Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 145 /Wednesday, July 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules 40389

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018–AE89

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Extension of Comment

Period and Notice of Public Hearing on

Proposed Threatened Status for

Rumex Orthoneurus (Chiricahua Dock)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of

comment period and notice of public

hearing.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) gives notice that a

public hearing will be held and the

comment period extended on the

proposed rule to list the plant Rumex

orthoneurus (Chiricahua or Blumer’s

dock) as threatened. The hearing and

the extension of the comment period

will allow all interested parties to

submit oral or written comments on the

proposal.

DATES: The comment period for this

proposal will be extended from July 30,

1998, to October 1, 1998. 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.

The public hearing will be held from 7

p.m. to 9 p.m. on August 18, 1998, in

Silver City, New Mexico.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be

held at Light Hall Auditorium, Western

New Mexico University, 1000 College

Street, Silver City, New Mexico. Written

comments should be sent to the State

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 Service address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeffrey A. Humphrey, at the above

address, 602/640–2720.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) proposes to list Rumex

orthoneurus (commonly known as

Chiricahua or Blumer’s dock) as

threatened pursuant to the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).

This plant is a rare Southwest endemic

occurring within riparian and cienega

(marshy wetland) habitats at elevations

ranging from 1,950 to 2,763 m (6,398 to

9,065 ft). The plant is known from the

Chiricahua, Pinaleno, Huachuca, Sierra

Ancha, and White mountains in

Arizona. In New Mexico, the plant is

known from the Mogollon and San

Francisco mountains. The plant is also

believed to extend into northern New

Mexico in the Pecos Wilderness and to

have been extirpated from the Lincoln

National Forest. A site in Mexico in the

Sierra de los Ajos has also been

reported. Habitat loss and degradation

due to livestock grazing, recreation,

water diversions and development, road

construction and maintenance, and

wildfire imperil the continued existence

of this species. This proposal, if made

final, would extend the Act’s protection

to this plant. A proposed rule to list this

species as threatened was published in

the Federal Register (63 FR 15813) on

April 1, 1998.

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

Service 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 the Service to

consider the best scientific and

commercial data available in making a

final determination on the proposed

action, is deemed as sufficient cause.

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 four such requests, the

Service will hold a public hearing on

the date and at the address described

above.

Anyone wishing to make an oral

statement for the record is encouraged

to provide a written copy of their

statement and present it to the Service

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 Service. Legal notices

announcing the dates, times, and

locations of the hearings will be

published in newspapers concurrently

with the Federal Register notice.

The current comment period on this

proposal closes on July 30, 1998. In

order to accommodate this public

hearing, the Service extends the public

comment period. Written comments

may now be submitted until October 1,

1998, to the Service office in the

ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

Jeffrey A. Humphrey (see ADDRESSES).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

U.S.C. 1531–1544).

Dated: July 24, 1998.

Renne Lohoefener,

Acting Regional Director, Region 2, Fish and

Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 98–20223 Filed 7–28–98; 8:45 am]

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