[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 142 (Monday, July 27, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36995-36996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17838]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 226

[Docket No. 0907081108-91119-01]
RIN 0648-XP68


Listing Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Designating 
Critical Habitat; 90-day Finding for a Petition to Revise Designated 
Critical Habitat for Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals

AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), NationalOceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of petition finding; request for information and 
comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), announce a 
90-day finding for a petition to revise elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and 
staghorn (A. cervicornis) corals' critical habitat under the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. Elkhorn and staghorn corals are 
listed as threatened throughout their ranges and have designated 
critical habitat consisting of substrate of suitable quality and 
availability to support larval settlement and recruitment and the 
reattachment and recruitment of asexual fragments in water depths 
shallower than 30 meters in four areas in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands. The petition seeks to extend the northern boundary 
of designated critical habitat in the Florida area to the Lake Worth 
Inlet, approximately 15.5 miles (24.9 km) north of the current boundary 
at Boynton Beach Inlet. We find that the petition presents substantial 
scientific information that the revision may be warranted. We are 
soliciting information and comments pertaining to this request for 
revision of critical habitat.

DATES:  Written comments and information related to this petition 
finding or the petitioned action must be received [see ADDRESSES] by 
August 26, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by [RIN 0648-XP68], by 
any one of the following methods: (1) Electronic Submissions: Submit 
all electronic public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov; (2) Fax: 727-824-5309, attention: Jennifer 
Moore; or (3) mail: addressed to Jennifer Moore, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, Protected Resources 
Division, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL, 33701.
    All comments received are a part of the public record and will 
generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All 
personal identifying information (for example, name, address, etc.) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required 
fields if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Interested persons may obtain more information about critical 
habitat designated for elkhorn and staghorn corals online at the NMFS 
Southeast Regional Office website: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/acropora.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Moore by phone 727-824-5312, 
fax 727-824-5309, or e-mail <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5c36393232353a392e723133332e391c32333d3d723b332a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="39535c5757505f5c4b175456564b5c7957565858175e564f">[email protected]</span></a>; or Marta Nammack 
by phone 301-713-1401 or e-mail <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fa979b888e9bd4949b97979b9991ba94959b9bd49d958c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3b565a494f5a15555a56565a58507b55545a5a155c544d">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Critical habitat is defined in the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) as:
    ``(i) the specific areas within the geographical area currently 
occupied by the species, at the time it is listed...on which are 
found those physical or biological features (I) essential to the 
conservation of the species and (II) which may require special 
management considerations or protection; and (ii) specific areas 
outside the geographical area occupied by the species at the time it 
is listed upon a determination by the Secretary that such areas are 
essential for the conservation of the species.''
    Section 4(b)(2) of the ESA requires us to designate and make 
revisions to critical habitat for listed species based on the best 
scientific data available and after taking into consideration the 
economic impact, the impact on national security, and any other 
relevant impact, of specifying any particular area as critical habitat. 
The Secretary of Commerce may exclude any particular area from critical 
habitat if he determines that the benefits of such exclusion outweigh 
the benefits of specifying such area as part of the critical habitat, 
unless he determines that the failure to designate such area as 
critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species 
concerned. Section 4(b)(3)(D)(i) of the ESA requires us to make a 90-
day finding as to whether a petition to revise critical habitat 
presents substantial scientific information indicating that the 
revision may be warranted. Our implementing regulations (50 CFR 424.14) 
define ``substantial information'' as the amount of information that 
would lead a reasonable person to believe that the measure proposed in 
the petition may be warranted. Our regulations provide further that, in 
making a 90-day finding on a petition to revise critical habitat, we 
shall consider whether a petition includes substantial information 
indicating that: (i) areas contain physical and biological features 
essential to, and that may require special management to provide for, 
the conservation of the species; or (ii) areas designated as critical 
habitat do not contain resources essential to, or do not require 
special management to provide for, the conservation of the species. In 
determining whether substantial information exists, we take into 
account several factors, including information submitted with, and 
referenced in, the petition and all other information readily available 
in our files. To the maximum extent practicable, this finding is to be 
made within 90 days of the receipt of the petition, and the finding is 
to be published promptly in

[[Page 36996]]

the Federal Register. If we find that a petition presents substantial 
information indicating that the revision may be warranted, within 12 
months after receiving the petition, we are required to determine how 
we intend to proceed with the requested revision and promptly publish 
notice of such intention in the Federal Register. See ESA Section 
4(b)(3)(D)(ii).

Analysis of Petition

    On January 6, 2009, we received a petition from Palm Beach County 
Reef Rescue (the Petitioner) to revise elkhorn and staghorn corals' 
critical habitat (PBCRR, 2009). Currently designated critical habitat 
consists of substrate of suitable quality and availability to support 
larval settlement and recruitment and the reattachment and recruitment 
of asexual fragments in water depths shallower than 30 meters in four 
areas in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (73 FR 
72210; November 26, 2008). The Petitioner requests that we extend the 
northern boundary of the Florida area to the Lake Worth Inlet, 
approximately 15.5 miles (24.9 km) north of the current boundary at 
Boynton Beach Inlet.
    The petition contains information on the location of staghorn coral 
colonies north of Boynton Beach Inlet. This location was verified by 
the petitioner on December 20, 2008. The petition includes information 
about the geology of the Florida Reef Tract, suggesting that the 
features essential to elkhorn and staghorn corals exist north of 
Boynton Beach Inlet. The petition contains information on the genetic 
diversity of staghorn coral. Finally, the Petitioner suggests that the 
waters of Palm Beach County represent a potential thermal refuge for 
staghorn coral.

Petition Finding

    Based on the above information and information readily available in 
our files, and pursuant to criteria specified in 50 CFR 424.14(c), we 
find the petition presents substantial scientific information 
indicating that the requested revision to designated critical habitat 
for elkhorn and staghorn corals may be warranted. We will review the 
information provided by the Petitioner, comments received from the 
public (requested below), and the best scientific information available 
before making a finding of how we intend to proceed with the requested 
revision by January 6, 2010.
    We solicit information and comments on whether the petitioned area 
qualifies as critical habitat. Further, we solicit information on the 
potential economic, national security, and other relevant impacts that 
may arise from the requested revision of critical habitat.
    We request that all data, information, and comments be accompanied 
by supporting documentation such as maps, bibliographic references, or 
reprints of pertinent publications. Comments and materials received 
will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal 
business hours at the above address (see ADDRESSES).

Peer Review

    The Office of Management and Budget issued its Final Information 
Quality Bulletin for Peer Review on December 16, 2004. The Bulletin 
went into effect June 16, 2005, and generally requires that all 
``influential scientific information'' and ``highly influential 
scientific information'' disseminated on or after that date be peer 
reviewed. Because the information used to evaluate this petition may be 
considered ``influential scientific information,'' we solicit the names 
of recognized experts in the field that could serve as peer reviewers 
of such information we may disseminate as we evaluate this petition. 
Independent peer reviewers will be selected from the academic and 
scientific community, applicable tribal and other Native American 
groups, Federal and state agencies, the private sector, and public 
interest groups.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

    Dated: July 21, 2009.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E9-17838 Filed 7-24-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S


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