Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 23739 

to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or 

provide information to or for a Federal 

agency. This includes the time needed 

to review instructions; to develop, 

acquire, install and utilize technology 

and systems for the purpose of 

collecting, validating and verifying 

information, processing and 

maintaining information, and disclosing 

and providing information; to train 

personnel and to be able to respond to 

a collection of information, to search 

data sources, to complete and review 

the collection of information; and to 

transmit or otherwise disclose the 

information. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid 

Office of Management and Budget 

control number. 

Dated: May 14, 2009. 

James P. Barham, 

Director, Office of External Affairs, Office of 

the Special Trustee for American Indians. 

[FR Doc. E9–11711 Filed 5–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–2W–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R7–ES–2009–N0076; 70120–1113– 

0000–C4] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Short-Tailed Albatross 

(Phoebastria albatrus): Initiation of 5- 

Year Status Review; Availability of 

Final Recovery Plan 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of final 

recovery plan; initiation of 5-year status 

review and request for information. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 

availability of our final recovery plan for 

and the initiation of a 5-year status 

review for the short-tailed albatross 

(Phoebastria albatrus), a bird species 

listed as endangered under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). Our recovery plan 

describes the status, current 

management, recovery objectives and 

criteria, and specific actions needed to 

enable us to reclassify the short-tailed 

albatross from endangered to 

threatened, or from threatened to 

delisted. It also includes criteria that 

would justify reclassifying the species 

from threatened back to endangered. We 

conduct 5-year reviews to ensure that 

our classification of each species as 

threatened or endangered on the List of 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants is accurate. We request any 

new information on this species that 

may have a bearing on its classification 

as endangered. Based on the results of 

this 5-year review, we will make a 

finding on whether this species is 

properly classified under the Act. 

DATES: To allow us adequate time to 

conduct our 5-year review, we are 

requesting that you submit your 

information no later than July 20, 2009. 

However, we accept new information 

about any listed species at any time. 

ADDRESSES: For instructions on how to 

submit information as well as the 

information that we receive for our 5- 

year review, see ‘‘Request for New 

Information.’’ To obtain a copy of our 

recovery plan, see ‘‘Contacts.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg 

Balogh, Endangered Species Branch 

Chief, at the above address or by phone 

at (907) 271–2778. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

We originally listed the short-tailed 

albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) in 1970 

(35 FR 8491), under the thenEndangered Species Conservation Act of 

1969, before passage of today’s Act (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). However, as a 

result of an administrative error (and 

not from any biological evaluation of 

status), we listed the species as 

endangered throughout its range, except 

within the United States (50 CFR 17.11). 

On July 31, 2000, we corrected this error 

when we published a final rule listing 

the short-tailed albatross as endangered 

throughout its range (65 FR 46643). This 

listing was effective August 30, 2000. 

For description, taxonomy, distribution, 

status, breeding biology and habitat, and 

a summary of factors affecting the 

species, please see the final listing rule. 

In that rule, we also determined 

designation of critical habitat to be not 

prudent because, among other reasons, 

we could not find habitat-related threats 

to the species within U.S. territory. 

The species occurs in waters 

throughout the North Pacific, primarily 

along the east coast of Japan and Russia, 

in the Gulf of Alaska, along the Aleutian 

Islands and in the Gulf of Alaska south 

of 64° north latitude. At the time of our 

2000 final listing rule, the short-tailed 

albatross population consisted of about 

1,200 individuals known to breed on 

two islands: Torishima, an active 

volcanic island in Japan, and MinamiKojima, an island whose ownership is 

under dispute by Japan, China, and 

Taiwan. 

The severe decline in short-tailed 

albatross was caused by 

overexploitation for its feathers prior to 

and following the turn of the 20th 

century. This threat no longer exists, but 

its effect lingers. The species is thought 

to have once numbered 5 million 

individuals, but birds were harvested 

until only a few dozen remained. 

Numbering about 2,400 individuals in 

2008, the short-tailed albatross is 

currently threatened by volcanic 

activity, extreme weather, small 

population size, a limited number of 

breeding sites, contamination by oil and 

other pollutants, and commercial 

fishery bycatch. Key recommendations 

for immediate action, as described in 

the recovery plan, are: (1) Formation of 

new breeding colonies at safe locations 

on Torishima and in the Bonin Islands; 

(2) stabilization of existing breeding 

habitat on Torishima Island; and (3) 

reduction of seabird bycatch in all North 

Pacific fisheries that may take this 

species. 

