Department of the Interior July 31, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of guidance to promote implementation of the Endangered Species Act. The guidance describes a crediting framework for Federal agencies in carrying out recovery measures for threatened and endangered species. The text of the guidance is included in this notice. Under the guidance, Federal agencies may show how adverse effects of agency activities to a listed species are offset by beneficial effects of actions taken elsewhere for that species. The combined effects of the adverse and beneficial actions must provide a net benefit to the recovery of the species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to revise designated critical habitat for marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). On May 24, 1996, we designated 3,887,800 ac (ac) (1,573,340 hectares (ha)) as critical habitat for the marbled murrelet in Washington, Oregon, and California. We are proposing to revise currently designated critical habitat for the marbled murrelet by removing approximately 254,070 ac (102,820 ha) in northern California and Oregon from the 1996 designation, based on new information indicating that these areas do not meet the definition of critical habitat. This action, if adopted in its entirety, would result in a revised designation of approximately 3,633,800 ac (1,470,550 ha) as critical habitat for the marbled murrelet. In this rule, we are further proposing, under the Act, a taxonomic revision of the scientific name of the marbled murrelet from Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus to Brachyramphus marmoratus.