[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10830-10831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04138]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2013-N214; 80221-1113-0000-C2]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Recovery 
Plan for Tidal Marsh Ecosystems of Northern and Central California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: 

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Notice of document availability.

SUMMARY:  We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of the final recovery plan for three endangered plants, 
Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum (Suisun thistle), Chloropyron 
molle ssp. molle (soft bird's-beak), and Suaeda californica (California 
sea-blite), and two endangered animals, California clapper rail (Rallus 
longirostris obsoletus) and salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys 
raviventris). The recovery plan includes recovery objectives and 
criteria, and specific actions necessary to achieve downlisting and 
delisting from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 
and Plants.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the recovery plan from our Web site 
at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html. 
Alternatively, you may contact the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-2605, 
Sacramento, CA 95825 (telephone 916-414-6700).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Jennifer Norris, Field Supervisor, at 
the above street address or telephone number (see ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Recovery of 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 and the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.). Recovery means improvement of the status of listed species to 
the point at which listing is no longer appropriate under the criteria 
specified in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. The Act requires the 
development of recovery plans for listed species, unless such a plan 
would not promote the conservation of a particular species.
    The three plants, Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum, Chloropyron 
molle ssp. molle, and Suaeda californica, along with both animals, 
California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse, inhabit tidal 
marsh ecosystems in central California. We listed C. hydrophilum var. 
hydrophilum and C. molle ssp. molle on November 20, 1997 (62 FR 61916), 
and S. californica on December 15, 1994 (59 FR 64613). C. molle ssp. 
molle is the currently accepted scientific name for this species, 
although the species was originally listed under the scientific name 
Cordylanthus mollis ssp. mollis and remains listed that way in the List 
of Endangered and Threatened Plants at 50 CFR 17.12(h). However, we 
will soon issue a proposed rule to update the taxonomy for this species 
on the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants, so throughout the rest 
of this document we refer to this species with the scientific name C. 
molle ssp. molle.
    We listed the California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse 
on October 13, 1970 (35 FR 16047). A recovery plan for the California 
clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse was published on November 16, 
1984 (USFWS 1984, pp. 1-141). However, since a substantial amount of 
additional information is now available, it is appropriate to revise 
the plan to incorporate this new information, and to add the more 
recently listed plant species into the recovery program. Further, the 
plan has been expanded to include a comprehensive restoration and 
management component of the tidal marsh ecosystems of the area.
    In addition to the five entities above, the Tidal Marsh Ecosystems 
of Northern and Central California recovery plan includes information 
related to Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum (salt marsh bird's-
beak), which we listed as endangered on September 28, 1978 (43 FR 
44810). C. maritimum ssp. maritimum is the

[[Page 10831]]

currently accepted scientific name for this species, although the 
species was originally listed under the scientific name Cordylanthus 
maritimus ssp. maritimus and remains listed that way in the List of 
Endangered and Threatened Plants at 50 CFR 17.12(h). However, we will 
soon issue a proposed rule to update the taxonomy for this species on 
the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants, so throughout the rest of 
this document we refer to this species with the scientific name C. 
maritimum ssp. maritimum. The northern range limit of C. maritimum ssp. 
maritimum is in Morro Bay; however, Morro Bay was omitted from the Salt 
Marsh Bird's-Beak Recovery Plan (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1985a) 
because the taxonomic interpretation at the time classified this 
population in another subspecies that is not federally listed. Current 
taxonomic interpretation considers the Morro Bay population as C. 
maritimum ssp. maritimum. Therefore, we include recovery goals for this 
northern population.
    Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide an opportunity for 
public review and comment prior to finalization of recovery plans, 
including revisions to such plans. We made the draft of this revised 
recovery plan available for public comment from February 10, 2010 to 
June 10, 2010 (75 FR 6696). We considered all information we received 
during the public comment period and revised the recovery plan 
accordingly.

Species Information

Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum

    Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum was once widespread in Suisun 
Marsh, but, due to habitat loss, in the last two decades has been found 
in only four localities: Grizzly Island, Peytonia Slough, Rush Ranch, 
and Hill Slough. These populations have been in decline since the 1990s 
and 2000s.

