[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 185 (Monday, September 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23555]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 26, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public 
Hearing and Extension of Public Comment Period on Three Proposed Rules 
To List Four Species as Endangered and One Species as Threatened

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing and extension of public 
comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended, gives notice that a public hearing 
will be held on the proposed endangered status for the San Diego fairy 
shrimp, Quino checkerspot butterfly, Laguna Mountains skipper 
butterfly, and Downingia concolor var. brevior and on the proposed 
threatened status for Limnanthes gracilis ssp. parishii. The hearing 
will allow all interested parties to submit oral or written comments on 
these proposals.

DATES: A public hearing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 
October 19, 1994, in Rancho Bernardo (North County San Diego), 
California. The public comment period will be extended to October 31, 
1994. Comments from all interested parties must be received by October 
31, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The hearing on Wednesday, October 19, 1994, will be held at 
the Radisson Hotel, 11520 West Bernardo Court, Rancho Bernardo (North 
County San Diego), California. Written comments and materials may be 
submitted at the hearing or may be sent directly to the Field 
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730 Loker Avenue West, 
Carlsbad, California 92008. Comments and materials received will be 
available for public inspection during business hours by appointment, 
at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gail Kobetich, (telephone 619/431-9440).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Laguna Mountains skipper, a small butterfly within the skipper 
family (Hesperiidae), is about 3 centimeters (cm) (1 inch) in length 
and distinguished from other subspecies by extensive white wing 
markings. The Laguna Mountains skipper occurs in open meadows of pine 
forest and is currently found at one site in the Laguna Mountains and 
one site on Mount Palomar in San Diego County.
    The Quino checkerspot, is a small member of the brush-footed 
butterfly family (Nymphalidae). It is about 3 cm (1 inch) in length and 
checkered with dark brown, reddish, and yellowish spots. The Quino 
checkerspot is restricted to sunny openings on clay soils formed from 
gabbro parent materials within shrubland habitats of the interior 
foothills of southwestern California and northwestern Baja California, 
Mexico. The Quino checkerspot may have been one of the most abundant 
butterflies in San Diego, Orange, and western Riverside Counties during 
the early part of the twentieth century. Currently five to six 
populations remain in San Diego and southern Riverside Counties.
    The San Diego fairy shrimp, is a member of the Branchinectidae, a 
freshwater crustacean, family in the Order Anostraca (fairy shrimp). It 
is a small and delicate animal with large stalked compound eyes, no 
carapace, and 11 pairs of swimming legs. The San Diego fairy shrimp is 
restricted to vernal pools in San Diego County from San Marcos and 
Ramona south to Otay Mesa and at Valle de Palmas in northwestern Baja 
California, Mexico.
    Downingia concolor var. brevior, is a low, blue-flowered annual 
that is restricted to grassy meadows that are vernally wet (wet during 
the rainy season) with saturated soil conditions. It is restricted to 
the Cuyamaca Valley in the vicinity of Cuyamaca Lake, San Diego County. 
Limnanthes gracilis var. parishii, is a low, widely-branching annual 
with white flowers. There are fewer than 20 population of L. gracilis 
ssp. parishii in the Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Laguna Mountains and on 
Santa Rosa Plateau. The largest population, which includes most of the 
individuals, is found in the Cuyamaca Valley.
    These species are threatened by one or more of the following 
factors: grazing, habitat destruction and fragmentation from 
agricultural and urban development, alteration of wetlands, 
recreational activities, collection by lepidopterists and other human 
disturbances, stochastic events, exotic plants, and the inadequacy of 
existing regulatory mechanisms.
    On August 4, 1994, the Service published three rules in the Federal 
Register that proposed the Laguna Mountains skipper and Quino 
checkerspot as endangered (59 FR 39868), the San Diego fairy shrimp as 
endangered (59 FR 39874), and Downingia concolor var. brevior as 
endangered and Limnanthes gracilis ssp. parishii as threatened (59 FR 
39879). In response to a formal request from William Hazeltine, 
environmental consultant, Oroville, California, the Service has 
scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday, October 19, 1994 at the 
Radisson Hotel, 11520 West Bernardo Court, Rancho Bernardo (North 
County San Diego), California.
    Those parties wishing to make a statement for the record should 
bring a copy of their statement to present to the Service at the start 
of the hearing. Oral statements may be limited in length, if the number 
of parties present at the hearing necessitates such a limitation. There 
are, however, no limits to the length of written comments or materials 
presented at the hearing or mailed to the Service. Written comments 
will be given the same weight as oral comments. Written comments may be 
submitted at the hearing or mailed to the address given in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice. The comment period closes on October 
31, 1994.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended: (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C. 
4201-4245; Pub. L. 99-625, 100 Stat. 3500), unless otherwise noted.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, and Transportation.

(Proposed Rule and Notice of Public Hearing: San Diego fairy shrimp, 
Quino checkerspot, Laguna Mountains skipper, Downingia concolor var. 
brevior; endangered without critical habitat; Limnanthes gracilis 
ssp. parishii, threatened without critical habitat.)

    Dated: September 19, 1994.
Thomas Dwyer,
Acting Regional Director, Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-23555 Filed 9-23-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M