[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 160 (Wednesday, August 19, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44417-44418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22261]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of 
Comment Period on the Proposed Endangered Status of Keck's Checker-
mallow

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), pursuant to the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), provides notice of 
the reopening of the comment period for the proposed endangered status 
for Keck's checker-mallow (Sidalcea keckii). The comment period has 
been reopened in response to a request from the Bureau of Reclamation.

DATES: Comments from all interested parties must be received by October 
5, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments, materials, data, and reports concerning 
this proposal should be sent to the Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish 
and Wildlife Office, 310 El Camino Avenue, Suite 130, Sacramento, 
California 95821-6340. Comments and materials received will be 
available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business 
hours, at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Fuller or Jan Knight, at the 
address above (telephone 916/979-2120; facsimile 916/979-2128).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The San Joaquin Valley of California is a large, north-south 
oriented, alluvial valley that is mostly farmed or urbanized. The San 
Joaquin Valley, from Stockton in the north to Bakersfield in the south, 
is approximately 515 kilometers (km) (320 miles (mi)) long and 217 km 
(135 mi) wide. Tulare County, one of ten counties in the San Joaquin 
Valley, is located toward the southern end of the valley. A single 
population of Sidalcea keckii occurs toward the southern end of the 
valley, in south-central Tulare County.
    Sidalcea keckii is a slender, hairy, erect annual herb belonging to 
the mallow family (Malvaceae). The species grows 1.5 to 3.3 decimeters 
(dm)(6 to 13 inches(in.)) tall. The lower leaf blades have 7 to 9 
shallow lobes. The upper leaves have a tapered base with 2 to 5 notches 
in the upper lobes. A few deep pink flowers, 10 to 20 millimeters (mm) 
(0.4 to 0.8 in.) wide, appear in April through May. Seeds are smooth 
and pink-tinted. Sidalcea keckii closely resembles four other annual 
species of Sidalcea--S. calycosa, S. diploscyha, S. hartwegii, and S. 
hirsuta. Sidalcea calycosa and S. diploscyha have ranges that overlap 
with S. keckii. Sidalcea keckii can be variously separated from similar 
species by the number and size of flowers, the arrangement of stamens, 
the lengths of the bract and calyx, the presence of an aggregation of 
linear stipules and bracts surrounding the flower at maturity, the size 
and shape of the stem leaves, the density of hairs on the stems, and 
the presence of a purplish spot on the flower (Hickman 1993).
    Wiggins (1940) described Sidalcea keckii from specimens collected 
in 1935 and 1938 near White River, Tulare County. Sidalcea keckii was 
known historically from three populations occurring between 120 to 425 
meters (m) (400 to 1,400 feet (ft)) in elevation, but it has not been 
seen at two of these population sites for about 53 years. It was 
considered to be extinct until 1992, when the third, and only extant, 
population of S. keckii was discovered by consultants conducting a site 
inventory as part of the environmental compliance prior to construction 
of a subdivision (Woodward and Clyde Consultants, 1992). The population 
of S.

[[Page 44418]]

keckii occurs on 20 to 40 percent slopes of red or white-colored clay 
in sparsely-vegetated annual grasslands. The clays are thought to be 
derived from serpentine (magnesian or ultramafic) soils. The population 
covers an area measuring 30 m by 100 m (100 ft by 320 ft) and had a 
total of only 60 plants in 1992. It occurs on a privately-owned, 280 
hectare (ha) (700 acre (ac)) parcel of land that is currently used for 
livestock grazing. Sidalcea keckii is threatened by urban development, 
agricultural land conversion (particularly to citrus orchards), and 
naturally occurring random events.
    On July 28, 1997, the Service published a proposed rule to list 
Sidalcea keckii as endangered. Although the original comment period was 
to close on September 26, 1997, the comment period was extended until 
November 10, 1997, to accommodate a request for a public hearing which 
was held in Visalia, California, on October 21, 1997. In a memo dated 
June 15, 1998, the Bureau of Reclamation requested that the comment 
period be reopened to allow the Service to consider new information 
regarding the distribution of S. keckii.

References Cited

Hickman, J.C. (editor) 1993. The Jepson Manual-higher plants of 
California. University of California Press. Berkley, California. 
1400 pp.
Wiggins, I. 1940. A new species of Sidalcea. Contributions to the 
Dudley Herbarium 3:55-56.
Woodward and Clyde Consultants. 1992. Focused biological surveys for 
eight target species in Tulare County. Unpublished report, Appendix 
J-1.

    Author. The primary author of this notice is Ken Fuller, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (see ADDRESSES section).

Authority

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

    Dated: August 10, 1998.
Michael J. Spear,
Manager, California and Nevada Operations Office.
[FR Doc. 98-22261 Filed 8-18-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P