Vol. 76 Monday, No. 157 August 15, 2011 Part II Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Revised Critical Habitat for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher; Proposed Rule VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:06 Aug 12, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\15AUP2.SGM 15AUP2 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2 50542 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 157 / Monday, August 15, 2011 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail we are proposing, including managing or hand-delivery to: Public Comments for the potential effects of climate Fish and Wildlife Service Processing, Attn: FWS–R2–ES–2011– change; 053; Division of Policy and Directives (e) Stream segments, many of which 50 CFR Part 17 Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife are highlighted in the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Plan [Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2011–0053; MO Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 92210–0–0009] 2042–PDM; Arlington, VA 22203. (Recovery Plan) (Service 2002) and We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We included in this proposed rule, that are RIN 1018–AX43 will post all comments on http:// not now known to have flycatcher www.regulations.gov. This generally nesting territories or known to only Endangered and Threatened Wildlife means that we will post any personal have few nesting flycatchers that may be and Plants; Designation of Revised information you provide us (see the capable of being improved for flycatcher Critical Habitat for Southwestern Public Comments section below for recovery purposes. We specifically seek Willow Flycatcher more information). information about streams within the AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amargosa, Salton, Mohave, Powell, San Interior. Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, U.S. Juan, Santa Cruz, and Hassayampa and Agua Fria Management Units. Please ACTION: Proposed rule. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Ecological Services Office, 2321 West provide information on flycatcher SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Royal Palm Rd., Suite 103, Phoenix, AZ distribution and abundance, habitat Wildlife Service (Service), propose to 85021; telephone 602–242–0210; quality, habitat locations, habitat improvement projects, management revise critical habitat for the facsimile 602–242–2513. If you use a actions needed to improve habitat, southwestern willow flycatcher telecommunications device for the deaf habitat quality limitations, habitat (Empidonax traillii extimus) (flycatcher) (TDD), call the Federal Information recovery potential, and any other under the Endangered Species Act of Relay Service (FIRS) at 800–877–8339. 1973, as amended (Act). In total, flycatcher or flycatcher-habitat-specific SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: approximately 3,364 km stream information, and; kilometers (2,090 stream miles) are Public Comments (f) Flycatcher habitat suitability in specific areas within the Santa Ana and being proposed for designation as We intend that any final action critical habitat. These areas are being San Diego Management Units in resulting from this proposed rule will be southern California. Please provide proposed as stream segments, with the based on the best scientific and lateral extent including the riparian information on flycatcher habitat commercial data available and be as suitability for recovery at the following areas and streams that occur within the accurate and as effective as possible. 100-year floodplain or flood-prone areas: (1) Entirety of Temescal Wash Therefore, we request comments or including Alberhill Creek in Riverside areas. The proposed critical habitat is information from other concerned located on a combination of Federal, County; (2) entirety of Murrieta Creek in government agencies, the scientific Riverside County; (3) Potrero Creek near State, Tribal, and private lands in community, industry, or any other Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, the city of Beaumont in Riverside interested party concerning this County; (4) Cajon Creek from Lone Pine Mono, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, proposed rule. We particularly seek San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura Canyon to California State Highway 138 comments concerning: in San Bernardino County; and (5) Counties in California; Clark, Lincoln, (1) The reasons why we should or and Nye Counties in southern Nevada; Tijuana River from Dairy Mart Road to should not designate habitat as ‘‘critical the Tijuana River Estuary in San Diego Kane, San Juan, and Washington habitat’’ under section 4 of the Act (16 Counties in southern Utah; Alamosa, County. U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), including whether (3) Land use designations and current Conejos, Costilla, La Plata, and Rio there are threats to the species from or planned activities in the subject areas Grande Counties in southern Colorado; human activity, the degree of which can and their possible impacts on proposed Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, be expected to increase due to the critical habitat. Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, designation, and whether that increase (4) Information on the projected and Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai, and in threat outweighs the benefit of reasonably likely impacts of climate Yuma Counties in Arizona; and Catron, designation such that the designation of change on the flycatcher, the features Cibola, Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, critical habitat may not be prudent. essential to its conservation and the McKinley, Mora, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, (2) Specific information on: areas proposed as critical habitat. San Juan, Sierra, Soccoro, Taos, and (a) The amount and distribution of (5) Any probable economic, national Valencia Counties in New Mexico. southwestern willow flycatcher habitat; security, environmental, cultural, or DATES: We will accept comments (b) What areas that were occupied at other relevant impacts of designating received or postmarked on or before the time of listing that contain features any area that may be included in the October 14, 2011. We must receive essential to the conservation of the final designation; in particular, any requests for public hearings, in writing, species should be included in the impacts on small entities, and the at the address shown in the FOR FURTHER designation and why; benefits of including or excluding areas INFORMATION CONTACT section by (c) What areas not occupied at the that exhibit these impacts. September 29, 2011. time of listing that meet our criteria for (6) Whether any specific areas we are ADDRESSES: You may submit comments being essential to the conservation of proposing for critical habitat by one of the following methods: the species should be included in the designation should be considered for (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal designation and why; exclusion under section 4(b)(2) of the eRulemaking Portal: http:// (d) Special management Act, and whether the benefits of www.regulations.gov. In the Enter considerations or protection that may be potentially excluding any specific area Keyword or ID box, enter Docket No. needed for the physical or biological outweigh the benefits of including that FWS–R2–ES–2011–0053, which is the features essential to the conservation of area under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, in docket number for this rulemaking. the species in the critical habitat areas particular. VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:06 Aug 12, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\15AUP2.SGM 15AUP2 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 157 / Monday, August 15, 2011 / Proposed Rules 50543 (a) For specific lands that we should withhold personal information such as South America (Ridgely and Gwynne consider for exclusion under section your street address, phone number, or 1989, p. 303; Stiles and Skutch 1989, 4(b)(2) of the Act, please provide us e-mail address from public review; pp. 321–322; Howell and Webb 1995, management plans, conservation however, we cannot guarantee that we pp. 496–497; Unitt 1997, pp. 70–73; easements, agreements, Habitat will be able to do so. Koronkiewicz et al. 1998, p. 12; Unitt Conservation Plans (HCP), or other Comments and materials we receive, 1999, p. 14). appropriate information, which describe as well as supporting documentation we All willow flycatcher subspecies the commitment and assurances of used in preparing this proposed rule, spend time migrating and breeding in protection of the physical or biological will be available for public inspection the United States from April to features of flycatcher critical habitat; on http://www.regulations.gov, or by September. Use of riparian habitats property boundaries; flycatcher status, appointment, during normal business along major drainages in the Southwest distribution, and abundance; and hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife during migration has been documented management actions to protect the Service, Arizona Ecological Services (Sogge et al. 1997, pp. 3–4; Yong and physical or biological features of Office in Phoenix, Arizona (see FOR Finch 1997, p. 253; Johnson and O’Brien flycatcher habitat. FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 1998, p. 2; McKernan and Braden 1999, (b) For lands we evaluated and p. 17; Koronkiewicz et al. 2004, pp. 9– Background excluded from critical habitat under 11). Many of the willow flycatchers section 4(b)(2) of the Act during the It is our intent to include only those found migrating are detected in riparian 2005 flycatcher critical habitat topics directly relevant to the habitats or patches (small areas