Chloropyron molle ssp. molle

    Chloropyron molle ssp. molle, though threatened by past habitat 
loss, retains populations in the tidal marshes of Napa-Sonoma, Point 
Pinole, Carquinez Straits, Suisun Marsh area, and northern Contra Costa 
County. These populations are composed of many shifting colonies or 
subpopulations, with great variability in population size and 
distribution.

Suaeda californica

    Suaeda californica occurred historically in high tidal marsh in 
portions of San Francisco Bay, where it became nearly extinct because 
of habitat loss. Due to several reintroductions between 1999 and 2008, 
it is currently known from three sites in the San Francisco Bay and 
scattered locations along the shoreline of Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo 
County.

California Clapper Rail

    The historic range of California clapper rails may have extended 
from tidal marshes of Humboldt Bay to Morro Bay; however, the species 
now occurs only within the tidal and brackish marshes around San 
Francisco Bay where it is restricted to less than 10 percent of its 
former geographic range. Population numbers reached an all-time 
historical low of about 500 birds in 1991, then rebounded somewhat. 
Results of an estuary-wide survey estimated a minimum average 
population between 2005 and 2008 of 1,425 rails (Liu et al. 2009); 
however, population numbers declined during that period at a per-year 
rate of 20 percent, as habitat was lost bay-wide, and are currently 
lower.

Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse

    The two subspecies of salt marsh harvest mouse are restricted to 
the tidal and brackish marshes of San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and 
Suisun Bay areas. The southern subspecies inhabits central and south 
San Francisco Bay, and has suffered severe habitat loss and 
fragmentation. Less than 10 percent of its historic habitat acreage 
remains, and nearly all is deficient in its structural suitability. The 
northern subspecies, living in the marshes of San Pablo and Suisun 
bays, has also sustained extensive habitat loss and degradation, but 
less so than the southern subspecies.
    These species occur in a variety of tidal marsh habitats where they 
are limited by the requirements of moisture, salinity, topography, soil 
types, and climatic conditions. Adjacent uplands and ecotone areas are 
also crucial habitats for many of these species. Primary threats to all 
the listed species include historical and current habitat loss and 
fragmentation due to urban development, agriculture, and diking related 
to duck hunting; altered hydrology and salinity; nonnative invasive 
species; disturbance; contamination; risk of extinction due to small 
population size; and the most central threat, sea level rise due to 
climate change.

Recovery Plan Goals

    The purpose of a recovery plan is to provide a framework for the 
recovery of species so that protection under the Act is no longer 
necessary. A recovery plan includes scientific information about the 
species and provides criteria that enable us to gauge whether 
downlisting or delisting the species is warranted. Furthermore, 
recovery plans help guide our recovery efforts by describing actions we 
consider necessary for each species' conservation and by estimating 
time and costs for implementing needed recovery measures.
    The ultimate goal of this recovery plan is to recover all focal 
listed species so that they can be delisted. The interim goal is to 
improve the status of the focal listed species to the point that they 
can be reclassified from endangered to threatened status. For 
Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum, the goal is to support recovery 
as described in the Salt Marsh Bird's-Beak Recovery Plan (U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service 1985a).
    The recovery plan contains the following five ecosystem-level 
strategies for recovery, which we believe will promote a healthy, 
stable ecosystem for populations of these species:
    1. Acquire existing, historic, and restorable tidal marsh habitat 
to promote the recovery of listed species and the long-term 
conservation of species of concern and other tidal marsh species;
    2. Manage, restore, and monitor tidal marsh habitat to promote the 
recovery of listed species and the long-term conservation of species of 
concern and other tidal marsh species;
    3. Conduct rangewide species status surveys/monitoring and status 
reviews for listed species and species of concern;
    4. Conduct research necessary for the recovery of listed species 
and the long-term conservation of species of concern; and
    5. Improve coordination, participation, and outreach activities to 
achieve recovery of listed species and long-term conservation of 
species of concern.
    As these species meet reclassification and recovery criteria, we 
will review each species' status and consider each species for 
reclassification or removal from the Federal Lists of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife and Plants.

Authority

    We developed our recovery plan under the authority of section 4(f) 
of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f). We publish this notice under section 
4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.).

    Dated: February 20, 2014.
 Alexandra Pitts,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-04138 Filed 2-25-14; 8:45 am]
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