[Federal Register: August 31, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 168)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 53031-53032]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31au04-24]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 223 and 224
[I.D. 052104F]
Endangered and Threatened Species: Extension of Public Comment
Period and Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed Listing Determinations
for West Coast Salmonids
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Extension of public comment period; notice of public hearings.
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SUMMARY: In June 2004, NMFS proposed to list 27 Evolutionarily
Significant Units (ESUs) of salmon and O. mykiss as threatened and
endangered under the ESA. As part of this proposal, NMFS announced a
public comment period. In this notice, NMFS is extending the public
comment period for this proposal to October 20, 2004. Additionally,
NMFS is announcing that hearings will be held at eight locations in the
Pacific Northwest from mid-September to mid-October to provide
additional opportunities and formats to receive public input. Dates and
locations of public hearings to be held in California will be announced
in a subsequent Federal Register notice.
DATES: Written comments must be received by October 20, 2004. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the specific public meeting dates.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed listing
determinations for 27 ESUs of West Coast Salmon and O. mykiss (69 FR
33101; June 14, 2004) by any of the following methods:
E-mail: The mailbox address for submitting e-mail comments on the
proposed listing determinations for 27 West Coast ESUs of salmon and O.
mykiss is salmon.nwr@noaa.gov. Please include in the subject line of
the e-mail comment the document identifier ``Proposed Listing
Determinations.''
Mail: Submit written comments and information to Chief, NMFS,
Protected Resources Division, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500,
Portland, Oregon, 97232-2737. Please identify the comment as regarding
the ``Proposed Listing Determinations.'' You may hand-deliver written
comments to our office at the street address given above, suite 210.
Business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays (i.e., September 6, 2004, and October 11, 2004, during
the extended comment period).
Hand Delivery/Courier: NMFS, Protected Resources Division, 525 NE
Oregon Street, Suite 210, Portland, Oregon, 97232-2737. Business hours
are noted above.
Fax: 503-230-5435. Please identify the fax comment as regarding the
``Proposed Listing Determinations.''
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for hearing locations. You may obtain
information updates on the public hearings on the Internet at the
following web address: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/AlseaResponse/meetings.html/
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin, NMFS, Northwest Region,
(503) 231-2005. Copies of the Federal Register notices cited herein and
additional salmon-related materials are available on the Internet at
http://www.nwr.noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 14, 2004, NMFS published proposed ESA listing
determinations for 27 salmon and O. mykiss ESUs, including 18 ESUs that
occur in Oregon, Washington and Idaho (69 FR 33101). The 27 proposed
listing determinations include 162 total hatchery programs as part of 4
ESUs being proposed for endangered status and 23 ESUs being proposed
for threatened status. In addition, NMFS proposed amendments to the
existing ESA 4(d) protective regulations for the proposed threatened
ESUs.
Extension of Public Comment Period
Several requests have been received to extend the comment periods
for the proposed listing determinations for 27 ESUs. The comment period
for the proposed listings was to end on
[[Page 53032]]
September 13, 2004. NMFS is extending the comment period until October
20, 2004, to allow for adequate opportunity for public comment (see
DATES and ADDRESSES).
Public Hearings
Joint Commerce-Interior ESA implementing regulations state that the
Secretary shall promptly hold at least one public hearing if any person
requests one within 45 days of publication of a proposed regulation to
list a species or to designate critical habitat (see 50 CFR
424.16(c)(3)). In past ESA rule-making NMFS has conducted traditional
public hearings, consisting of recorded oral testimony from interested
individuals. This format, although providing an alternative means of
public input, is time consuming for the attendees and does not provide
opportunities for dialogue and information exchange. NMFS believes that
the traditional public hearing format can be improved upon by also
including opportunities for individuals to discuss specific elements of
the proposals with agency staff in small groups. The ``open-house''
format of the public meetings, described below, will enhance the
ability of the public to engage effectively in the rulemaking process,
while respecting their valuable time and resources.
Meeting Format
NMFS believes that the proposed listing determinations and a
proposed hatchery listing policy (see 69 FR 31354; June 3, 2004) are
important to salmon recovery. Public engagement on these intimately
related proposals will be combined into the same public meetings to
make efficient use of the agency's and the public's time and resources.
