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Tuesday, September 28, 2010 Part V Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 226 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Proposed Rulemaking To Designate Critical Habitat for Black Abalone; Proposed Rule VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:27 Sep 27, 2010 Jkt 220001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\28SEP4.SGM 28SEP4 WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS4 59900 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 28, 2010 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 0648–AY62, by any one of the following We considered various alternatives to methods: the critical habitat designation for black National Oceanic and Atmospheric • Electronic Submissions: Submit all abalone. The alternative of not Administration electronic public comments via the designating critical habitat for black Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// abalone would impose no economic, 50 CFR Part 226 www.regulations.gov. Follow the national security, or other relevant [Docket No. 100127045–0120–01] instructions for submitting comments. impacts, but would not provide any • Fax: 1–562–980–4027, Attention: conservation benefit to the species. This RIN 0648–AY62 Melissa Neuman. alternative was considered and rejected • Mail: Submit written information to because such an approach does not meet Endangered and Threatened Wildlife Chief, Protected Resources Division, the legal requirements of the ESA and and Plants: Proposed Rulemaking To Southwest Region, National Marine would not provide for the conservation Designate Critical Habitat for Black Fisheries Service, 501 West Ocean Blvd, of black abalone. The alternative of Abalone Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802– designating all of the areas considered AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 4213. for designation (i.e., no areas excluded) Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Instructions: All comments received was also considered and rejected Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are a part of the public record and will because, for one area, the economic Commerce. generally be posted to http:// benefits of exclusion outweighed the ACTION: Proposed rule; request for www.regulations.gov without change. benefits of designation, and NMFS did comments. All Personal Identifying Information (for not determine that exclusion of this area example, name, address, etc.) would significantly impede SUMMARY: We, the National Marine voluntarily submitted by the commenter conservation of the species or result in Fisheries Service (NMFS), propose to may be publicly accessible. Do not extinction of the species. The total designate approximately 390 square submit Confidential Business estimated annualized economic impact kilometers of critical habitat for the Information or otherwise sensitive or associated with the designation of all of endangered black abalone, pursuant to protected information. NMFS will the areas considered would be $595,900 section 4 of the Endangered Species Act accept anonymous comments (please to $158,967,500 (discounted at 7 (ESA). Specific areas proposed for enter N/A in the required fields if you percent) or $562,600 to $144,410,200 designation include rocky habitats from wish to remain anonymous). (discounted at 3 percent). the mean higher high water (MHHW) Attachments to electronic comments An alternative to designating critical line to a depth of 6 meters (m) within will be accepted in Microsoft Word, habitat within all of the areas the following areas on the California Excel, WordPerfect, or PDF file formats considered for designation is the coast: Del Mar Landing Ecological only. designation of critical habitat within a Reserve to Point Bonita; from the Reference materials and supporting subset of these areas. Under section southern point at the mouth of San documents regarding this proposed 4(b)(2) of the ESA, NMFS must consider Francisco Bay to Natural Bridges State designation can be obtained via the the economic impacts, impacts to Beach; from Pacific Grove to Cayucos; Internet at: http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/, national security, and other relevant from Montan˜ a de Oro State Park to just the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: impacts of designating any particular south of Government Point; Palos http://www.regulations.gov, or by area as critical habitat. NMFS has the Verdes Peninsula from the Palos submitting a request to the Assistant discretion to exclude an area from Verdes/Torrance border to Los Angeles Regional Administrator, Protected designation as critical habitat if the Harbor; the Farallon Islands; An˜ o Nuevo Resources Division, Southwest Region, benefits of exclusion (i.e., the impacts Island; San Miguel Island; Santa Rosa NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite that would be avoided if an area were Island; Santa Cruz Island; Anacapa 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802–4213. excluded from the designation) Island; San Nicolas Island; Santa FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: outweigh the benefits of designation Barbara Island; Catalina Island; and San Melissa Neuman, NMFS, Southwest (i.e., the conservation benefits to black Clemente Island. We propose to exclude Region (562) 980–4115, or Marta abalone if an area were designated), so the following area from designation Nammack, NMFS, Office of Protected long as exclusion of the area will not because the economic benefits of Resources (301) 713–1401. result in extinction of the species. exclusion outweigh the benefits of SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exclusion under section 4(b)(2) of the inclusion, and exclusion will not result ESA of one or more of the areas in the extinction of the species: rocky Background considered for designation would habitats within the MHHW line to a On January 14, 2009, we determined reduce the total impacts of designation. depth of 6 m from Corona Del Mar State that the black abalone (Haliotis The determination of which units to Beach to Dana Point, California. cracherodii) is in danger of extinction exclude depends on NMFS’ ESA section DATES: Comments on this proposed rule throughout all or a significant portion of 4(b)(2) analysis, which is conducted for to designate critical habitat must be its range and listed the species as each area and described in detail in the received by no later than 5 p.m. Pacific endangered under the ESA (74 FR draft ESA 4(b)(2) report (NMFS, 2010b). Standard Time on November 29, 2010. 1937). Under the ESA, we are Under the preferred alternative we A public hearing will be held promptly responsible for designating critical propose to exclude one of the 20 areas if any person so requests by November habitat for all endangered and considered. The total estimated 12, 2010. Notice of the date, location, threatened species (16 U.S.C. 1533). economic impact associated with this and time of any such hearing will be This rule describes the proposed critical preferred alternative is $582,500 to published in the Federal Register not habitat designation, including $155,851,400 (discounted at 7 percent) less than 15 days before the hearing is supporting information on black or $551,800 to $141,300,500 (discounted held. abalone biology, distribution, and at 3 percent). We determined that the ADDRESSES: You may submit comments habitat use, and the methods used to exclusion of this one area would not on the proposed rule, identified by RIN develop the proposed designation. significantly impede the conservation of VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:27 Sep 27, 2010 Jkt 220001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\28SEP4.SGM 28SEP4 WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS4 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 28, 2010 / Proposed Rules 59901 black abalone nor result in extinction of events; (3) gene flow among island observations) studies of movement in the species. We selected this as the populations is relatively greater than black abalone suggest that smaller preferred alternative because it results between island and mainland abalone (<65 mm) move more frequently in a critical habitat designation that populations; and (4) the overall than larger abalone, movement is more provides for the conservation of black connectivity among black abalone frequent during night hours compared abalone while reducing the economic populations is low and likely reflects to daylight hours, and larger abalone impacts. This alternative also meets the limited larval dispersal and a low may remain in the same location for requirements under the ESA and our degree of exchange among populations. many years. joint NMFS–U.S. Fish and Wildlife Habitat Diet Service (USFWS) regulations concerning critical habitat. Black abalone generally inhabit Larvae are lecithotrophic (i.e., receive coastal and offshore island intertidal nourishment via an egg yolk) and Black Abalone Natural History habitats on exposed rocky shores where apparently do not actively feed during General Description bedrock provides deep, protective their planktonic life stage. From the crevice shelter (Leighton, 2005). These time of post-larval metamorphosis to a Black abalone (Haliotis cracherodii, complex surfaces with cracks and size of about 20 mm, black abalone are Leach, 1814) are shallow-living marine crevices in upper and middle intertidal highly cryptic, occurring primarily on gastropods with smooth, circular, and zones may be crucial recruitment the undersides of large boulders or in black to slate blue colored shells that habitat and appear to be important for deep narrow crevices in solid rocky have five to nine open respiratory pores adult survival as well (Leighton, 1959; substrata. In such locations