26828 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 15, 2001 / Proposed Rules

funded, or authorized by a Federal

agency. Section 4(b)(2) of the Act

requires that we designate or revise

critical habitat based upon the best

scientific and commercial data

available, after taking into consideration

the economic impact of specifying any

particular area as critical habitat. Based

upon the previously published proposal

to designate critical habitat for Sidalcea

oregana var. calva, we have prepared a

draft economic analysis of the proposed

critical habitat designation. The draft

economic analysis is available on the

Internet and from the mailing addresses

in the Public Comments Solicited

section below.

Public Comments Solicited

We will accept written comments and

information during this re-opened

comment period. If you wish to

comment, you may submit your

comments and materials concerning this

proposal by any of several methods:

(1) You may submit written comments

and information to the Manager,

Western Washington Office, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, 510 Desmond

Drive SE, Suite 102, Lacey, Washington

98503–1263.

(2) You may send comments by

electronic mail (e-mail) to:

fw1wwo_checkermallow@r1.fws.gov. If

you submit comments by e-mail, please

submit them as an ASCII file and avoid

the use of special characters and any

form of encryption. Please also include

‘‘Attn: RIN 1018–AH05’’ and your name

and return address in your e-mail

message. If you do not receive a

confirmation from the system that we

have received your e-mail message,

contact us directly by calling our

Western Washington Office at telephone

number 360/753–9440.

(3) You may hand-deliver comments

to our Western Washington Office at the

address given above.

Comments and materials received, as

well as supporting documentation used

in preparation of the proposal to

designate critical habitat, will be

available for inspection, by

appointment, during normal business

hours at the address under (1) above.

Copies of the draft economic analysis

are available on the Internet at

‘‘www.r1.fws.gov’’ or by writing to the

Manager at the address under (1) above.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

Ted Thomas (see ADDRESSES section).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

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

Dated: March 14, 2001.

Rowan W. Gould,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Fish and

Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 01–12173 Filed 5–14–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 216

[Docket No. 990927266–0240–02; I.D.

072699A]

RIN 0648–AM62

Taking and Importing Marine

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals

Incidental to Navy Operations of

Surveillance Towed Array Sensor

System Low Frequency Active Sonar

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment

deadline.

SUMMARY: Under the Marine Mammal

Protection Act, on March 19, 2001,

NMFS published a proposed rule (66 FR

15375) to authorize the taking of marine

mammals incidental to the world-wide

deployment of the U.S. Navy’s

SURTASS LFA sonar. Please refer to

this document for additional

information on this proposed action. By

this document, NMFS announces an

extension of the comment deadline.

DATES: Comments must be postmarked

no later than May 31, 2001. Comments

will not be accepted if submitted via email or the Internet.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to Donna Wieting, Chief,

Marine Mammal Conservation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD

20910–3226.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kenneth R. Hollingshead, NMFS (301)

713–2055, ext 128.

A copy of the Navy’s application is

available and may be obtained by

writing to this address or by telephoning

the contact listed here (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C.

1361 et seq.) directs the Secretary of

Commerce (Secretary) to allow, upon

request, the incidental, but not

intentional taking of small numbers of

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who

engage in a specified activity (other than

commercial fishing) within a specified

geographical region if certain findings

are made and regulations are issued.

Under section 101(a)(5)(A) of the

Marine Mammal Protection Act, on

March 19, 2001, NMFS published a

proposed rule (66 FR 15375) to

authorize the taking of marine mammals

incidental to the world-wide

deployment of the U.S. Navy’s

SURTASS LFA sonar. Please refer to

this document for additional

information on this proposed action.

On April 16, 2001 (66 FR 19413),

NMFS announced an extension of the

comment period until May 18, 2001,

and the dates and locations for public

hearings on this matter. By this

document, the comment period for this

proposed action is hereby extended

until May 31, 2001.

Dated: May 9, 2001.

Wanda Cain,

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–12082 Filed 5–14–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 050901A]

Groundfish Fisheries of the Bering Sea

and Aleutian Islands Area and the Gulf

of Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent; scoping

process; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to

prepare a supplemental environmental

impact statement (SEIS) to modify

certain fishery management measures

governing the Federally managed

groundfish fisheries that are conducted

in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Area (BSAI) and the Gulf of Alaska

(GOA) to protect the endangered Steller

sea lion population.

The scoping process is occurring in

parallel with meetings of the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) and the Council’s Reasonable

and Prudent Alternative Committee. In

addition to collecting scoping

information at these meetings, NMFS is

accepting written comments on the

issues, alternatives, and impacts that

should be considered in this analysis.