II. Availability of Final Recovery Plan 

A. Background 

Recovery of endangered or threatened 

animals and plants to the point where 

they are again secure, self-sustaining 

members of their ecosystems is a 

primary goal of our endangered species 

program. To help guide the recovery 

effort, we are working to prepare 

recovery plans for most listed species 

native to the United States. Recovery 

plans describe actions considered 

necessary for the conservation and 

survival of the species, establish criteria 

for reclassifying or delisting listed 

species, and estimate time and cost for 

implementing needed recovery 

measures. 

The Act requires us to develop 

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 us to 

provide public notice and an 

opportunity for public review and 

comment during recovery plan 

development. We made our draft 

recovery plan for the short-tailed 

albatross available for public comment 

from October 27 through December 27, 

2005 (70 FR 61988). We considered 

information we received during this 

comment period, along with 

information we received from five peer 

reviewers and the Government of Japan, 

in our preparation of our final recovery 

plan. The Short-tailed Albatross 

Recovery Team has taken into account 

these comments in redrafting the 

recovery plan and in revising and 

justifying the new recovery criteria we 

set forth in this final plan. 

23740 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 

B. Recovery Criteria 

The short-tailed albatross may be 

reclassified from endangered to 

threatened under the following 

conditions: The total breeding 

population of short-tailed albatross 

reaches a minimum of 750 pairs; and At 

least three breeding colonies each 

exhibiting a 3-year running average 

growth rate of greater than or equal to 

6 percent for greater than or equal to 7 

years, at least two of which occupy 

island groups other than Torishima with 

a minimum of greater than or equal to 

50 breeding pairs each. 

III. Initiation of 5-Year Status Review 

A. Why Do We Conduct a 5-Year 

Review? 

Under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

we maintain a List of Endangered and 

Threatened Wildlife and Plants (List) in 

the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 

50 CFR 17.11 (for animals) and 17.12 

(for plants). An informational copy of 

the List, which covers all listed species, 

is also available on our Internet site at 

http://endangered.fws.gov/ 

wildlife.html#Species. Section 4(c)(2)(A) 

of the Act requires us to review the 

status of each listed species at least once 

every 5 years. Then, based on such 

review, under section 4(c)(2)(B), we 

determine whether any species should 

be removed from the List (delisted), 

reclassified from endangered to 

threatened, or reclassified from 

threatened to endangered. Any change 

in Federal classification requires a 

separate rulemaking process. 

Our regulations in 50 CFR 424.21 

require that we publish a notice in the 

Federal Register announcing the species 

we are reviewing. This notice 

announces our active 5-year status 

review of the endangered short-tailed 

albatross. 

B. What Information Do We Consider in 

Our Review? 

We consider all new information 

available at the time we conduct our 

review. We consider the best scientific 

and commercial data that have become 

available since our current listing 

determination or most recent status 

review of the species, such as: 

A. Species biology, including but not 

limited to population trends, 

distribution, abundance, demographics, 

and genetics; 

B. Habitat conditions, including but 

not limited to amount, distribution, and 

suitability; 

C. Conservation measures that have 

been implemented that benefit the 

species; 

D. Threat status and trends (see five 

factors under heading ‘‘How Do We 

Determine Whether a Species is 

Endangered or Threatened?’’); and 

E. Other new information, data, or 

corrections, including but not limited to 

taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, 

identification of erroneous information 

contained in the List, and improved 

analytical methods. 

C. How Do We Determine Whether a 

Species Is Endangered or Threatened? 

Section 4(a)(1) of the Act requires that 

we determine whether a species is 

endangered or threatened based on one 

or more of the five following factors: 

A. The present or threatened 

destruction, modification, or 

curtailment of its 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. 

Under section 4(b)(1) of the Act, we 

are required to base our assessment of 

these factors solely on the best scientific 

and commercial data available. 

D. What Could Happen as a Result of 

Our Review? 