Afternoon Practitioners' Sessions - Afternoon sessions (1:30 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m.) will be provided for local practitioners and stakeholders
involved with managing the ESA on a regular basis, including: tribal
governments; forestry and agricultural interests; home builders and
developers; the sport and commercial fishing community; the
environmental community; the business community; utility and special
districts; local government elected officials and their staff; other
locally-based Federal and state agencies; and public interest groups.
The structure of these afternoon meetings will be tailored to allow
practitioners and NMFS staff to discuss the specific issues that are of
local concern. Attendance at the afternoon sessions will be on a pre-
registration basis. Information on attending the practitioners'
afternoon sessions is available from NMFS upon request (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT, above) as well as on the Internet at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/AlseaResponse/meetings.html/
.
Evening Open House and Public Testimony - Evening ``open house''
sessions designed for broader public participation will be conducted on
the same day as the afternoon practitioners' sessions. The ``open
house'' format will provide the general public with an opportunity to
meet with NMFS staff in small groups on specific topics in order to
learn more about the proposals and their possible impacts on their
communities. These evening meetings will also provide opportunities for
the public to make formal recorded comments on the proposals. The
preferred means of providing public comment for the official record is
via written testimony prepared in advance of the meeting. In addition,
blank ``comment sheets'' will be provided at the evening meetings for
those without prepared written comments, and facilities will also be
provided for recording oral testimony. The evening sessions will be
open from 6:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m. Because these sessions will be designed
as open houses where the public can move from ``station'' to
``station'' and discuss their particular interests with NMFS staff,
members of the local community can come and go from the meeting as they
please. For those who are interested, there will also be a short
presentation on the proposed listing determinations and the proposed
hatchery listing policy from NMFS beginning at 6:30 p.m. NMFS hopes
that this format will allow busy community members to participate
without necessarily attending the entire evening. Members of the public
wishing to attend the evening open house meetings will receive the
notification through advertising, NMFS Northwest Region's web page
(http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/AlseaResponse/meetings.html/), and public
notices published in their community. There is no need to register;
just drop in anytime during the course of the evening event.
Meeting Dates & Locations
Public meetings, including both afternoon practitioners' (1:30 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m.) and evening open house sessions (6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.),
will be held at eight locations in the Pacific Northwest from mid-
September to mid-October. The specific dates and locations of these
meetings are listed below:
(1) September 14, 2004, at the Chelan County Public Utility
District (PUD) Auditorium, 327 N. Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee, WA 98801.
(2) September 16, 2004, at the Red Lion Hotel Columbia Center, N.
1101 Columbia Center Blvd, Kennewick, WA 99336.
(3) September 22, 2004, at the Shilo Inn Hotel,536 SW Elizabeth,
Newport, OR 97635.
(4) September 28, 2004, at the Stagecoach Inn, 201 Highway 93
North, Salmon, ID 83467.
(5) September 30, 2004, at the Red Lion Hotel, 621 21st St.,
Lewiston, ID 83501.
(6) October 5, 2004, at the Radisson Hotel (SeaTac Airport), 17001
Pacific Highway South, Seattle WA 98118.
(7) October 7, 2004, at Umpqua Community College, 1140 College Rd.,
Roseburg, OR 97470.
(8) October 13, 2004, at the Portland Building, 1120 SW 5th Ave,
Portland, OR 97204.
Directions to the meeting locations can be obtained on the Internet
at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/AlseaResponse/meetings.html/. Dates and
locations of public hearings to be held in California will be announced
in a subsequent Federal Register notice.
In scheduling these public meetings, NMFS has anticipated that many
affected stakeholders and members of the public may prefer to discuss
the proposed listing determinations directly with staff during the
public comment period. These public meetings are not the only
opportunity for the public to provide input on this proposal. The
public and stakeholders are encouraged to continue to comment and
provide input to NMFS on the proposals (via correspondence, e-mail, and
the Internet; see ADDRESSES, above) up until the scheduled close of the
comment period on October 20, 2004.
References
Copies of the Federal Register notices and related materials cited
in this document are available on the Internet at http://nwr.noaa.gov,
or upon request (see ADDRESSES section above).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
Dated: August 25, 2004.
Donna Wieting,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-19867 Filed 8-30-04; 8:45 am]
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