[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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