4912 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

RIN 1018–AV51 

[FWS–R4–ES–2008–0058; 92210–1117– 

0000–FY08–B4] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Designation of Critical 

Habitat for the Alabama Sturgeon 

(Scaphirhyncus suttkusi) 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 

extension of the public comment period 

on the proposed revised designation of 

critical habitat for the Alabama sturgeon 

(Scaphirhyncus suttkusi) under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). We are extending the 

comment period to allow all interested 

parties an opportunity to comment 

simultaneously on the revised proposed 

rule, the associated draft economic 

analysis, and the amended required 

determinations following a public 

hearing that will take place January 28, 

2009. 

DATES: Written Comments: We will 

consider comments received on or 

before February 9, 2009. 

Public Hearings: We will hold a 

public hearing on January 28, 2009, at 

the Alabama Southern Community 

College in Monroeville, AL (see 

ADDRESSES). The hearing is open to all 

who wish to provide formal, oral 

comments regarding the proposed 

revised critical habitat and will be held 

from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., central time, with 

an open house from 5:30 p.m. to 

6:30 p.m., central time. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by one of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public 

Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R4– 

ES–2008–0058, Division of Policy and 

Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 

Suite 222, Arlington, VA 22203. 

• Public Hearing: A public hearing 

will be held (see DATES) at the Nettles 

Auditorium at Alabama Southern 

Community College, 2800 South 

Alabama Avenue, Monroeville, AL 

36460. 

We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We 

will post all comments on http:// 

www.regulations.gov. This generally 

means that we will post any personal 

information you provide us. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff 

Powell, Aquatic Species Biologist, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Alabama 

Field Office, 1208 Main Street, Daphne, 

AL 36526; telephone: 251–441–5858; 

facsimile: 251–441–6222. If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD), call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

We published a proposed designation 

of critical habitat for the Alabama 

sturgeon in the Federal Register on May 

27, 2008 (73 FR 30361). The proposed 

rule opened a 60-day comment period, 

which closed on July 28, 2008. 

On December 30, 2008, we published 

a proposed revised designation of 

critical habitat for the Alabama sturgeon 

and announced the opening of a second 

public comment period and the 

scheduling of a public hearing (73 FR 

79770). We also announced the 

availability for public comment of a 

draft economic analysis and an 

amended required determinations 

section of the proposal. We further 

sought comment on our proposal to 

change the first primary constituent 

element from its original description 

because we have determined that the 

original wording failed to indicate that 

the flow needs of the species are relative 

to the season of the year. 

The second comment period was 

opened for 30 days from December 30, 

2008, to January 29, 2008. We are 

extending the comment period an 

additional 11 days to allow all 

interested parties an opportunity to 

comment after the January 28, 2009, 

public hearing. Our December 30, 2008, 

revised proposed rule (73 FR 79770) 

specifies the information that we seek 

from the public. If you submitted 

comments previously, you do not need 

to resubmit them because we have 

already incorporated them into the 

public record and will fully consider 

them in preparation of the final rule. 

Authors 

The primary authors of this notice are 

the staff members of the Southeast 

Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

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

Dated: January 15, 2009. 

Lyle Laverty, 

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 

Parks. 

[FR Doc. E9–1455 Filed 1–27–09; 8:45 am] 

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