[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54837-54838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-15508]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Recovery Plan for Camissonia benitensis (San Benito evening-
primrose)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of the Recovery Plan for Camissonia benitensis (San Benito 
evening-primrose). This plant species is found primarily in the Clear 
Creek Management Area (CCMA) in San Benito County, California; the CCMA 
is managed by the Hollister Field Office of the Bureau of Land 
Management.

ADDRESSES: Printed copies of this recovery plan will be available in 4 
to 6 weeks by request from the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, 2493 
Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003 (phone: 805/644-1766). 
An electronic copy of this recovery plan is now available on the World 
Wide Web at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Connie Rutherford, botanist, at 805/
644-1766.

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 our endangered species program. The 
Endangered Species Act (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. Recovery 
plans help guide the recovery effort by describing actions considered 
necessary for the conservation of the species, establishing criteria 
for downlisting or delisting listed species, and estimating time and 
cost for implementing the measures needed for recovery.
    Section 4(f) of the Act requires that public notice and an 
opportunity for

[[Page 54838]]

public review and comment be provided during recovery plan development. 
In fulfillment of this requirement, information presented during the 
public comment period and comments from peer reviewers have been 
considered in the preparation of this final recovery plan, and are 
summarized in Appendix D to the recovery plan. We will forward 
substantive comments regarding recovery plan implementation to 
appropriate Federal or other entities so they can take these comments 
into account during the course of implementing recovery actions.
    Camissonia benitensis was listed as threatened in 1985 and is 
associated with serpentine-derived soils within the San Benito 
serpentine body in the southern Coast Ranges of California. Populations 
of Camissonia benitensis are usually found on small streamside terraces 
that have formed at the base of slopes within watersheds that flow off 
of San Benito Mountain, which, at 5,247 feet (2,000 meters), is the 
highest point in this stretch of the Coast Ranges. The entire range of 
the species spans an area about 20 miles long and 5 miles wide.
    Camissonia benitensis is an ephemeral annual species whose numbers 
of individuals can fluctuate drastically from year to year. While 
favorable climatic conditions in an occasional year may result in tens 
of thousands of individuals, more often populations are small in 
numbers of individuals and in the amount of acreage they occupy.
    The primary threat to Camissonia benitensis is off-highway vehicle 
recreation activity in the CCMA. Although most terrace sites that 
support occupied or suitable habitat for the species have been 
administratively closed and either wholly or partially fenced by the 
Bureau, off-highway vehicles continue to access a certain number of 
these sites and cause direct damage to plants and their habitat. Other 
forms of recreation such as rock collecting, hunting, and nature hiking 
are comparatively minor threats. In addition, the natural erosion rate 
of the serpentine slopes above the terraces is exacerbated by human 
recreational activities that contribute to deposition on top of the 
terraces as well as erosion of the terraces due to sediment loading of 
streams and subsequent flooding.
    The objective of a recovery plan is to provide a framework for the 
recovery of the species so that protection by the Act is no longer 
necessary. Actions necessary to accomplish this objective include: (1) 
Protecting existing populations and suitable habitat, (2) reducing or 
eliminating soil erosion and stream sedimentation in the watersheds 
that support habitat for the species, (3) developing a species 
management plan that includes needed research and monitoring, (4) 
establishing an ex situ seed collection, and (5) developing and 
implementing a public outreach program.

Authority

    The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered 
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Steve Thompson,
Manager, California-Nevada Operations Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. E6-15508 Filed 9-18-06; 8:45 am]
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