[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 25, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28142-28143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13143]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public
Hearing and Extension of Comment Period on the Proposed Rule to List
the Alabama Sturgeon as Endangered
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing and extension of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, give notice that we are
extending the comment period and holding a public hearing on the
proposed rule to list the Alabama sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus suttkusi) as
endangered. We invite all interested parties to submit comments on this
proposal.
DATES: We will hold the public hearing from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on
Thursday, June 24, 1999, in Montgomery, Alabama. The comment period now
closes on July 5, 1999. We will consider any comments received by the
closing date in the final decision on this proposal.
ADDRESSES: We will hold the public hearing at the Montgomery Civic
Center, 300 Bibb Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36104. You may submit
written comments and materials concerning the proposal at the hearing
or send them 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; facsimile 601/965-4340.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Alabama sturgeon is a small freshwater sturgeon that was
historically found only in the Mobile River Basin of Alabama and
Mississippi. The Alabama sturgeon's historic range once included about
1,600 kilometers (km) (1,000 miles (mi)) of the Mobile River system in
Alabama (Black Warrior, Tombigbee, Alabama, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Mobile,
Tensaw, and Cahaba rivers) and Mississippi (Tombigbee River). Since
1985, all confirmed captures of this fish have been from a short, free-
flowing reach of the Alabama River below Miller's Ferry and Claiborne
locks and dams in Clarke, Monroe, and Wilcox counties, Alabama. The
historic decline of the Alabama sturgeon is attributed to over-fishing,
loss and fragmentation of habitat as a result of navigation-related
development, and water quality degradation. Current threats primarily
result from its small population numbers and its inability to offset
mortality rates with reproduction and recruitment.
On March 26, 1999, we published a rule proposing endangered status
for the Alabama sturgeon in the Federal Register (64 FR 14676). Section
4(b)(5)(E) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that we hold a
public hearing if it is requested within 45 days of the publication of
the proposed rule. Sheldon Morgan, Chairman, Alabama-
[[Page 28143]]
Tombigbee Rivers Coalition, requested a public hearing within the
allotted time period. Public hearings are designed to gather relevant
information that the public may have that we should consider in
determining the status of and threats to this species. During the
hearing, we will present information about the proposed action of
listing the Alabama sturgeon as endangered. We invite the public to
submit information and comments either at the hearing on June 24, 1999,
or in writing.
The hearing will be at the Montgomery Civic Center in Montgomery,
Alabama, on Thursday, June 24, 1999, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. We
may have to limit the time allotted for oral statements, if the number
of people who wish to comment necessitates such a limitation. We
encourage persons wishing to comment at the hearing to provide a
written copy of their statement at the start of the hearing. There is
no limit on the length of written comments. Persons may also send
written comments to our office in the ADDRESSES section at any time
during the open comment period. We will give equal consideration to
oral and written comments. We are publishing legal notices announcing
the date, time, and location of the hearing in newspapers, concurrently
with this Federal Register notice. The comment period on the proposal
initially closed on May 26, 1999. To accommodate the hearing, we are
extending the public comment period upon publication of this notice.
The public comment period will close on July 5, 1999.
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: May 18,1999.
H. Dale Hall,
Acting Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 99-13143 Filed 5-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
