Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Remanded Determination of Status for the Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus)

On January 6, 1994, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposed to list the Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus), a fish species native to central California, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We published a final rule to list the species as threatened on February 8, 1999. Our final decision to list the Sacramento splittail was subsequently challenged in the cases San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Anne Badgley, et al. and State Water Contractors, et al. v. Michael Spear, et al. On June 23, 2000, the Federal Eastern District Court of California found our final rule to be unlawful and on September 22, 2000, remanded the determination back to us for a re- evaluation of our final decision. However, because the District Court did not vacate our previous final decision, the decision remained in place until we issued a new determination. After a thorough review and consideration of all the best scientific and commercial information available, we are removing the Sacramento splittail from the list of threatened species. In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, the Service has determined that this rule relieves an existing restriction, and good cause exists to make the effective date of this rule immediate.