For each species we review, if we find 

new information indicating a change in 

classification may be warranted, we may 

propose a new rule that could do one of 

the following: 

A. Reclassify the species from 

threatened to endangered (uplist); 

B. Reclassify the species from 

endangered to threatened (downlist); or 

C. Remove the species from the List 

(delist). 

If we determine that a change in 

classification is not warranted, then the 

species remains on the List under its 

current status. 

We must support any delisting by the 

best scientific and commercial data 

available, and only consider delisting if 

such data substantiate that the species is 

neither endangered nor threatened for 

one or more of the following reasons: 

A. The species is considered extinct; 

B. The species is considered to be 

recovered; and/or 

C. The original data available when 

the species was listed, or the 

interpretation of such data, were in error 

(50 CFR 424.11(d)). 

E. Request for New Information 

To ensure that a 5-year review is 

complete and based on the best 

available scientific and commercial 

information, we request new 

information from the public, 

governmental agencies, Tribes, the 

scientific community, environmental 

entities, industry, and any other 

interested parties concerning the status 

of the species. 

See ‘‘What Information Do We 

Consider in Our Review?’’ for specific 

criteria. If you submit information, 

support it with documentation such as 

maps, bibliographic references, methods 

used to gather and analyze the data, 

and/or copies of any pertinent 

publications, reports, or letters by 

knowledgeable sources. 

Submit your comments and materials 

to office listed under ‘‘Contacts.’’ 

F. Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. Comments and materials received 

will be available for public inspection, 

by appointment, during normal business 

hours at the offices where we receive 

comments. 

IV. Contacts 

Submit your comments and 

information on this species, as well as 

any request for information or for a copy 

of the final recovery plan, by any one of 

the following methods. You may also 

view information and comments we 

receive in response to this notice, as 

well as other documentation in our files, 

at the following locations by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours. 

E-mail: greg_balogh@fws.gov; Use 

‘‘Short-tailed albatross’’ as the message 

subject line. 

Fax: Attn: Greg Balogh, (907) 271– 

2786. 

U.S. mail: Greg Balogh, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Anchorage Fish and 

Wildlife Field Office, 605 W. 4th Ave., 

Rm G–61, Anchorage, AK 99501. 

In-Person Drop-off or Document 

review/pickup: You may drop off 

comments and information, review/ 

obtain documents, or view received 

comments during regular business hours 

at the above address. 

Internet: You may obtain a copy of the 

recovery plan on the Internet at http:// 

endangered.fws.gov/recovery/ 

index.html#plans. 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 23741 

V. Definitions 

(A) Species includes any species or 

subspecies of fish, wildlife, or plant, 

and any distinct population segment of 

any species of vertebrate, which 

interbreeds when mature; 

(B) Endangered means any species 

that is in danger of extinction 

throughout all or a significant portion of 

its range; and 

(C) Threatened means any species 

that is likely to become an endangered 

species within the foreseeable future 

throughout all or a significant portion of 

its range. 

VI. Authority 

We release our final recovery plan 

under section 4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 

1533(f). We publish this notice under 

the authority of the Endangered Species 

Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.). 

Dated: March 30, 2009. 

Gary Edwards, 

Acting Regional Director, Region 7, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–11700 Filed 5–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–R–2009–N0063;1261–0000– 

80230–W2] 

Cullinan Ranch Unit Restoration 

Project, San Pablo Bay National 

Wildlife Refuge, Solano County, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; 

abbreviated final environmental impact 

statement and environmental impact 

report. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service) and the 

California Department of Fish and Game 

(CDFG) announce that the abbreviated 

final environmental impact statement/ 

environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) 

for the Cullinan Ranch Restoration 

Project is now available. The 

abbreviated final EIS/EIR, which we 

prepared and now announce in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), describes the restoration plan 

for 1,500 acres (ac) of former hayfield 

farmland in the San Pablo Bay. The 

abbreviated final EIS/EIR responds to all 

comments we received on the draft 

document. This restoration project 

would combine tidal salt marsh habitat 

for endangered species, waterfowl, 

waterbirds, and fish, as well as public 

access features to increase accessibility 

to wildlife resource values in the San 

Pablo Bay, while minimizing projectinduced flood impacts to Highway 37. 

ADDRESSES: The abbreviated final EIS/ 

EIR is available at the following 

locations: 

• Refuge Headquarters Office, San 

Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 

2100 Highway 37, Petaluma, CA 94954; 

(707) 769–4200 (telephone). 

