[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 7, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12531-12532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5484]



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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public 
Hearing and Reopening of Public Comment Period on Proposed Endangered 
or Threatened Status for Four Southwestern California Plants

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides notice that a 
public hearing will be held and the comment period reopened on proposed 
endangered status for Atriplex coronata var. notatior (San Jacinto 
Valley crownscale) and Allium munzii (Munz's onion), and proposed 
threatened status for Brodiaea filifolia (thread-leaved brodiaea) and 
Navarretia fossalis (spreading navarretia). The Service also proposes 
critical habitat for Atriplex coronata var. notatior. All parties are 
invited to comment on this proposal.

DATES: The public hearing will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and from 
6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, 1995, in Riverside, 
California. The public comment period now closes on May 20, 1995. Any 
comments received by the closing date will be considered in the final 
decision on this proposal.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at the Holiday Inn, Empire 
Ballroom, 3400 Market Street, Riverside, 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 normal business 
hours, by appointment, at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Field Supervisor (see ADDRESSES 
section) at (619) 431-9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Allium munzii (Munz's onion), a member of the lily family, is a 
white-flowered, single-leaved, scapose perennial originating from a 
bulb. A. munzii is restricted to mesic clay soils in western Riverside 
County, California. It is frequently associated with southern 
needlegrass grassland, mixed grassland, and open coastal sage scrub, or 
occasionally in cismontane juniper woodlands. Twelve populations are 
currently known.
    Atriplex coronata var. notatior (San Jacinto Valley crownscale or 
saltbush) is a low, grey-green, erect annual member of the goosefoot 
family. It is restricted to the Traver-Domino-Willows alkaline soils 
series of the San Jacinto, Perris, and Menifee Valleys of western 
Riverside County, California, in association with alkali sink, alkali 
playa, vernal pools, and alkali grassland habitats. This taxon occurs 
at 10 population centers. The number of individuals in any given year 
vary widely, depending on available rainfall, and the duration and 
extent of flooding.
    Brodiaea filifolia (thread-leaved brodiaea), a member of the lily 
family, is a lavender-flowered scapose perennial herb. It typically 
occurs on gentle slopes, and in valleys and flood plains associated 
with mesic, southern needlegrass grassland and alkali grassland plant 
communities growing on clay, loamy sand, or alkaline silty-clay soils. 
The species is distributed in widely disjunct populations from the 
foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, 
California, east to the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains in 
San Bernardino County, south through western Riverside and eastern 
Orange Counties to central coastal San Diego County. About 18 out of 27 
historical populations are known to exist throughout its range. The 
majority of the populations are centered on the Santa Rosa Plateau, 
Riverside County, California, and in the vicinity of Carlsbad, Vista, 
and San Marcos, San Diego County, California.
    Navarretia fossalis (spreading navarretia) is a low, white-flowered 
annual of the phlox family that is found primarily in association with 
vernal pools, alkali grassland, and vernal alkali flood plains. N. 
fossalis is known from a single occurrence in Los Angeles County, 
California, the lowlands of western Riverside County, California, and 
coastal San Diego County south into northwestern Baja California, 
Mexico. Fewer than 30 populations of this species are known in the 
United States. These populations are concentrated in three locations: 
Otay Mesa in southern San Diego County, near Hemet and along the San 
Jacinto River in Riverside County.
    These species are threatened by one or more of the following 
factors: Habitat destruction and fragmentation from agricultural and 
urban development, pipeline construction, alterations of wetland 
hydrology by draining or channelization, clay mining, off-road vehicle 
activity, cattle and sheep [[Page 12532]] grazing, weed abatement, fire 
suppression practices, competition from alien plant species, and the 
inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms.
    On December 15, 1994, the Service published a proposed rule on 
endangered status for Atriplex coronata var. notatior and Allium 
munzii, proposed threatened status for Brodiaea filifolia and 
Navarretia fossalis, and critical habitat for Atriplex coronata var. 
notatior (59 FR 64812). Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Endangered Species 
Act requires that a public hearing be held if it is requested within 45 
days of the publication of the proposed rule. Public hearing requests 
were received from several requestors. As a result, the Service has 
scheduled a public hearing on Thursday, March 23, 1995, at the Holiday 
Inn, Empire Ballroom, 3400 Market Street, Riverside, California.
    Anyone wishing to make statements for the record should bring a 
written copy of their statements to the hearing. Oral statements may be 
limited in length if the number of parties present at the hearing 
necessitates such a limitation. Oral and written comments receive equal 
consideration. The Service places no limits on the length of written 
comments or materials presented at the hearing or mailed to the 
Service.
    The comment period on the proposal was to close on February 13, 
1995. To accommodate the hearing, the public comment period is reopened 
upon publication of this notice. Written comments may now be submitted 
until May 20, 1995, to the Service in the ADDRESSES section.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended: (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)

    Dated: February 28, 1995.
Thomas J. Dwyer,
Regional Director, Region 1, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 95-5484 Filed 3-6-95; 8:45 am]
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