[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 4212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2074]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 226
[I.D. No. 101097A]
Designated Critical Habitat; Central California Coast and
Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Coho Salmon
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: NMFS is reopening the public comment period on proposed
regulations to designate critical habitat for Central California Coast
and Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon (Oncorhynchus
kisutch). These proposals were made on November 25, 1997, under
provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). NMFS has
received several requests for additional time to complete the review
and compilation of information. NMFS finds the requests to be
reasonable and hereby reopens the comment period until April 26, 1998.
DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before
April 26, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Garth Griffin, NMFS, Protected
Resources Division, 525 NE Oregon St. - Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-
2737; or Craig Wingert, NMFS, Southwest Region, Protected Species
Management Division, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA
90802-4213.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin at (503) 231-2005, Craig
Wingert at (562) 980-4021, or Joe Blum at (301) 713-1401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 31, 1996, NMFS published its determination to list the
Central California Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) of coho
salmon as threatened under the ESA (61 FR 41514). Subsequently, on May
6, 1997, NMFS published its determination to list the Southern Oregon/
Northern California Coast coho salmon ESU as threatened under the ESA
(62 FR 24588). On November 25, 1997 (62 FR 62741), NMFS published a
proposed rule identifying critical habitat for each ESU and identified
a 90-day comment period (which ends January 26, 1998) to solicit
information relevant to the proposal. During the comment period, three
public hearings were held between December 8-11, 1997 in Gold Beach,
Oregon; Eureka, California; and Santa Rosa, California.
Requests for an extension of the public comment period have been
received from a California Congressional representative, as well as
several county and private organizations and private citizens in
northern California and southern Oregon. Reasons given for these
requests included additional time required under state law to assemble
county governments for a review of the proposal, and time needed to
assess the scope and impact of the proposed rule. NMFS finds the
requests to be reasonable and hereby reopens the comment period.
Critical habitat is defined as the specific areas within the
geographical area occupied by the species, on which are found those
physical and biological features essential to the conservation of the
species and which may require special management considerations or
protections (ESA section 3(5)(A)(I)). Critical habitat shall not
include the entire geographical area occupied by the species unless
failure to designate such areas would result in the extinction of the
species.
Proposed critical habitat for the Central California Coast ESU
encompasses accessible reaches of all rivers (including estuarine areas
and tributaries) between Punta Gorda and the San Lorenzo River
(inclusive) in California. Also included are two rivers entering San
Francisco Bay: Mill Valley Creek and Corte Madera Creek. Proposed
critical habitat for the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast ESU
encompasses accessible reaches of all rivers (including estuarine areas
and tributaries) between the Mattole River in California and the Elk
River in Oregon, inclusive.
The areas described in the proposed rule represent the current
freshwater and estuarine range of the listed species. Marine habitats
are also vital to the species and ocean conditions are believed to have
a major influence on coho salmon survival. However, there does not
appear to be a need for special management consideration or protection
of this habitat. Therefore, NMFS is not proposing to designate critical
habitat in marine areas at this time. For both ESUs, critical habitat
includes all waterways, substrate, and adjacent riparian zones below
longstanding, naturally impassable barriers (i.e., natural waterfalls
in existence for at least several hundred years). NMFS has identified
twelve dams in the range of these ESUs (see proposed rule) that
currently block access to habitats historically occupied by coho
salmon. However, NMFS has not designated these inaccessible areas as
critical habitat because areas downstream are believed to be sufficient
for the conservation of the ESUs. The economic and other impacts
resulting from this critical habitat designation are expected to be
minimal.
NMFS is soliciting information, comments and/or recommendations on
any aspect of this proposal from all concerned parties (see ADDRESSES);
comments must be received by April 26, 1998. In particular, NMFS is
requesting any data, maps, or reports describing areas that currently
or historically supported coho salmon populations and that may require
special management considerations. NMFS will consider all information
received before reaching a final decision.
Date: January 22, 1998.
Patricia A. Montanio,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-2074 Filed 1-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
