: September 20, 2000.

Nancy M. Kaufman,

Regional Director, Region 2, Fish and Wildlife

Service.

[FR Doc. 00–24758 Filed 9–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018–AF41

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Reopening of Comment

Period, Notice of Public Hearings on

Proposed Threatened Status for

Chiricahua Leopard Frog, and

Clarification of Special Rule

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of

comment period, notice of public

hearing, and clarification.

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (Service) give notice

that the comment period is reopened

and that public hearings are scheduled

on the proposed rule to list the

Chiricahua leopard frog as threatened

with a special rule. The hearings and

the reopening of the comment period

will allow all interested parties to

submit oral or written comments on the

proposal. We also clarify the extent of

lands to which a proposed special rule

for the frog would apply.

DATES: The public hearings will be held

from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on October 10,

2000, in Silver City, New Mexico; and

October 11, 2000, in Bisbee, Arizona.

The comment period for this proposal is

now reopened until October 27, 2000.

Comments must be received by the

closing date. Any comments that are

received after the closing date may not

be considered in the final decision on

the proposal.

ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be

held at Light Hall Auditorium, Western

New Mexico University, 1000 College

Street, Silver City, New Mexico; and

Bisbee High School Auditorium, School

Terrace Road (south of Highway 92),

Bisbee, Arizona. Written comments

should be sent to the Field Supervisor,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2321 W.

Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, Phoenix,

Arizona 85021. Comments and materials

received will be available for public

inspection, by appointment, during

normal business hours at the above Fish

and Wildlife Service address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeffrey A. Humphrey, at the above

address (602–640–2720).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

A proposed rule to list Chiricahua

leopard frog (Rana chiricahuensis) as

threatened pursuant to the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended

(Act)was published in the Federal

Register on June 14, 2000 (65 FR 37343).

The Chiricahua leopard frog is now

absent from many historical localities

and numerous mountain ranges, valleys,

and drainages within its former range.

In areas where it is present, populations

are often few, small, and widely

scattered. Known threats include habitat

alteration, destruction, and

fragmentation; predation by nonnative

organisms; and disease. Problems

associated with small population

numbers and size, and adverse effects

from water-borne contaminants may

also threaten the species.

Concurrently with publication of the

proposed rule to list the Chiricahua

leopard frog as threatened, we

published a proposed special rule under

4(d) of the Act to amend regulations at

50 CFR 17.84. The special rule stated

that ‘‘incidental take of the Chiricahua

leopard frog will not be considered a

violation of section 9 of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),

if it results from livestock use of or

maintenance activities at livestock tanks

located on private or tribal lands.’’ The

intent of the special rule was to

encourage continued conservation of

Chiricahua leopard frog habitat in

livestock tanks on all non-Federal lands,

rather than limiting the conservation

incentive to just private and tribal lands.

Incidental take of Chiricahua leopard

frogs during operations and

maintenance of livestock tanks on

Federal lands will be reviewed under

the section 7 consultation process.

Clarification of Special Rule

3. We propose to amend 50 CFR 17.84

by adding paragraphs to read as follows:

§ 17.84 Special rules-vertebrates

* * * * *

(1) What species are covered by this

special rule?

(i) Chiricahua leopard frog (Rana

chiricahuensis).

(2) What activities are prohibited?

(i) Except as noted in paragraph (3) of

this section, all prohibitions of § 17.31

will apply to the Chiricahua leopard

frog.

(3) What activities are allowed on

non-Federal land?

58034 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules

(i) Incidental take of the Chiricahua

leopard frog will not be considered a

violation of section 9 of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),

if it results from livestock use of, or

maintenance activities at, livestock

tanks located on any non-Federal lands.

A livestock tank is defined as an

existing or future impoundment in an

ephemeral drainage or upland site

constructed primarily as a watering site

for livestock.

Comments Solicited

Pursuant to 50 CFR 424.16(c)(2), we

may extend or reopen a comment period

upon finding that there is good cause to

do so. Full participation of the affected

public in the species listing process,

allowing us to consider the best

scientific and commercial data available

in making a final determination on the

proposed action, is deemed as sufficient

cause. Additionally, this reopened

comment period will allow the public to

consider and comment on the

clarification of the special rule provided

in this notice.

Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act, as

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

requires that a public hearing be held if

it is requested within 45 days of the

publication of a proposed rule. In

response to 11 such requests, we will

hold two public hearings (see DATES and

ADDRESSES).

Anyone wishing to make an oral

statement for the record is encouraged

to provide a written copy of their

statement and present it at the start of

the hearing. In the event there is a large

attendance, the time allotted for oral

statements may have to be limited. Oral

and written statements receive equal

consideration. There are no limits to the

length of written comments presented at

the hearings or mailed to the Fish and

Wildlife Service.

The current comment period on this

proposal closes on September 12, 2000.

In order to accommodate public

hearings, the Service reopened the

public comment period. Written

comments may now be submitted until

October 27, 2000, to our office in the

ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

James Rorabaugh (see ADDRESSES).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.

1531–1544).

Dated: September 14, 2000.

Nancy M. Kaufman,

Regional Director, Region 2, Fish and Wildlife

Service.

[FR Doc. 00–24757 Filed 9–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 091800I]

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

General Provisions for Domestic

Fisheries; Applications for Exempted

Fishing Permits (EFPs)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of a proposal for

EFPs to conduct experimental fishing;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator), has made a

preliminary determination to issue EFPs

to conduct experimental fishing

operations otherwise restricted by the

regulations governing the fisheries of

the Northeastern United States. The

New England Aquarium Conservation

Department (NEACD) requested an EFP

to conduct a Juvenile Lobster Trap

Survey in the Gulf of Maine (Juvenile

Lobster Trap Survey). This recruitment

survey could, if geographically

comprehensive, serve as an indicator for

stock status and could provide stock

size estimates for subsequent years.

Regulations under Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act provisions require publication of

this notification to provide interested

parties the opportunity to comment on

the proposed experimental fisheries.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by October 12, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast

Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside

of the envelope ‘‘Comments on the EFP

Proposal.’’ Comments may also be sent

via facisimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bonnie Van Pelt, Fishery Management

Specialist, 978-281-9244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission has identified the need for

regional baseline information on the

American lobster (Homarus americanus)

resource as a priority item in its most

recent list of research needs for the

lobster fishery. Data on juvenile lobster

abundance is critical for effective and

pro-active management of this valuable

species.

The framework of this survey was

developed by the Canadian Department

of Fisheries and Oceans Science Branch

for its Gulf of St. Lawrence Fisheries

Management Region. Its program has

been implemented and can be readily

adapted to the Gulf of Maine (GOM).

Canadian response to this survey has

been extremely supportive since this

could lead to transboundary sampling

projects in the future, where Canadian

and U.S. fishermen would conduct a

survey throughout the entire GOM.

Existing survey programs, whether

they be fishery-dependent or

independent, are limited and prevent

resource managers from obtaining a

holistic view of growth and recruitment

throughout the dynamic GOM

ecosystem. In addition, the data are

housed at various institutions and

entered in a variety of formats,

impeding accessibility and/or

transferability to resource managers or

interest groups in the region.

These gaps in data collection were

identified at the 1999 U.S./Canadian

Lobster Summit III in Rockland, ME,

where over 200 fishermen, scientists,

and resource managers met to define a

strategy to increase the understanding of

lobster stock status through enhanced

industry involvement. The forum

participants agreed that there is a need

to improve the current assessment and

management process through

collaboration between industry and

scientists. The recommendations

emerging from Lobster Summit III fell

into five general categories: (1) Build

trust between scientists and the fishing

industry, (2) Increase collaboration

between scientists and fishermen to

improve data collection and the

dissemination of information, (3)

Expand the scope and breadth of the

models used to assess the health of

lobster stocks, (4) Identify specific data

needs, and (5) Improve management

decisions. Expanded industry

participation in data collection was

considered a cost-effective strategy to

implement some of these

recommendations.

The proposed Juvenile Lobster Trap

Survey is a cooperative effort among the

NEACD, Maine Department of Marine

Resources, the Massachusetts Division