Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 8 / Monday, January 13, 1997 / Notices 1777

Advisory body scheduled to meet

during the month of February 1997.

Name: National Advisory Council on the

National Health Service Corps.

Date and Time: February 6–9, 1997.

Place: Radisson Hotel, La Jolla, 3299

Holiday Court, La Jolla, California 92037.

The meeting is open to the public.

Agenda: Agenda items include updates on

the National Health Service Corps program,

meetings with current and former NHSC

providers; presentations on managed care,

academic-community educational linkages,

and the future role of the Corps; and

meetings of NHSC workgroups on new

environment strategies, health system

linkages, and mission coalition building.

The opening meeting will be held on

Thursday, February 6 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00

p.m. and will include an orientation session

for new Council members. On friday and

Saturday, meetings will begin at 9:00 a.m.

and conclude around 7:00 p.m. Sunday’s

meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. and adjourn

around noon.

The meeting is open to the public. Anyone

requiring information regarding the subject

Council should contact Ms. Jewel Davis,

National Advisory Council on the National

Health Service Corps, Health Resources and

Services Administration, 8th floor, 4350 East

West Highway, Rockville, Maryland 20857,

Telephone (301) 594–4144.

Agenda Items are subject to change as

priorities dictate.

Dated: January 7, 1997.

J. Henry Montes,

Director, Office of Policy and Information

Coordination, HRSA.

[FR Doc. 97–724 Filed 1–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Reopening of Comment

Period on Draft Recovery Plan for the

Wetland and Aquatic Species of the

Owens Basin, Inyo and Mono

Counties, California and Related Public

Information Workshops

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of reopening of comment

period and related public information

workshops.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) announces the

reopening of the comment period for a

draft recovery plan for endangered,

proposed, and species of concern found

in the wetland and aquatic habitats of

the Owens Basin in Inyo and Mono

Counties, California, and related public

information workshops. The recovery

plan targets recovery of 11 species

found throughout the Owens River

drainage on Federal, State and private

lands. Also available for review is the

draft Owens Basin Management

Guidelines Plan for rare species. The

Service solicits review and comment

from the public on these draft plans.

Three public information workshops

will be held in conjunction with the

reopening of the comment period.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery

plan and/or Management Guidelines

Plan must be received on or before April

14, 1997 to ensure consideration by the

Service.

Public information workshops will be

held:

Tuesday, February 11, from 6 to 8

p.m. in the Mammoth High School,

Multipurpose Room, 365 Sierra Park

Road, Town of Mammoth Lakes;

Wednesday, February 12, from 6 to 8

p.m. in the Eastern Sierra Tri-County

Fairgrounds, Home Economics Building,

Sierra Street and Fairgrounds Drive,

Bishop; and

Thursday, February 13, from 6 to 8

p.m. in Statham Hall, corner of Jackson

and Bush, Lone Pine, California.

ADDRESSES: The draft recovery plan

and/or Management Guidelines Plan are

available for public inspection, by

appointment, during regular business

hours (7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday

through Friday) at the Service’s Ventura

Field Office, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B,

Ventura, California, 93003, phone 805–

644–1766. Copies of the draft plans may

also be obtained by written or phone

request to the Ventura Field Office.

(Note: Copies of the draft Management

Guidelines Plan will automatically be

mailed to all parties who received the

draft recovery plan during its previous

release.) Comments and materials

regarding the plan should be addressed

to the Field Supervisor at the Ventura

Field Office. Comments and materials

received will be available for public

inspection upon request, by

appointment, at the Ventura Field

Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Carl Benz, Assistant Field Supervisor,

Division of Listing and Recovery, in the

Ventura Field Office (see ADDRESSES

section).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 26, 1996, the Service

published a notice of availability for

public review of a draft recovery plan

for endangered, proposed, and species

of concern found in the wetland and

aquatic habitats of the Owens Basin in

Inyo and Mono Counties, California.

The original comment period closed on

October 25, 1996. The draft

Management Guidelines Plan was not

completed at that time and therefore not

available for public review.

Restoring an endangered or

threatened animal or plant to the point

where it is again a secure, selfsustaining member of its ecosystem is a

primary goal of the Service’s

endangered species program. To help

guide recovery efforts, the Service

prepares recovery plans for most of the

listed species native to the United

States. Recovery plans describe actions

considered necessary for conservation of

listed species, establish criteria for the

recovery levels for reclassification from

endangered to threatened or removal

from the list, and estimate the time and

cost for implementing the needed

recovery measures.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973,

as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.) requires the development of

recovery plans for listed species unless

such a plan would not promote the

conservation of a particular species.

Section 4(f) of the Act requires that

public notice and an opportunity for

public review and comment be provided

during recovery plan development. The

Service will consider all information

presented during a public comment

period prior to approval of each new or

revised recovery plan. The Service and

other Federal agencies will take these

comments into account in the course of

implementing approved recovery plans.

The draft recovery plan for the Owens

Basin wetland and aquatic species

addresses conservation of the following

species: Owens tui chub, Owens

pupfish, Fish Slough milk-vetch, Owens

speckled dace, Long Valley Speckled

dace, Inyo County mariposa lily, Owens

Valley checkerbloom, Fish Slough

springsnail, Owens Valley springsnail,

Aardhal’s springsnail, and Owens

Valley vole. Owens tui chub and Owens

pupfish are federally listed as

endangered, and the Fish Slough milkvetch has been proposed for listing as

endangered. All of these species are

threatened by loss and degradation of

wetland and aquatic habitats.

The draft recovery plan was

developed in accordance with the

Service’s recent policy emphasizing an

ecosystem approach to conservation of

endangered species. The goal of the

recovery plan is to restore the target

species to secure status within their

natural habitats. Protecting the

ecosystem of endangered species in the

Owens Basin will also protect other

locally rare species, and, it is hoped,

avert future declines in plant and

wildlife populations that could lead to

future listings.

