[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 3, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9205-9207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4155]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[FWS-R2-ES-2009-0004; 92210-1111-0000-B3]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 
Status Review for the Roundtail Chub (Gila robusta) in the Lower 
Colorado River Basin

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; initiation of status review and solicitation of new 
information.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
initiation of a status review for the roundtail chub (Gila robusta) in 
the lower Colorado River basin. Through this action, we encourage all 
interested parties to provide us information regarding the status of, 
and any potential threats to, the roundtail chub. We request 
information on the status of roundtail chub throughout the range of the 
species, in order to evaluate a petition to list a distinct population 
segment (DPS) in the lower Colorado River basin.

DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request 
that we receive information on or before April 2, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit information by one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2009-0004; Division of Policy and Directives 
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.

    We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all information on 
http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any 
personal information you provide us (see the Information Solicited 
section below for more information).

[[Page 9206]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, 
Arizona Ecological Services Office, 2321 West Royal Palm Road, Suite 
103, Phoenix, AZ 85021-4951; telephone 602-242-0210; facsimile 602-242-
2513. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Solicited

    To ensure that the status review is complete and based on the best 
available scientific and commercial information, we are soliciting 
information concerning the status of the roundtail chub (Gila robusta). 
Information gained during this process will be used to evaluate whether 
the lower Colorado River basin population of roundtail chub is a 
distinct population segment (DPS) as described in our Policy Regarding 
the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments Under the 
Endangered Species Act (DPS Policy; 61 FR 4722, February 7, 1996), and 
if listing as threatened or endangered is warranted under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.). We request information from the public, other concerned 
governmental agencies, Native American Tribes, the scientific 
community, industry, or any other interested parties on the status of 
the roundtail chub throughout its range, including:
    (1) Information from the United States and Mexico regarding the 
species' historical and current population status, distribution, and 
trends; taxonomy; genetics; biology and ecology; and habitat selection.
    (2) Information that supports or refutes the appropriateness of 
considering the lower Colorado River basin population of roundtail chub 
to be discrete, as defined in the DPS Policy, including, but not 
limited to:
    (a) Information indicating that lower Colorado River basin 
roundtail chub are markedly separated from other populations of 
roundtail chub due to physical, physiological, ecological, or 
behavioral factors.
    (b) Information indicating whether or not the lower Colorado River 
basin population of roundtail chub is delimited by international 
governmental boundaries within which significant differences in control 
of exploitation, management of habitat, conservation status, or 
regulatory mechanisms exist.
    (3) Information that supports or refutes the appropriateness of 
considering the lower Colorado River basin population of roundtail chub 
to be significant, as defined in the DPS Policy, including, but not 
limited to:
    (a) Information indicating that the ecological setting, including 
such factors as temperature, moisture, weather patterns, plant 
communities, etc., in which the lower Colorado River basin population 
of roundtail chub persists is unusual or unique when compared to that 
of roundtail chub found elsewhere in the United States or Mexico.
    (b) Information indicating that loss of the lower Colorado River 
basin population of roundtail chub would or would not result in a 
significant gap in the range of the taxon.
    (c) Information indicating that the lower Colorado River basin 
population of roundtail chub differs markedly from other populations of 
roundtail chub in its genetic characteristics.
    (4) Information on the effects of potential threat factors in the 
United States and Mexico that are the basis for a listing determination 
under section 4(a) of the Act, which are:
    (a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or 
curtailment of the subspecies' habitat or range;
    (b) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes;
    (c) Disease or predation;
    (d) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or
    (e) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued 
existence.
    Please note that submissions merely stating support or opposition 
to the action under consideration without providing supporting 
information, although noted, will not be considered in making a 
determination, because section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs that 
determinations as to whether any species is a threatened or endangered 
species must be made ``solely on the basis of the best scientific and 
commercial data available.'' At the conclusion of the status review, we 
will determine whether listing is warranted, not warranted, or 
warranted but precluded by other pending proposals.
    You may submit your information concerning this status review by 
one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will not 
consider submissions sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not listed 
in the ADDRESSES section.
    If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your 
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will 
be posted on the Web site. If your submission is made via a hardcopy 
that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the 
top of your document that we withhold this personal identifying 
information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.
    Information and materials we receive will be available for public 
inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by appointment, during 
normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona 
Ecological Services Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) 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 are to base this finding on 
information provided in the petition and supporting information 
submitted with the petition. To the maximum extent practicable, we are 
to make this finding within 90 days of our receipt of the petition and 
publish our notice of the finding promptly in the Federal Register. 
Section 4(b)(3)(B) also requires that, for any petition to revise the 
Lists of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife and Plants that contains 
substantial scientific or commercial information that the action may be 
warranted, we make a finding within 12 months of the date of the 
receipt of the petition on whether the petitioned action is: (a) Not 
warranted, (b) warranted, or (c) warranted but precluded by other 
pending proposals. Such 12-month findings are to be published promptly 
in the Federal Register.
    On April 14, 2003, we received a petition from the Center for 
Biological Diversity requesting that we list a DPS of the roundtail 
chub in the lower Colorado River basin as endangered or threatened, 
that we list the headwater chub (Gila nigra) as endangered or 
threatened, and that we designate critical habitat concurrently with 
the listing for both species. On July 12, 2005, we published our 90-day 
finding that the petition presented substantial scientific information 
indicating that listing the headwater chub and a DPS of the roundtail 
chub in the lower Colorado River basin may be warranted and initiated a 
12-month status review (70 FR 39981).
    On May 3, 2006, we published our 12-month finding that listing was 
warranted for the headwater chub, but precluded by higher priority 
listing actions, and that listing of a DPS of the

[[Page 9207]]

roundtail chub in the lower Colorado River basin was not warranted 
because populations of roundtail chub in the lower Colorado River basin 
did not meet our definition of a DPS (71 FR 26007).
    On September 7, 2006, we received a complaint from the Center for 
Biological Diversity for declaratory and injunctive relief, challenging 
our decision not to list the lower Colorado River basin population of 
the roundtail chub as an endangered species under the Act. On November 
5, 2007, in a stipulated settlement agreement, we agreed to commence a 
new status review of the lower Colorado basin population of the 
roundtail chub and to submit a 12-month finding to the Federal Register 
by June 30, 2009.
    At this time, we are soliciting new information on the status of 
and potential threats to the roundtail chub. We will base our new 
determination as to whether listing of a DPS for roundtail chub in the 
lower Colorado River basin is warranted on a review of the best 
scientific and commercial information available, including all 
information we receive as a result of this notice. For more information 
on the biology, habitat, and range of the roundtail chub, please refer 
to our previous 90-day finding published in the Federal Register on 
July 12, 2005 (70 FR 39981), and our previous 12-month finding 
published in the Federal Register on May 3, 2006 (71 FR 26007).

Author

    The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the 
Arizona Ecological Services Office.

    Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: February 20, 2009.
Ken Stansell,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
 [FR Doc. E9-4155 Filed 3-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P