[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73057-73058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32577]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Bighorn
Sheep in the Peninsular Ranges 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 (Service) announces the
availability for public review of a draft recovery plan for the bighorn
sheep in the Peninsular Ranges of southern California. The Peninsular
bighorn sheep represents a distinct vertebrate population that is
restricted to east facing, lower elevation slopes typically
[[Page 73058]]
below 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) of the Peninsular Ranges in the Sonoran
Desert life zone. The population addressed in this recovery plan
extends from the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountain ranges in
Riverside County south through numerous smaller mountain ranges in
Imperial and San Diego Counties to the United States and Mexico
international border. The Service solicits review and comment from
local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public on this draft
recovery plan.
DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or
before February 14, 2000 to receive consideration by the Service.
ADDRESSES: The draft recovery plan is available for public inspection
by appointment during normal business hours at the Service's Carlsbad
Fish and Wildlife Office, 2730 Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, California,
92008. Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan may obtain a
copy by contacting the Field Supervisor (attention Pete Sorensen) at
the above address or by calling (760) 431-9440. Comments and materials
should be submitted to the above address and are available on request
for public inspection by appointment, during normal business hours at
the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete Sorenson or Andy Yuen at the
above Carlsbad address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is
a primary goal of the Service's endangered species program. Recovery
plans describe actions considered necessary for conservation of the
species, establish criteria for the recovery levels for downlisting and
delisting species, and estimate time and cost for implementing the
recovery measures needed.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) 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 a public comment period prior
to approval of each new or revised recovery plan. The Service and other
Federal agencies will also take these comments into account in the
course of implementing approved recovery plans. Individual responses to
comments will not be provided.
Bighorn sheep have been documented in the Peninsular Ranges since
the 1700's (Bolton 1930). An examination of past records and current
data suggest that the distribution of bighorn sheep has been altered
during the past 25 years. There is no documentation of newly formed ewe
groups, and in portions of the range, formerly occupied habitat is now
unoccupied. Documented population declines of Peninsular bighorn sheep
ranged from stable low numbers in ewe groups to 28 percent declines in
other groups. Though cause and effect relationships for these
population declines have not been well documented among ewe groups,
cumulative and synergistic effects of disease, high predation rates,
low population recruitment rates, habitat loss, modification, and
fragmentation, and human-related disturbance are likely, contributing
factors.
The objective of this recovery plan is to secure habitat and
alleviate threats to the overall Peninsular bighorn sheep population so
that population levels will increase to the point that this species may
be downlisted to threatened status, and ultimately delisted.
Recovery of the bighorn sheep in the Peninsular Ranges is
contingent upon (1) providing large tracts of habitat that provide a
diversity of resources needed to offset seasonal, annual, and longer
term cycles of environmental variability and scarcity, (2) establishing
habitat continuity between subpopulations to allow long term shifts in
distribution, (3) maintaining healthy population levels that are
resilient to potential disease outbreaks and high levels of predation,
and (4) educating the public on human-related activities that affect
habitat use patterns of Peninsular bighorn sheep.
The draft plan was developed by a recovery team composed of
representatives of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Bureau
of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Fish
and Game, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Bighorn
Institute, University of California at Davis and White Mountain
Research Station, and the Zoological Society of San Diego. Short-term
recovery objectives proposed are to: (a) Maintain 25 or more ewes in 9
regions of the Peninsular ranges during 1 bighorn sheep generation, and
(b) establish regulatory mechanisms and land management commitments to
provide for long-term protection of Peninsular bighorn sheep. Proposed
recovery actions include protecting essential habitat, improving
habitat management capabilities, and conducting monitoring and research
necessary for effective management. The long-term objective is to
manage conserved lands to provide for permanent protection needed for
continued population viability of bighorn sheep in the Peninsular
Ranges. Delisting of the Peninsular bighorn sheep will be achieved
when: (1) Greater than or equal to 25 ewes are present in the 9
specified regions of the Peninsular Ranges during 2 bighorn sheep
generations, without augmentation, (2) the range-wide population
averages 750 individuals in a stable or increasing population, and (3)
essential habitat, as described in the recovery plan, is permanently
protected through regulatory mechanisms and land management
commitments.
Public Comments Solicited
The Service solicits written comments on the 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: December 9, 1999.
Thomas Dwyer,
Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 99-32577 Filed 12-28-99; 8:45 am]
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