[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 82 (Friday, April 28, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20950-20952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10579]
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[[Page 20951]]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018-AB83
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Withdrawal of
Proposed Rule to List the Plant Salix arizonica (Arizona Willow) as
Endangered With Critical Habitat
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) withdraws a proposal
to list the plant Salix arizonica (Arizona willow) as an endangered
species with critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (Act). The Service finds that evidence now available,
discussed below, does not justify listing of the species as proposed.
Additional field surveys have provided new data indicating that the
species has a wider distribution and greater abundance than previously
known. A multi-agency ``Arizona Willow Conservation Agreement and
Strategy'' (AWCAS) signed April 7, 1995, has been developed that
commits several Federal and State agencies to specific actions to
immediately reduce site-specific threats, to provide long-term
protection and habitat improvement, and to carry out proactive
conservation actions. The White Mountain Apache Tribe (Tribe) has
developed the ``Arizona Willow Management Plan: An Interim Approach to
High-Elevation Riparian and Cienega Ecosystem Management on the Fort
Apache Indian Reservation'' which is consistent with, and complementary
to, the strategies and intent set forth in the AWCAS. Although Arizona
willow is still considered rare and potentially vulnerable, the new
distribution data in combination with the management commitments in the
AWCAS and the tribal plan, reduce the relative magnitude and severity
of threats to the species so that listing is no longer considered
warranted.
ADDRESSES: The complete file for this notice is available for public
inspection by appointment, during normal business hours, at the Arizona
Ecological Service's State Office, 2321 West Royal Palm Road., Suite
103, Phoenix, Arizona, 85021-4951.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce K. Palmer, at the above address
(602/640-2720).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 20, 1992, the Service published a proposal to list the
Arizona willow as endangered with critical habitat (57 FR 54747). At
that time the species was known only from high elevation streams and
wet meadows in the Mount Baldy vicinity of Apache County, Arizona,
located primarily on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests and the
Fort Apache Indian Reservation (Reservation). Threats identified in the
proposed rule included livestock and wildlife impacts, water
impoundments and diversions, roads, recreational use, development and
maintenance of ski resort facilities, disease, alteration of natural
hydrologic regimes, and changes in species composition and structure of
the riparian community, including invasion of nonnative vegetation
(especially Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis) brought about by
historic and current livestock use.
In June 1993, following publication of the proposal, the Service
was notified of a previously misidentified herbarium specimen of
Arizona willow collected in 1913 from the then-named ``Sevier Forest''
in southern Utah. Preliminary surveys in Utah during the summer of 1993
by the Service did not locate Arizona willow. Surveys initiated by the
U.S. Forest Service (FS) resulted in rediscovery of Arizona willow in
Utah on June 30, 1994. Subsequent FS surveys documented Arizona willow
on the Dixie and Fishlake National Forests, Cedar Breaks National
Monument, and adjacent private land. The extent of some individual
populations of Arizona willow plants in Utah far exceeds all
populations in Arizona.
On September 6, 1994, the Regional Foresters of the Southwestern
and Intermountain Regions of the FS and the Regional Director of the
Service's Southwest Region made a joint decision to develop a
conservation agreement for Arizona willow on Federal lands to ensure
the long-term conservation of the species throughout its range. This
also required the participation of several non-Federal partners
(Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) and Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources (UDWR)). A FS policy statement, jointly issued by the
Regional Foresters of the Southwestern and Intermountain Regions on
December 19, 1994, initiated actions to reduce threats on the National
Forests (NF), including designation of FS representation on the Arizona
Willow Interagency Technical Team. The Arizona Willow Interagency
Technical Team was formed to develop and implement the AWCAS.
Concurrent with the development of a conservation strategy for
Arizona willow on Federal lands, the Tribe has developed a management
plan that addresses the conservation of Arizona willow on the
Reservation. The Tribe's ``Arizona Willow Management Plan: An Interim
Approach to High-Elevation Riparian and Cienega Ecosystem Management on
the Fort Apache Indian Reservation'' is consistent with, and
complementary to, the strategies and intent set forth in the AWCAS.
Specific protection to Arizona willow from cattle herbivory is
provided on NF's and Reservation lands. Arizona willow is protected
through rested pastures, livestock exclusion fencing, and/or
construction of protective cages. On FS lands, no livestock use of any
pasture is allowed without implementation of specific actions to
protect Arizona willow. Management plans for each FS allotment that
includes Arizona willow habitat will be revised within the guidelines
set forth in the AWCAS prior to removal of site-specific protections.
Herbivory by wildlife, especially elk in Arizona, has been
identified as a threat to Arizona willow. The AGFD has implemented
strategies to reduce elk herd sizes within Arizona willow habitats in
Arizona, and have committed to maintain stable or continued reductions
of herd sizes pending results of herbivory studies. The Tribe has also
initiated actions to stabilize elk herd size. Both the AGFD and the
UDWR have provided specific commitments to aggressively manage wildlife
populations consistent with monitoring and research information on
Arizona willow.
Arizona willow habitat is further conserved through other measures,
including the application of FS Standards and Guidelines, and the White
Mountain Apache Tribe Codes and Tribal Council Resolutions. These
protection actions provide for buffers from timber harvest activities,
road closures and off-road vehicle restrictions, relocation of
recreational trails; restrictions on dispersed camping, and
informational signing.
Detailed monitoring of Arizona willow and a variety of research
projects and studies on its population biology and ecology are being
undertaken to fully understand the implications of land management
actions. Such studies are being implemented through various cooperative
efforts by the Apache-Sitgreaves NFs, Dixie NF, Fishlake NF, Rocky
Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Cedar Breaks National
Monument, White Mountain Apache Tribe, AGFD, UDWR, and the
[[Page 20952]] Service. These studies will help determine appropriate
management practices and identify suitable areas for expanding and
augmenting depauperate populations.
The designation of special management areas, such as Botanical
Areas, Research Natural Areas, and essential habitat, are being
evaluated and incorporated into a review process under the National
Environmental Policy Act. Special management area designation assures
the priority of Arizona willow management and long-term conservation of
the species within a multiple-use land management framework.
Continued implementation of the AWCAS for management of Arizona
willow on the Apache-Sitgreaves NFs, Dixie NF, Fishlake NF, and Cedar
Breaks National Monument, and the implementation of the ``Arizona
Willow Management Plan: An Interim Approach to High-Elevation Riparian
and Cienega Ecosystem Management on the Fort Apache Indian
Reservation'' are expected to accomplish significant conservation of
Arizona willow without its being listed.
The Service has determined that Arizona willow does not warrant
listing under the Act and places this plant in category 3C of the plant
notice of review. Category 3C species are those species for which
information now in the possession of the Service indicates that the
species is more abundant or widespread than previously thought and for
which substantial threats do not exist. If further research or changes
in habitat indicate a significant decline in the species, it may again
be included in categories 1 or 2, and its listing status may be
reevaluated.
Author
The primary author of this proposed rule is Bruce K. Palmer (see
ADDRESSES section).
Authority
The authority for this action is section 4(b)(6)(B)(ii) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: April 25, 1995.
Mollie H. Beattie,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 95-10579 Filed 4-27-95; 8:45 am]
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