Consultation responsibilities were divided, with the FWS performing consultation review for projects impacting the Gulf sturgeon in the riverine and estuarine habitats, and NMFS performing consultation review for projects affecting the species in marine habitats. Subpopulation estimates, calculated from sturgeon captures in 1999 and 2000 in the summer holding areas on the Pascagoula River, range between 162 and 216 individuals (Heise et al., 1999a; and Ross et al., 2001b). Critical Habitat is a term from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Comment 26: Three commenters had questions and concerns regarding boating and sturgeon with regard to records of boat strikes on sturgeon and options for regulating boat speed.
The Sepulga River main stem from Alabama County Road 42, Conecuh and Escambia Counties, Alabama, downstream to its confluence with the Conecuh River, Escambia County, Alabama, is also included. A severe loss of genetic variability may lead to a decline in the fitness of a species (Soulé, 1987). Pensacola Bay System in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, Florida, Unit 10. The recovery criteria put forth in this recovery plan were deemed preliminary and may now warrant revision in light of new information. The section of Holmes Creek from Boynton Cutoff to the mouth of Holmes Creek, Washington County, Florida, is included. (1996). (f) Unit 6: Apalachicola River System in Franklin, Gulf, Liberty, Calhoun, Jackson, and Gadsen Counties, Florida. The lateral extent of Unit 2 is the ordinary high water line on each bank of the associated rivers and shorelines. (1) Unit 3 includes the Conecuh River main stem beginning just downstream of the spillway of Point A Dam, Covington County, Alabama, downstream to the Florida State line, where its name changes to the Escambia River, Escambia County, Alabama, and Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, Florida.
The primary authors of this document are Patty Kelly, FWS, (850/769-0552, extension 228); and Stephania Bolden and Jennifer Lee, NMFS, (727/570-5312) (see ADDRESSES section). These lines are defined in 33 CFR 80, and have been used for identification purposes to delineate boundary lines of the estuarine and marine habitat Units 8, 9, 11, and 12. We accepted comments on the draft analysis until October 7, 2002. The benefits of including these areas in the critical habitat designation is low. On May 18, 2001, the President issued Executive Order 13211, which applies to “Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use.” In order to ensure that Federal agencies “appropriately weigh and consider the effects of the Federal government's regulations on the supply, distribution, and use of energy,” the President has directed agencies to prepare and submit to the OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs a “Statement of Energy Effects” for their “significant energy actions.” The OMB has provided guidance for implementing this Executive Order that outlines nine outcomes that may constitute “a significant adverse effect” when compared with the regulatory action under consideration: (1) Reductions in crude oil supply in excess of 10,000 barrels per day; (2) Reductions in fuel production in excess of 4,000 barrels per day; (3) Reductions in coal production in excess of 5 million tons per year; (4) Reductions in natural gas production in excess of 25 million mcf; (5) Reductions in electricity production in excess of 1 billion kilowatts per year or in excess of 500 megawatts of installed capacity; (6) Increases in energy use required by the regulatory action that exceed the thresholds above; (7) Increases in the cost of energy production in excess of one percent; (8) Increases in the cost of energy distribution in excess of one percent; or. We received written letters or e-mails from a total of 126 parties which included 2 congressional representatives from Georgia, 10 Federal agencies, 13 State agencies, 5 county governments, 93 groups or individuals, and 3 peer reviewers. Unit 1 also includes the Bogue Chitto River main stem, a tributary of the Pearl River, from Mississippi State Highway 570, Pike County, Mississippi, downstream to its confluence with the West Pearl River, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. comm. The eastern boundary is the Florida State Highway 399 Bridge at Gulf Breeze, Florida. All other bayous, creeks, and rivers are excluded at their mouths/entrances. Comment 43: One commenter suggested that uncertainty over the spatial and temporal scale that would be involved in future application of the destruction or adverse modification standard should be acknowledged, that costs could depend upon whether that standard is applied to the designated critical habitat as a whole, within individual units, or some other scale, and whether the standard would be triggered by temporary or long term impacts. Since listing, the FWS has conducted 320 informal and 14 formal consultations, and NMFS has conducted 70 informal and 4 formal consultations involving Gulf sturgeon. Our Response: The commenter provided no data to support why these two areas may be essential. The Intracoastal Waterway transects the sound. cited in Wakeford, 2001). (in prep.)