The draft recovery plan was

developed with the participation of
1778 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 8 / Monday, January 13, 1997 / Notices

State and Federal land management

agencies, local agencies and property

owners, including the California

Department of Fish and Game, U.S.

Bureau of Land Management, Inyo

National Forest, and the Los Angeles

Department of Water and Power. The

plan calls for restoration of wetland and

aquatic habitats throughout the Owens

River drainage. The plan describes tasks

that, when accomplished, should ensure

the survival of target species, and

thereby justify their removal from the

endangered and threatened species list. The draft Management Guidelines

Plan for rare species was completed to

provide management guidance to the

Department of Fish and Game. The

Management Guidance Plan is

supplemental to, but independent from,

the draft recovery plan. In essence, they

are separate documents.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments

on the draft recovery plan and

Management Guidelines Plan described

herein. All comments received by the

date specified above will be considered

prior to approval of the plan or

completion of a final Management

Guidelines Plan.

Authority

The authority for this action is section

4(f) of the Endangered Species Act, 16

U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: January 3, 1997.

Thomas J. Dwyer,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 97–721 Filed 1–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

Notice

Notice of Scoping Meeting on Intent to

Prepare Environmental Impact

Statement in Anticipation of Receiving

a Permit Application to Incidentally

Take Listed Species From the

Endangered San Marcos and Comal

Springs Ecosystems Under Section

10(a) of the Endangered Species Act,

by the Bexar Metropolitan Water

District and Possibly Others, Comal,

Bexar, and Hays Counties, Texas

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement and

announcement of scoping meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public

that the Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) intends to gather information

necessary to prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) for an

anticipated incidental take permit

application, including a required

Habitat Conservation Plan, from the

Bexar Metropolitan Water District

(District) and possibly others. The

species proposed to be taken from the

San Marcos and Comal Springs

Ecosystems (Edwards Aquifer), include

the federally-listed San Marcos

gambusia (Gambusia georgei), fountain

darter (Etheostoma fonticola), and Texas

wild-rice (Zizania texana).

This notice is provided as required by

the Endangered Species Act (Act) of

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C.1531 et

seq.), (50 CFR 17.22) and National

Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR

1501.7) regulations. The Service is soliciting information

and comments on the scope of issues to

be addressed in the EIS. The National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

process is intended to help public

officials make decisions that are based

on understanding of environmental

consequences, and take actions that

protect, restore, and enhance the human

environment. NEPA scoping procedures

are intended to insure that information

on the proposed action, alternatives and

impacts are solicited from the public,

and that all information is available to

public officials and citizens before

planning decisions are made. Accurate

scientific analysis, expert agency

comments, and public scrutiny are

essential to implementing NEPA. NEPA

documents concentrate on the issues

that are significant to the action in

question. The Service invites the public

to submit information and comments

either at a meeting on 13 February 1997,

or in writing. The Service requests that

comments be as specific as possible.

Major environmental and species

concerns in this scoping process include

the direct, indirect, and cumulative

impacts that implementation of the

proposal could have on endangered and

threatened species, critical habitat, and

other environmental resources, and the

quality of the human environment.

Other relevant issues include effects of

aquifer and water withdrawal levels on

Comal and San Marcos spring flows,

effects of various aquifer water use

management options and alternative

water supply options on the

environments affected by those options,

and effects on the downstream

environment.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before 1 May 1997. A

public hearing for receipt of comments

will be held in San Antonio, Bexar

County, Texas, Thursday, 13 February

1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to Steve Helfert, Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Ecological Services, 10711

Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin, Texas

78758–4460. The public hearing will be

held from 7 to 10 pm, at Dwight Middle

School, 2454 W. Southcross, San

Antonio, Texas 78211. For further

information on the scoping meeting

location contact Janie Valenzuela at

Bexar Metropolitan Water District, 2047

West Malone, San Antonio, Bexar

County, Texas 78225, (210) 345–6500.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alisa M. Shull, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, at the above address, telephone

(512) 490–0057, facsimile (512) 490–

0974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Service proposes to prepare an EIS to

evaluate the impacts of alternatives

associated with issuing an incidental

take permit under section 10(a)1(B) of

the ESA. Several parties, including the

Bexar Metropolitan Water District, have

indicated an interest in pursuing

incidental take authorization.

Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the

taking of federally listed animal species,

unless authorized under the provisions

of section 7 or 10 of the ESA. The term

‘‘take’’ under the ESA includes actions

that may directly kill or injure listed

species, actions that significantly

disrupt normal behavioral patterns such

as feeding and breeding, and actions

that detrimentally modify habitat to the

extent that it harms individuals of the

species.

Section 10(a)(1)(B) allows the Fish

and Wildlife Service to permit taking of

listed species provided that taking is

incidental to an otherwise legal activity

and that it will not jeopardize a listed

species. A Habitat Conservation Plan

(HCP) must be submitted as part of the

incidental take permit application by

the applicant.

The San Marcos and Comal Springs

Ecosystems are dependent upon

adequate springflow from the San

Antonio Segment of the Edwards

Aquifer to support endangered species

and critical habitat, as well as several

species proposed for federal listing. The

Edwards Aquifer is the sole source of

drinking water for over 1.5 million

people in the San Antonio Metropolitan

Region. Given the growing water use,

anticipated for the San Antonio Region,

an overall management plan seems

necessary to assure the sustained

springflow in the two systems.

Decline of springflow in the two

systems will result in ‘‘take’’ of listed

species and in an appreciable reduction

of the value of critical habitat, and an

appreciable reduction in the likelihood

of survival and recovery of listed

species. The Service has estimated

minimum springflow for the two