• San Francisco Bay National 

Wildlife Refuge Complex, 9500 

Thornton Avenue, Newark, CA 94560; 

(510) 792–0222 (telephone). 

• John F. Kennedy Public Library, 

505 Santa Clara, Vallejo, CA 94590. 

• Internet: http://www.fws.gov/cno/ 

refuges/cullinan/index.cfm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christy Smith, Refuge Manager, San 

Pablo Bay NWR, (707) 769–4200 

(phone), christy_smith@fws.gov (e-mail); 

or Louis Terrazas, Wildlife Refuge 

Specialist, San Pablo Bay NWR, (707) 

769–4200 (phone), 

louis_terrazas@fws.gov (e-mail). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Location 

Located within the existing Refuge 

boundary, the Cullinan Ranch Unit is 

bordered by the South Slough and 

Dutchman Slough to the north and State 

Route 37 to the south. California 

Department of Fish and Game Pond 1 

borders Cullinan Ranch to the west. 

Guadalcanal Village Wetlands 

(Guadalcanal), which is owned by the 

State of California and is currently being 

restored to tidal marsh, borders Cullinan 

Ranch to the east. 

Background 

The Cullinan Ranch restoration 

project would restore approximately 

1,500 acres of diked baylands to historic 

tidal conditions by reintroducing tidal 

flow into the project area. This area, 

Cullinan Ranch, is located in an area of 

the Napa River Delta that was 

historically defined by a network of 

meandering sloughs and extensive 

estuarine tidal marshes. Reintroduction 

of tidal flow will restore vital salt marsh 

habitat for endangered species, 

including the salt marsh harvest mouse 

(Reithrodontomys raviventris) and the 

California clapper rail (Rallus 

longirostris obsoletus), as well as 

provide foraging and roosting habitat for 

fish, migratory waterfowl and 

waterbirds. 

The proposed restoration is based on 

the concept that reintroduction of tidal 

waters will naturally develop saltwater 

marsh habitat conditions. The existing 

perimeter levee currently prevents tidal 

flows into the area, and, as a result, the 

land has subsided several feet in 

elevation and becomes inundated with 

fresh water during the rainy season. 

Once restored, twice-daily tidal flows 

would carry and deposit sediment, 

eventually establishing marsh plain 

elevations sufficient to support tidal 

marsh vegetation. As tidal waters enter 

and exit the site, tidal channels would 

develop or re-establish from previous 

channels. Continued tidal action would 

maintain an active exchange of water, 

sediment, and nutrients between the 

marsh habitat and the bay, further 

enhancing the value of the habitat for 

plants and wildlife. 

In keeping with one of the purposes 

of the Refuge, ‘‘to conserve fish, 

wildlife, or plants which are listed as 

endangered species or threatened 

species,’’ the Cullinan Ranch restoration 

project would restore historic salt marsh 

habitat for the benefit of threatened and 

endangered species as well as many 

other estuarine-dependent species. 

Because some of the proposed project 

area includes State lands, we prepared 

the DEIS/EIR to satisfy the requirements 

of both NEPA and the California 

Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The 

California Department of Fish and Game 

is the CEQA lead agency for this project. 

Public Review 

The formal public comment period for 

the draft EIS/EIR opened on May 2, 

2008, and closed on June 17, 2008, 

although we received several comments 

during the 2 months following the 

comment period close. We announced 

the availability of the draft document by 

several methods, including press 

releases and public notice, including a 

notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 

24302, May 2, 2008). The draft EIS/EIR 

identified and evaluated three 

alternatives for restoration. We received 

seven comment letters on the draft EIS/ 

EIR. No comments received from 

interested individuals, groups, or 

agencies required us or CDFG to add 

new alternatives, significantly alter 

existing alternatives, or make changes to 

the impact analysis of the effect of any 

alternative. Thus, we were able to use 

an abbreviated format to fully document 

all our responses to comments in our 

final EIS/EIR, in compliance with the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

implementing regulations (40 CFR 

1503.4 [c]) for NEPA. 

Alternatives We Considered 

No-Action Alternative 

Under the No-Action Alternative, the 

lead agencies would take no action to