[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 58 (Friday, March 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14745-14746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7390]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Availability of Draft Recovery Plan for Thirteen Plant Taxa From
the Northern Channel Islands for Review and Comment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability
for public review of a Draft Recovery Plan for Thirteen Plants from the
Northern Channel Islands. These plants occur on the Northern Channel
Islands and Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California in Santa
Barbara and Los Angeles Counties, California.
DATES: Comments received on the draft recovery plan by May 26, 1999
will be considered by the Service.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the draft recovery plan and written
comments and materials regarding this plan should be addressed to the
Field Supervisor, at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office: U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California
93003 (phone: 805/644-1766).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Thomas, Botanist, at the Ventura
address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Restoring endangered or threatened animals and plants to the point
where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their
ecosystems is a primary goal of the Service's endangered species
program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is working to
prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native to the
United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for
the conservation of the species, establish criteria for the recovery
levels for downlisting or delisting them, and estimated time and cost
for implementing the recovery measures needed.
The Endangered Species Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
(Act), requires the development of recovery plans for listed species
unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular
species. Section 4(f) of the Act as amended in 1988 requires that
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be
provided during recovery plan development. The Service will consider
all information presented during the public comment period prior to
approval of each new or revised recovery plan. Substantive technical
comments will result in changes to the plans. Substantive comments
regarding recovery plan implementation may not necessarily result in
changes to the recovery plans, but will be forwarded to appropriate
Federal or other entities so that they can take these comments into
account during the course of implementing recovery actions.
Individualized responses to comments will not be provided.
The 13 plants from the Northern Channel Islands addressed in this
draft recovery plan were included on the list of endangered and
threatened species
[[Page 14746]]
on July 31, 1997 (61FR40954). Hoffmann's rock-cress (Arabis hoffmannii)
(Munz) Rollins, Santa Rosa Island manzanita (Arctostaphylos
confertiflora) (Eastw.), island barberry (Berberis pinnata Lag. ssp.
insularis) (Munz), soft-leaved paintbrush (Castilleja mollis)
(Pennell), island bedstraw (Galium buxifolium) (Greene), Hoffmann's
slender-flowered gilia (Gilia tenuiflora Benth. ssp. hoffmannii)
(Eastw.) A.D. Grant & V.E. Grant, Santa Cruz Island bushmallow
(Malacothamnus fasciculatus) (Torr. & A.Gray) (Greene ssp. nesioticus)
(B.L. Rob. in A. Gray) Kearney, island malacothrix (Malacothrix
indecora Greene), Santa Cruz Island malacothrix (Malacothrix squalida
Greene), island phacelia (Phacelia insularis Munz ssp. insularis), and
Santa Cruz Island fringepod (Thysanocarpus conchuliferus Greene) were
listed as endangered and Santa Cruz Island dudleya (Dudleya nesiotica
Moran) and island rush-rose (Helianthemum greenei Robinson) were listed
as threatened. All 13 taxa are endemic to the Northern Channel Islands
(Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel), with the exception
of two populations of Helianthemum greenei that occur on the more
southerly island of Santa Catalina. The plants occur in a variety of
habitats: coastal terrace, coastal bluff scrub, coastal sage scrub, and
chaparral. All 13 plant species and their habitats have been variously
affected or are currently threatened by one or more of the following--
soil loss, historic and continuing habitat alteration by mammals alien
to the Channel Islands (pigs, goats, sheep, donkeys, cattle, deer, elk,
horses, bison); direct predation by these same alien mammals; habitat
alteration by native seabirds; competition with alien plant taxa; and
increased vulnerability to extinction due to reduced genetic viability,
depressed reproductive vigor, and the chance of stochastic extinction
resulting from small numbers of individuals and isolated populations.
The goal of this plan is to stabilize and protect existing
populations to allow for the downlisting of Arabis hoffmannii,
Arctostaphylos confertiflora, Berberis pinnata ssp. insularis,
Castilleja mollis, Galium buxifolium, Gilia tenuiflora ssp. hoffmannii,
Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nesioticus, Malacothrix indecora,
Malacothrix squalida, Phacelia insularis var. insularis, and
Thysanocarpus conchuliferus, and the delisting of Dudleya nesiotica and
Helianthemum greenei.
Public Comments Solicited
The Service solicits written comments on the draft recovery plan
described. All comments received by the date specified above will be
considered prior to approval of this plan.
Authority
The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Dated: March 22, 1999.
Michael J. Spear,
California/Nevada Operations Manager, Sacramento, California
[FR Doc. 99-7390 Filed 3-25-99; 8:45 am]
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