Pascagoula River System in Forrest, Perry, Greene, George, Jackson, Clarke, Jones, and Wayne Counties, Mississippi, Unit 3. 2001). 2002; and F. Parauka, pers. Take of Gulf sturgeon that is not authorized (e.g., through a section 7 consultation or through an incidental take permit) is unlawful. Therefore, we have not included them as critical habitat. The eastern boundary is the line of longitude 88°18.8′W from its intersection with the shore (Point aux Pins) to its intersection with the southern boundary. Unit 4. on The lateral extent of Unit 7 is the ordinary high water line on each bank of the associated rivers and shorelines. Mortality rates of Gulf sturgeon gametes and embryos are highest when temperatures are 25 °C (77 °F) and above (Chapman and Carr, 1995) (see “Reproduction” section for more detail). Such assessments are highly site and fact specific and the information about the species and its habitat is continually expanding. Lake Pontchartrain is divided into eastern and western areas by the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (a twin highway bridge supported by pilings extending 33.6 km (20.9 mi) from the north to the south). At one time, the Tampa Bay area produced large commercial landings of Gulf sturgeon. Based on movement patterns, it appears these Gulf sturgeon were feeding in the nearshore Gulf of Mexico on route to their natal rivers. However, the state of our knowledge regarding Gulf sturgeon biology and distribution has changed markedly since publication of the recovery plan for this species. The western boundary is the Florida State Highway 292 Bridge crossing Big Lagoon to Perdido Key. 2001). Chapman et al. comm. We are hereby certifying that this rule designating critical habitat for the Gulf sturgeon will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The lateral extent of Unit 5 is the ordinary high water line on each bank of the associated rivers and shorelines. comm. All of these alternatives increase the cost of transporting goods. In this Issue, Documents
2002; and Hightower et al., in press ). These winter migrations are an important strategy for feeding and for occasional travel to non-natal rivers for possible spawning and resultant genetic interchange among subpopulations. Comment 56: One commenter stated that the proposed action serves to provide an additional layer of bureaucracy without any tangible benefits and appears to be a redundant and reaction to litigation filed against the Services in 1994 by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and the Florida Wildlife Federation. Comment 14: Two commenters requested that the Services omit areas adjacent to military lands from the designation under the Act's section 4(b)(2). Foster and Clugston (1997) noted that telemetered Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River returned to the same areas as the previous summer, and suggested that chemical cuing may influence distribution. We, FWS and NMFS, collectively “the Services,” designate critical habitat for the Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), a threatened species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).We designate 14 geographic areas among the Gulf of Mexico rivers and tributaries as critical habitat for the Gulf sturgeon. comm. In sum, the Services believe that a critical habitat designation for the Gulf sturgeon would provide a relatively low level of additional regulatory conservation benefit to the species. It is a nearly cylindrical primitive fish embedded with bony plates or scutes. Confirmed use for spawning and use as a summer holding area support the inclusion of the Bouie River as critical habitat. On June 8, 1992, a commercial shrimp fisherman provided anecdotal information that he and other shrimp fishermen, had caught hundreds of Gulf sturgeon, with estimated weights generally between 22.7 to 27.2 kg (50 to 60 lbs), in the same location, each spring (April, May, and June), for the past thirty years (1962 to 1992) (F. Parauka, pers.
The Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus (=oxyrhynchus) desotoi), also known as the Gulf of Mexico sturgeon, is an anadromous fish (breeding in freshwater after migrating up rivers from marine and estuarine environments), inhabiting coastal rivers from Louisiana to Florida during the warmer months and overwintering in estuaries, bays, and the Gulf of Mexico. The historical range is thought to have b 2001; and G. Morgan, Conecuh National Forest, pers. The RPAs must be capable of being implemented in a manner consistent with the intended purpose of the action, be consistent with the action agency's legal authority and jurisdiction, and be economically and technically feasible. The Suwannee River system is unique among Gulf sturgeon river systems in that the river flows directly into the Suwannee Sound and Gulf of Mexico without any intervening barrier islands.
documents in the last year, 742 As described in the draft economic analysis, all areas included in the designated critical habitat are occupied, with the fish also occurring in areas not included in the critical habitat designation. All of the main stem of the Pascagoula River from its confluence with the Leaf and Chickasawhay Rivers, George County, Mississippi, to the discharge of the East and West Pascagoula Rivers into Pascagoula Bay, Jackson County, Mississippi, is included.