This Could Be MAJOR Trouble for Us on the Horizon

[KTMrad 513]

From San Diego Off-Road Coalition.....

Looks like the flat tailed horned lizard is being considered for the endangered species list. This lizard lives in Ocotillo Wells, Superstition Mountain and Plaster City OHV areas.

[Federal Register: March 2, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 40)]

[Proposed Rules]

[Page 9377-9379]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr02mr10-14]

=======================================================================

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2010-0008]

[MO 92210-0-0008-B2]

[RIN 1018-AX07]

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Flat-

Tailed Horned Lizard as Threatened

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Reinstatement of proposed rule, reopening of comment period,

and notice of public hearings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), notify the

public of the reinstatement of our November 29, 1993, proposed rule to

list the flat-tailed horned lizard (Phrynosoma mcallii) as threatened

under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also

announce the reopening of a public comment period on the 1993 proposed

rule and the scheduling of public hearings. This action will provide

all interested parties with an additional opportunity to provide

information and submit comments on the 1993 proposed rule.

DATES: Written comments: To ensure consideration of your comments, we

must receive them on or before May 3, 2010.

Public Hearings: The public hearings will take place on March 23,

2010, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at University of

California, Riverside (UCR) Palm Desert Graduate Center, 75-080 Frank

Sinatra Drive,

[[Page 9378]]

Palm Desert, CA, and on March 24, 2010, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel Yuma, 1501 South Redondo Center

Drive, Yuma, AZ.

ADDRESSES: Written comments: You may submit comments and information by

one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

Search for Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2010-0008 and then follow the

instructions for submitting comments.

U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,

Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2010-0008; Division of Policy and Directives

Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,

Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.

Public Hearings: The public hearings will be held at the University

of California, Riverside (UCR) Palm Desert Graduate Center, 75-080

Frank Sinatra Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211, and at the Radisson Hotel

Yuma, 1501 South Redondo Center Drive, Yuma, AZ 85365.

We will post all comments and information we receive in writing and

oral testimony offered at the public hearings on http://

www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any

personal information you provide us (see the Information Solicited

section below for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Bartel, Field Supervisor, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 6010

Hidden Valley Road, Suite 101, Carlsbad, CA 92011; telephone 760-431-

9440; facsimile 760-431-5901. If you use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS)

at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Solicited

This document announces the reinstatement of the 1993 proposed

rule, published in the Federal Register on November 29, 1993 (58 FR

62624), to list the flat-tailed horned lizard as a threatened species,

and reopens the public comment period on this reinstated rulemaking. We

intend any final action resulting from this proposal to be as accurate

as possible. To ensure our determination is based on the best available

scientific and commercial information, we request information on the

flat-tailed horned lizard from governmental agencies, Native American

Tribes, the scientific community, industry, and any other interested

parties. We particularly seek information on:

(1) The species' biology, range, and population trends.

(2) Past and ongoing conservation measures for the species, its

habitat, or both, including how implementation of the Flat-tailed

Horned Lizard Rangewide Management Strategy has affected the species in

the United States.

(3) Conservation measures for the species in Mexico.

(4) The factors that are the basis for making a listing, delisting,

or downlisting determination for a species under section 4(a) of the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.), which are:

(a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or

curtailment of its habitat or range;

( Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or

educational purposes;

© Disease or predation;

(d) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or

(e) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued

existence.

(5) The taxonomic status of this species, or whether any

population segments of the flat-tailed horned lizard are discrete or

significant under our February 7, 1996, policy regarding the

recognition of distinct vertebrate population segments (61 FR 4722).

(6) The potential effects global climate change may have on the

flat-tailed horned lizard or its habitat.

You may submit your information concerning the proposed rule by one

of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. If you submit

information via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire submission--

including any personal identifying information--will be posted on the

website. If you submit a hardcopy that includes personal identifying

information, you may request at the top of your document that we

withhold this personal identifying information from public review.

However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will

post all hardcopy submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.

Information and materials we receive, as well as supporting

documentation we used in preparing previous listing determinations for

the species, will be available for public inspection on http://

www.regulations.gov, or by appointment, during normal business hours,

at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife

Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). If you submitted comments

or information previously on the proposed rule or during any of the

previous open comment periods related to this proposed rule, please do

not resubmit them. These comments have been incorporated into the

public record and will be fully considered in the preparation of our

final determination.

Public Hearings

We have scheduled two public hearings on the proposed rule. They

will be held on the date listed in the DATES section at the address

listed in the ADDRESSES section.

Anyone wishing to make an oral statement at a public hearing for

the record is encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement

to us at that hearing. In the event there is a large attendance, the

time allotted for oral statements may be limited. Speakers can sign up

only at the hearings. Oral and written statements receive equal

consideration. There are no limits on the length of written comments

submitted to us. If you have any questions concerning the public

hearing or need reasonable accommodations to attend and participate in

the public hearing, please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section as soon as possible, but no later than 1

week before the hearing date, to allow sufficient time to process

requests.

Previous Federal Actions

On November 29, 1993, we published in the Federal Register a

proposed rule to list the flat-tailed horned lizard as a threatened

species under the Act (58 FR 62624). On July 15, 1997, we published in

the Federal Register a final determination to withdraw the proposed

rule to list the flat-tailed horned lizard as a threatened species (62

FR 37852) based on various considerations including a reduction of

threats to the species on public land and the existence of the Flat-

tailed Horned Lizard Rangewide Management Strategy.

