[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 244 (Friday, December 19, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66583-66584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33140]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018-AE36
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public
Hearing and Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Endangered Status
for Three Aquatic Snails, and Proposed Threatened Status for Three
Aquatic Snails in the Mobile River Basin of Alabama
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing and reopening of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), provides notice of a
public hearing on the proposed endangered status for the cylindrical
lioplax (Lioplax cyclostomaformis), flat pebblesnail (Lepyrium
showalteri), and plicate rocksnail (Leptoxis plicata); and the proposed
threatened status for the painted rocksnail (Leptoxis taeniata), round
rocksnail (Leptoxis ampla), and lacy elimia (Elimia crenatella). The
Service also announces the reopening of the comment period for these
actions. The public hearing and the reopening of the comment period
will allow additional comments on this proposal to be submitted from
all interested parties.
DATES: The public hearing will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday,
January 13, 1998, in Birmingham, Alabama. The comment period now closes
on January 23, 1998. Any comments received by the closing date will be
considered in the final decision on this proposal.
ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Dwight Beeson Hall
Auditorium on the campus of Samford University, 800 Lakeshore Drive,
Birmingham, Alabama 35229. Written comments and materials concerning
the proposal may be submitted at the hearing or sent directly to the
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View
Parkway, Jackson, Mississippi 39213. Comments and materials received
will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal
business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Hartfield (see ADDRESSES
section), 601/965-4900, extension 25.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The six aquatic snail species are endemic to portions of the Mobile
River Basin, Alabama. The cylindrical lioplax, flat pebblesnail, and
round rocksnail are found in the Cahaba River drainage; the lacy elimia
and painted rocksnail are in the Coosa River drainage; and the plicate
rocksnail is in the Black Warrior River drainage. All six species have
disappeared from 90 percent or more of their historic range. Known
populations are restricted to small portions of stream drainages. The
past decline of the snails is attributed to impoundment, habitat
fragmentation, and water quality degradation. Current threats include
the gradual and cumulative effects of sedimentation and nutrification
originating from nonpoint sources on the snails' localized and isolated
stream refugia.
On October 17, 1997, the Service published a rule proposing
endangered status for the cylindrical lioplax, flat pebblesnail, and
plicate rocksnail; and threatened status for the painted rocksnail,
round rocksnail, and lacy elimia in the Federal Register (62 FR 54020-
54028. Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires
that a public hearing be held if it is requested within 45 days of the
publication of the proposed rule. A public hearing request by Gorham &
Waldrep, P.C., was received within the allotted time period. The
Service has scheduled a public hearing in Birmingham, Alabama on
Tuesday, January 13, 1998, at Samford University's Dwight Beeson Hall
Auditorium from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Oral and written comments will be accepted and treated equally.
Parties wishing to make statements for the record should bring a copy
of their statements to the hearing. Oral statements may be limited in
length, if the number of parties present at the hearing necessitates
such a limitation. There are no limits to the length of written
comments or materials submitted at the hearing or mailed to the
Service. Legal notices announcing the date, time, and location of the
hearing are being published in newspapers concurrently with this
Federal Register notice. The comment period on the proposal was
initially closed on December 16, 1997. To accommodate the hearing, the
public comment period is reopened upon publication of this notice.
Written comments may now be submitted until January 23, 1998, to the
Service office in the ADDRESSES section.
[[Page 66584]]
Author: The primary author of this notice is Paul Hartfield (see
ADDRESSES section).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: December 11, 1997.
H. Dale Hall,
Acting Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 97-33140 Filed 12-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
