Fish & Boat Commission To Hold Public Meeting March 2 On Proposed Mussels Listing

The Fish and Boat Commission has scheduled a public meeting for March 2, in western Pennsylvania to receive public comments on the agency’s proposal to list five mussel species as threatened or endangered.

 

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Kittanning Township Fire Department located at 13126 Route 422 in Kittanning, Pa.

 

The Commission also published a notice to extend the comment period for listing the five mussel species as threatened or endangered.

 

Following a formal presentation by Commission staff, the public will be invited to comment. Individual comments will be limited to five minutes in duration due to time constraints. The Commission also will accept written comments at that time.

 

At its quarterly meeting on January 31, 2009, the agency’s board of commissioners voted to postpone action on the listing of the five mussel species as threatened or endangered until the quarterly meeting on April 20-21, 2009. The proposal would add the Salamander Mussel (Simpsonaias ambigua), Rabbitsfoot (Quadrula cylindrica cylindrical) and Snuffbox (Epioblasma triquetra) to the Pennsylvania endangered species list and would add the Sheepnose (Plethobasus cyphyus) and Rayed bean (Villosa fabalis) to the Pennsylvania threatened species list.

 

In addition, the Commission has extended the public comment period until March 15 to allow for additional public involvement.

 

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, objections or suggestions about the proposed rulemaking to the Executive Director, Fish and Boat Commission, P.O. Box 67000,

Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000, until March 15. Comments submitted by facsimile will not be accepted.

 

Comments also may be submitted electronically by completing the form online. If an acknowledgment of electronic comments is not received by the sender within two working days, the comments should be retransmitted to ensure receipt. Electronic comments submitted in any other manner will not be accepted.

 

For more information, visit the special mussel webpage.