The Defenders of Wildlife filed a complaint in the U.S. District

Court for the Southern District of California challenging our 1997

withdrawal of the proposed rule. On June 16, 1999, the District Court

upheld our decision to withdraw the proposed listing rule. The District

Court's decision was appealed and on July 31, 2001, and the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the previous ruling of the District

Court. In accordance with the Appeals Court's ruling, we published a

document in the Federal Register on December 26, 2001, reinstating the

1993 proposed rule and opening a 120-day public comment period (66 FR

66384).

Subsequently, we reopened the comment period on the 1993 proposed

rule twice, once on May 30, 2002 (67 FR 37752) and again on September

24, 2002 (67 FR 59809).

[[Page 9379]]

On January 3, 2003, we again published in the Federal Register a

decision to withdraw the November 29, 1993, proposed rule to list the

flat-tailed horned lizard as a threatened species (68 FR 331). The

Service found the lizard to be in danger of extirpation in the

Coachella Valley; however, we determined that the Coachella Valley is

not a significant portion of the species' range. We concluded in the

January 3, 2003, withdrawal that the flat-tailed horned lizard

populations on either side of the Imperial Valley/Salton Sea and in

Arizona were not likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future

and that listing the species was not warranted.

The Tucson Herpetological Society and others filed a complaint with

the District Court for the District of Arizona challenging the January

3, 2003, withdrawal of the proposed rule. In a ruling issued on August

30, 2005, the District Court for the District of Arizona issued an

order granting plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, citing our

failure to specifically evaluate the lost habitat of the flat-tailed

horned lizard, and whether the amount of lost habitat represented a

significant portion of the species' range. On December 7, 2005, we

published a document in the Federal Register reinstating the 1993

proposed rule (70 FR 72776). On March 2, 2006, we reopened the public

comment period on the 1993 proposed rule for the purpose of soliciting

comments and information relevant to the specific issue identified in

the District Court's November 2005 ruling (i.e., whether the flat-

tailed horned lizard's lost historical habitat rendered the species

likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future

throughout all or a significant portion of its range) (71 FR 10631). We

reopened an additional public comment period on the 2006 Federal

Register notice from April 21, 2006, to May 8, 2006 (71 FR 20637).

After re-examining the lost historical habitat of the flat-tailed

horned lizard in relation to our January 3, 2003, withdrawal, we

determined that the lost historical habitat is not a significant

portion of the species' range, and its loss does not result in the

species likely becoming endangered in the foreseeable future throughout

all or a significant portion of its range. We published our decision to

once again withdraw the November 29, 1993, proposed rule to list the

flat-tailed horned lizard as a threatened species on June 28, 2006 (71

FR 36745).

Following a supplemental complaint from Tucson Herpetological

Society and others challenging the 2006 withdrawal of the proposed rule

to list the flat-tailed horned lizard under the Act, the United States

District Court for the District of Arizona (the District Court) granted

summary judgment in favor of the Secretary of the Interior; however,

this ruling was appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In a ruling issued on May 18, 2009, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth

Circuit reversed the District Court's ruling when it determined that in

the context of the analysis of whether the lizard's lost historical

range constituted a significant portion of the species' range, the

administrative record did not support what the Court of Appeals for the

Ninth Circuit viewed as the Service's conclusion that flat-tailed

horned lizard populations were stable and viable throughout most of its

current range.

On November 3, 2009, the District Court remanded the 2006

withdrawal to the Service for further consideration and reinstated the

1993 proposal to list the species. The District Court ordered the

Service to complete this reconsideration within 12 months. The Service

will complete its review of the best available scientific and

commercial information, including information and comments submitted

during this comment period, as part of the remand process. We will then

complete a new listing determination. This document serves to notify

the public of the reinstatement of the 1993 proposed rule, announce

public hearings, and solicit information regarding the species and

threats to it and its habitat.

You may obtain copies of the original 1993 proposed rule, and other

previous Federal actions relating to the flat-tailed horned lizard by

mail from the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section), or on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/

Carlsbad, or by visiting the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov.

Author

The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the

Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT).

Authority

The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: February 17, 2010.

Daniel M. Ashe,

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 2010-4071 Filed 3-1- 10; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-S

[ADV Bum 205]

We should all just breed some these things and let them go.

[Spyder 2]

Forgive me for asking for an update on this as it is over a year old. The time for public comment has come and gone?

S

[KTMrad 513]

I'm not sure if they'll be scheduling new public meetings, but I think it's up for relisting as an ES, which means they probably will schedule more hearings.

I'll keep you posted when I find out more.

Another reason to support and join your local OHV groups who fight to keep our lands open, and so you know what is going on in the anti-motorized world.

[KTMrad 513]

From Ed at SDORC........

I have to apologize, I just talked to my contact at Fish and Wildlife and the link I found on the Fed Register is exactly one year old and has to do with last years beginning of this process.

Any day now (Supposed to have been out Feb 1 2011) it will take the next step and we will know if we have a fight on our hands.

Sorry for the confusion,

Ed

[bikeslut 1]

I can tell you: some animals are truly in need of protection, and they should receive it... other animals and plants are just pawns in a game some people play, and ALL they want to do is stop motorized use on public lands. They'll use any tactic to think of, JUST up to the point where it affects them...

[mctrails 38]

We should all just breed some these things and let them go.

No, actually that is the wrong thing to do. If we exterminate them all then they wont have anything to "protect" by closing everything down to everyone. The government is forcing us to act this way. It's just another way the government sanctions and works with the environmental terrorist groups to take away our rights and freedom.