Endangered and Threatened Species; Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed Rule Governing Take of Four Threatened Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of West Coast Salmonids: California Central Valley Spring-run chinook; California Coastal chinook; Northern California steelhead; Central California Coast coho

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On August 17, 2001, NMFS proposed an Endangered Species Act (ESA) 4(d) protective rule for four threatened salmonid ESUs that occur in California. The proposed 4(d) rule would apply the take prohibitions in section 9(a)(1) of the ESA in most circumstances to California Central Valley spring chinook, California Coastal chinook, and Northern California steelhead which currently have no 4(d) protective regulation in place. However, for these three threatened ESUs, NMFS is proposing 10 categories of activities for which the take prohibitions would not apply. For the threatened Central California Coast coho salmon ESU, NMFS is proposing to amend the existing 4(d) rule to establish the same 10 limitations on the take prohibitions that are being proposed for the other threatened ESUs covered by this rule. This Federal Register document announces three public hearings that NMFS has scheduled to provide the public with opportunities to comment on the proposed protective rule and to provide information to the public about the rule.