[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 15, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26827-26828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12173]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018-AH05
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of
Comment Period for the Proposal To Designate Critical Habitat for the
Wenatchee Mountains Checker-Mallow, and Notice of Availability of the
Draft Economic Analysis for Proposed Critical Habitat for the Wenatchee
Mountains Checker-Mallow
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period and notice of
availability of draft economic analysis.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the reopening
of the comment period for the proposed designation of critical habitat
for the Wenatchee Mountains checker-mallow (Sidalcea oregana var.
calva), and the availability of the draft economic analysis for the
plant's proposed designation of critical habitat. We are reopening the
comment period for the proposal to designate critical habitat for this
species to allow all interested parties to comment simultaneously on
the proposed rule and the associated draft economic analysis. Comments
previously submitted need not be resubmitted as they will be
incorporated into the public record as part of this extended comment
period and will be fully considered in the final rule.
DATES: We will accept public comments until June 14, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and information should be submitted to
Manager, Western Washington Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 510
Desmond Drive SE., Suite 102, Lacey, Washington 98503-1263. For the
electronic mail address, and further instructions on commenting, refer
to Public Comments Solicited section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact Ted
Thomas or James Michaels, at the above address (telephone 360/753-9440;
facsimile 360/753-9518).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Wenatchee Mountains checker-mallow (Sidalcea oregana var.
calva) is an herbaceous perennial known from wetlands of the Wenatchee
Mountains in central Washington. The plant ranges in height from 20 to
150 centimeters (8 to 60 inches), with pink flower clusters with one to
many stalked flowers arranged singly along a common stem. The species
occurs at six locations, all are known from Chelan County, Washington.
Pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act)
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), Sidalcea oregana var. calva was listed as an
endangered species on December 22, 1999 (64 FR 71680). Habitat
fragmentation and destruction from alterations of hydrology, rural
residential development, conversion of native wetlands to orchards and
other agricultural uses, competition form nonnative plants, seed and
plant collection, and fire suppression and the activities associated
with fire suppression threaten Sidalcea oregana var. calva.
In April 2000, as a result of a suit from the Southwest Center for
Biological Diversity and the Center for Biological Diversity, we
reached a settlement agreement on when to publish a proposed and final
critical habitat designation for Sidalcea oregana var. calva. We agreed
to publish a proposed critical habitat designation for this species on
or before December 31, 2000, and a final critical habitat designation
on or before August 31, 2001.
On January 18, 2001, we published a proposed rule in the Federal
Register (66 FR 4783) to designate critical habitat for Sidalcea
oregana var. calva. The original comment period closed on March 19,
2001. We intend to reopen the comment period for an additional 30 days
to allow all interested parties to comment simultaneously on the
proposed rule and the associated draft economic analysis.
We have proposed to designate critical habitat in one critical
habitat unit totaling approximately 2,486 hectares (6,137 acres) in
Chelan County, Washington. The area encompasses a majority of the Camas
Creek and Pendleton Creek watersheds.
Critical habitat receives protection from destruction or adverse
modification through required consultation under section 7 of the Act
with regard to actions carried out,
[[Page 26828]]
funded, or authorized by a Federal agency. Section 4(b)(2) of the Act
requires that we designate or revise critical habitat based upon the
best scientific and commercial data available, after taking into
consideration the economic impact of specifying any particular area as
critical habitat. Based upon the previously published proposal to
designate critical habitat for Sidalcea oregana var. calva, we have
prepared a draft economic analysis of the proposed critical habitat
designation. The draft economic analysis is available on the Internet
and from the mailing addresses in the Public Comments Solicited section
below.
Public Comments Solicited
We will accept written comments and information during this re-
opened comment period. If you wish to comment, you may submit your
comments and materials concerning this proposal by any of several
methods:
(1) You may submit written comments and information to the Manager,
Western Washington Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 510 Desmond
Drive SE, Suite 102, Lacey, Washington 98503-1263.
(2) You may send comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to:
[email protected]. If you submit comments by e-mail,
please submit them as an ASCII file and avoid the use of special
characters and any form of encryption. Please also include ``Attn: RIN
1018-AH05'' and your name and return address in your e-mail message. If
you do not receive a confirmation from the system that we have received
your e-mail message, contact us directly by calling our Western
Washington Office at telephone number 360/753-9440.
(3) You may hand-deliver comments to our Western Washington Office
at the address given above.
Comments and materials received, as well as supporting
documentation used in preparation of the proposal to designate critical
habitat, will be available for inspection, by appointment, during
normal business hours at the address under (1) above. Copies of the
draft economic analysis are available on the Internet at
``www.r1.fws.gov'' or by writing to the Manager at the address under
(1) above.
Author
The primary author of this notice is Ted Thomas (see ADDRESSES
section).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 14, 2001.
Rowan W. Gould,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 01-12173 Filed 5-14-01; 8:45 am]
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