Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Extension of Comment Period on Threatened Status for Copperbelly Water Snake

Background

A proposed rule to list the copperbelly water snake (sometimes referred to as the northern copperbelly water snake) as threatened was published on August 18, 1993 (58 FR 43860). A public hearing on the proposal was held in Indianapolis on April 4, 1994. The current comment period began on July 16, 1996, and closes on September 16, 1996. On April 10, 1995, Public Law 104-06 imposed a moratorium which prevented the addition of any species to the Threatened and Endangered Species List. Thus, the Service was prevented from making a final decision on the proposed threatened classification of the copperbelly water snake. The moratorium remained in effect until April 26, 1996, at which time Public Law 104-134 was enacted, providing for the termination of the listing moratorium by the President. The Service is required to use the best available scientific and commercial data in making listing determinations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The Service's Final Listing Priority Guidance, published May 16, 1996, (61 FR 24722) notes that the inaction forced upon the Service by the moratorium and related funding limitations may result in a need to reopen comment periods due to unresolved questions or the potential for the existence of new information. Pursuant to this Guidance, the Service reopened the comment period on July 16, 1996, (61 FR 37034) for 60 days to ensure that the best scientific and commercial information currently available would be used in making a final listing determination for the copperbelly water snake. The Service has contracted for a report on the current biological status of the northern population (southern Michigan and the adjacent portions of Indiana and Ohio) of the copperbelly water snake. This report has not yet been completed. Due to the expected importance of this updated information in evaluating the status of the northern populations, the Service is extending the current comment period so that the report will be available and reviewed by the Service prior to making a final listing decision. Parties wishing to receive a copy of the northern population report were asked, in the July 16, 1996, Federal Register notice, to furnish their address to the Service; copies of the report will be sent to those parties when the report is received by the Service. During this comment period the Service has been working with representatives of the coal industry, the Farm Bureau Federation, State fish and wildlife resource agencies, and State surface mining regulatory agencies to develop conservation plans for the copperbelly water snake and its habitat in Illinois, Kentucky, and southern Indiana. These efforts have been productive and will be continued during the extended comment period. The scope and success of these and other conservation actions will be taken into consideration when the Service makes its final listing decision.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Ronald L. Refsnider, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Endangered Species, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056 (612-725-3536).

Authority

Authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: September 12, 1996. John A. Blankenship, Acting Regional Director, Region 3, Ft. Snelling, MN. [FR Doc. 96-23865 Filed 9-16-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-M