[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 119 (Monday, June 22, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33901-33902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16500]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018-AC09
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of the
Comment Period on the Proposed Endangered Status and Notice of
Availability of the Draft Conservation Agreement for Review and Comment
for Pediocactus winkleri (Winkler cactus) in Central Utah
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service provides notice that the comment
period is reopened on a proposal to list Pediocactus winkleri (Winkler
cactus) as endangered, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(Act), as amended. The Service is reopening the comment period on this
proposal and any new information. In addition, the Service announces
the availability of a draft conservation agreement for Pediocactus
winkleri, also for public comment. This conservation agreement is
accessible on the internet at www.blm.gov\utah.
DATES: The comment period on this proposal and draft conservation
agreement is extended until July 22, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and materials concerning the proposal and
draft conservation agreement should be sent to the Field Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lincoln Plaza Suite 404, 145 East 1300
South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115. Comments and materials received will
be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal
business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John L. England at the above address (telephone 801/524-5001).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 6, 1993, the Service proposed to add Pediocactus
winkleri (Winkler cactus) to the list of endangered and threatened
plants (58 FR 52059). At that time Pediocactus winkleri was known from
six populations with a total population of about 3,500 plants with a
range in central Utah from near Notom in central Wayne County to near
Fremont Junction in southwestern Emery County.
Since the closing of the comment period on December 6, 1993, an
additional population has been discovered near Ferron in western Emery
County, Utah. In addition, additional plants have been documented
within previously known populations. While the documented numbers of
the species have increased little over the 1993 estimates, the Service
now estimates that the population may number up to 10,000 plants (Fish
and Wildlife Service 1994, 1997). The Bureau of Land Management and the
National Park Service initiated a comprehensive inventory of the
species within its potential habitat in the spring of 1998.
The Species continues to be exploited by cactus collectors. In
1984, the Service established a population monitoring transect for P.
winkleri in an easily accessible area that cactus collectors frequent
(Fish and Wildlife Service 1994, 1997). The Service has periodically
monitored this transect, usually at 2-year intervals. The P. winkeri
population along this transect declined from 53 plants 1984 to zero
plants in 1997. The Notom population's estimated size has declined from
about 2,000 individuals in 1984 (Heil 1984) to an estimated 700
individuals in 1997 (Fish and Wildlife Service 1997). The Service
during its 1997 survey of the Notom population discovered several
shovel marks within the occupied habitat of this species. These marks
were at the locations of plants last observed in 1994 and missing in
1997. Threats to species and its habitat, from off-highway vehicles,
mining and quarrying, oil and gas drilling, and livestock trampling,
continue with varying significance throughout the species range (Fish
and Wildlife Service 1997).
A moratorium on listing actions (Public Law 104-6) took effect
April 10, 1996, and prevented the Service from making a final decision
on this proposal by the August 1995 administrative deadline. The
moratorium was lifted on April 26, 1996, when the appropriation for the
Department of the Interior for the remainder of fiscal year 1996 was
enacted into law. In a Federal Register document published on May 16,
1996 (61 FR 24722), the Service outline in detail the history of the
moratorium and indicated the priorities it would follow in eliminating
the listing program backlog resulting from the moratorium. Preparation
of the final rule for this proposed species is considered a Tier 2
priority--processing final decisions on proposed listings. For more
information on the moratorium and the priority for backlogged listing
actions, refer to the May 16, 1996, Federal Register notice.
The Service does not believe that the new distributional and
population information has changed the status of the species. However,
we are reopening the comment period on the proposed rule to solicit
comments on this new information and request any additional information
on scientific studies conducted since the comment period last closed on
December 6, 1993.
The Draft Conservation Agreement was developed by the Bureau of
Land Management, in coordination with the Park Service, Forest Service,
and the Service. The agreement focuses on identifying, reducing and
eliminating significant threats to Pediocactus winkleri (and P.
Despainii, a listed species) that warrant its candidate status, and on
enhancing and maintaining the species population to ensure its long
term conservation. The Service also is seeking comments on the adequacy
of the proposed conservation agreement and whether or not the agreement
will satisfactorily provide for the species conservation independent of
the Endangered Species Act. The Service hereby announces reopening of
the comment period until July 22, 1998.
References Cited
Heil, K.D. 1984. Status report on Pediocactus winkleri. U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Denver, Colorado. 14 pp.
[[Page 33902]]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1994. Pediocactus winkleri status
report supplement. Salt Lake City, Utah. 12 pp.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1997. Pediocactus winkleri status
report supplement 2. Salt Lake City, Utah. 11 pp. + append.
Author: The primary author of this notice is John L. England (see
ADDRESSES above).
Authority.
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: June 15, 1998.
Terry T. Terrell,
Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 98-16500 Filed 6-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M