Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Extension of Comment Period and Public Hearings on Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for the Louisiana Black Bear

Résumé

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) gives notice that two public hearings will be held on the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Louisiana black bear, Ursus americanus luteolus. The Louisiana black bear occupies the Tensas and Atchafalaya River basins with possible remnant numbers in the lower Mississippi River Delta and the bluffs south of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The proposed critical habitat areas are limited to forests within the Tensas and Atchafalaya River basins and south of U.S. Highway 90, west from the lower Atchafalaya River along the coastline to the Vermillion Parish line, north to Highway 14, thence east to U.S. Highway 90. These hearings will allow additional comments on this proposal to be submitted from all interested parties.