[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1082-1083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-404]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018-AF80
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 224
[I.D. 102299A]
RIN 0648-XA39
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Extension of Comment Period
and Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed Endangered Status for a
Distinct Population Segment of Anadromous Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)
in the Gulf of Maine
AGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Interior; National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearings and extension of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: NMFS and FWS (the Services) provide notice to cancel a
scheduled public hearing on January 19, 2000, to schedule three new
public hearings that will be held on the proposed determination of
endangered status for a distinct population segment (DPS) of Atlantic
salmon (Salmo salar) in the Gulf of Maine, and to extend the public
comment period on the proposal.
DATES: There will be three public hearings. The first will be held from
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on January 29, 2000; the second will be held
from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on January 31, 2000; and the third will be
held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m on February 1, 2000. The public comment
period originally closed on February 15, 2000. The Services are
extending the public comment period to March 15, 2000.
ADDRESSES: The January 29, 2000, public hearing will be held at the
University of Maine at Machias, 9 O'Brien Avenue, Machias, Maine, in
the Performing Arts Center. The January 31, 2000, public hearing will
be held at Ellsworth Middle School, 20 Forrest Avenue, Ellsworth,
Maine, in the cafeteria. The February 1, 2000, public hearing will be
held at the Rockland District Middle School, 30 Broadway, Rockland,
Maine, in the cafeteria. Written comments and materials regarding the
proposed rule should be
[[Page 1083]]
directed to the Endangered Species Program Coordinator, National Marine
Fisheries Service, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930,
or to the Chief, Division of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035. The
1999 Status Review may be obtained by contacting either of the above
individuals or downloaded from the following site: http://news.fws.gov/
salmon/asalmon.html. Please note that electronic mail or internet site
comments will not be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Colligan, NMFS, at the address
above (978-281-9116) or Paul Nickerson, FWS, at the address above (413-
253-8615).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Gulf of Maine DPS includes all naturally reproducing wild
populations of Atlantic salmon having historical, river-specific
characteristics found in a range north of and including tributaries of
the lower Kennebec River to, but not including, the mouth of the St.
Croix River at the US-Canada border. The DPS includes both early and
late run Atlantic salmon. Threats to the species include low marine
survival, disease, the use of non-North American strains of Atlantic
salmon in the U.S. aquaculture industry, aquaculture escapees, water
withdrawal and sedimentation.
On November 17, 1999, the Services published a proposed rule to
list the Gulf of Maine DPS of Atlantic salmon as endangered under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). Section 4(b)(5)(E) of
the ESA requires that a public hearing be held if requested within 45
days of the proposal's publication in the Federal Register. Requests
for public hearings were received within the allotted time period from
Olympia Snowe, United States Senator, Chair, Subcommittee on Oceans and
Fisheries, and Susan Collins, United States Senator, Chair, Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations, to be held in Machias, Maine; and Trout
Unlimited, to be held in Rockland, Maine. The public hearing scheduled
for January 19, 2000, in Ellsworth, Maine, which was noticed in the
proposed rule (64 FR 62627; November 17, 1999), has been canceled.
Anyone wishing to make an oral statement for the record is
encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement to be presented
to the Services at the start of a hearing. In the event there is a
large attendance, the time allotted for oral statements may have to be
limited. Oral and written statements receive equal consideration. There
are no limits to the length of written comments presented at the
hearings or mailed to the Services. Legal notices announcing the dates,
time, and location of the hearings are being published in newspapers
concurrently with this Federal Register notice.
Dated: January 3, 2000.
Ann Terbush,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
Dated: December 22, 1999.
Ronald E. Lambertson,
Regional Director, Region 5, Fish and Wildlife Service.
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FR Doc. 00-404 Filed 1-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
