[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 24, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14209-14210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7153]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of
Reopening of Comment Period on Our Re-evaluation of Whether Designation
of Critical Habitat Is Prudent for 245 Hawaiian Plants
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, provide notice of reopening
the public comment period on our re-evaluation of whether designation
of critical habitat is prudent for 245 Hawaiian plants. Our original
notice was published in the Federal Register on November 30, 1998 (63
FR 65805) and the original public comment period was opened from
November 30, 1998, to March 1, 1999. This notice reopens the comment
period to May 24, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments and materials concerning the notice should be sent
to Robert P. Smith, Pacific Islands Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3-122, Box 50088, Honolulu, HI
96850 (telephone: 808/541-2749; facsimile: 808/541-2756).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Rosa, Assistant Field
Supervisor, Ecological Services (see ADDRESSES section) (telephone:
808/541-3441; facsimile: 808/541-3470).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On January 29, 1997, the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (now
Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the
Conservation Council for Hawaii, the Sierra Club, and the Hawaiian
Botanical Society in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, Hawaii, for the
Service's failure to designate critical habitat for 278 endangered or
threatened Hawaiian plant taxa. Because the statute of limitations had
elapsed for many of the plants, this list of plants was later reduced
to 245 taxa.
The 245 plant species that are the subject of our November 30,
1998, notice were listed by the Service over a period of several years,
between 1990 and 1996, at which time the Service determined that
designation of critical habitat was not prudent for one or more of the
following three reasons: designation of critical habitat would increase
the likelihood of illegal taking or vandalism; designation of critical
habitat would not be beneficial for plant species located on private
property; and, designation of critical habitat for plant species
located on Federal lands provides little or no additional benefit
beyond the existing precautions the Federal government must take under
section 7 of the Act.
The 245 plant taxa are: Abutilon eremitopetalum, Abutilon
sandwicense, Acaena exigua, Achyranthes mutica, Adenophorus periens,
Alectryon macrococcus, Alsinidendron lychnoides, Alsinidendron
obovatum, Alsinidendron trinerve, Alsinidendron viscosum, Amaranthus
brownii, Argyroxiphium kauense, Argyroxiphium sandwicense ssp.
macrocephalum, Adenophorus periens, Asplenium fragile var. insulare,
Bidens micrantha ssp. kalealaha, Bidens wiebkei, Bonamia menziesii,
Brighamia insignis, Brighamia rockii, Canavalia molokaiensis, Cenchrus
agrimonioides, Centaurium sebaeoides, Chamaesyce celastroides var.
kaenana, Chamasyce deppeana, Chamaesyce halemanui, Chamaesyce herbstii,
Chamaesyce kuwaleana, Chamaesyce rockii, Clermontia drepanomorpha,
Clermontia lindseyana, Clermontia oblongifolia ssp. brevipes,
Clermontia oblongifolia ssp. mauiensis, Clermontia peleana,
[[Page 14210]]
Clermontia pyrularia, Colubrina oppositifolia, Ctenitis squamigera,
Cyanea asarifolia, Cyanea acuminata, Cyanea copelandii ssp. copelandii,
Cyanea dunbarii, Cyanea grimesiana ssp. grimesiana, Cyanea grimesiana
ssp. obatae, Cyanea hamatiflora ssp. carlsonii, Cyanea humboldtiana,
Cyanea koolauensis, Cyanea lobata, Cyanea longiflora, Cyanea
macrostegia ssp. gibsonii, Cyanea mannii, Cyanea mceldowneyi, Cyanea
pinnatifida, Cyanea platyphylla, Cyanea procera, Cyanea recta, Cyanea
remyi, Cyanea st.-johnii, Cyanea shipmanii, Cyanea stictophylla, Cyanea
superba, Cyanea truncata, Cyanea undulata, Cyperus trachysanthos,
Cyrtandra crenata, Cyrtandra cyaneoides, Cyrtandra dentata, Cyrtandra
giffardii, Cyrtandra limahuliensis, Cyrtandra munroi, Cyrtandra
polyantha, Cyrtandra subumbellata, Cyrtandra tintinnabula, Cyrtandra
viridiflora, Delissea rhytidosperma, Delissea rivularis, Delissea
subcordata, Delissea undulata, Diellia erecta, Diellia falcata, Diellia
pallida, Diellia unisora, Diplazium molokaiense, Dubautia herbstobatae,
Dubautia latifolia, Dubautia pauciflorula, Eragrostis fosbergii,
Eugenia koolauensis, Euphorbia haeleeleana, Exocarpos luteolus,
Flueggea neowawraea, Gahnia lanaiensis, Gardenia mannii, Geranium
arboreum, Geranium multiflorum, Gouania meyenii, Gouania vitifolia,
Hedyotis cookiana, Hedyotis coriacea, Hedyotis degeneri, Hedyotis
mannii, Hedyotis parvula, Hedyotis st.-johnii, Hesperomannia
arborescens, Hesperomannia arbuscula, Hesperomannia lydgatei,
Hibiscadelphus giffardianus, Hibiscadelphus hualalaiensis,
Hibiscadelphus woodii, Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus, Hibiscus
brackenridgei, Hibiscus clayi, Hibiscus waimeae ssp. hannerae, Huperzia
mannii, Ischaemum byrone, Isodendrion hosakae, Isodendrion laurifolium,
Isodendrion longifolium, Isodendrion pyrifolium, Kokia kauaiensis,
Labordia cyrtandrae, Labordia lydgatei, Labordia tinifolia var.
wahiawaensis, Lepidium arbuscula, Lipochaeta fauriei, Lipochaeta
kamolensis, Lipochaeta lobata var. leptophylla, Lipochaeta micrantha,
Lipochaeta tenuifolia, Lipochaeta waimeaensis, Lobelia gaudichaudii
ssp. koolauensis, Lobelia monostachya, Lobelia niihauensis, Lobelia
oahuensis, Lycopodium nutans, Lysimachia filifolia, Lysimachia
lydgatei, Lysimachia maxima, Mariscus fauriei, Mariscus pennatiformis,
Marsilea villosa, Melicope adscendens, Melicope balloui, Melicope
haupuensis, Melicope knudsenii, Melicope lydgatei, Melicope
mucronulata, Melicope ovalis, Melicope pallida, Melicope
quadrangularis, Melicope reflexa, Melicope saint-johnii, Melicope
zahlbruckneri, Munroidendron racemosum, Myrsine juddii, Myrsine
linearifolia, Neraudia angulata, Neraudia ovata, Neraudia sericea,
Nothocestrum breviflorum, Nothocestrum peltatum, Nototrichium humile,
Ocrosia kilauaensis, Panicum niihauense, Peucedanum sandwicense,
Phyllostegia glabra var. lanaiensis, Phyllostegia hirsuta, Phyllostegia
kaalaensis, Phyllostegia knudsenii, Phyllostegia mannii, Phyllostegia
mollis, Phyllostegia parviflora, Phyllostegia racemosa, Phyllostegia
velutina, Phyllostegia warshaueri, Phyllostegia waimeae, Phyllostegia
wawrana, Plantago hawaiensis, Plantago princeps, Platanthera holochila,
Pleomele hawaiiensis, Poa mannii, Poa sandvicensis, Poa siphonoglossa,
Portulaca sclerocarpa, Pritchardia affinis, Pritchardia aylmer-
robinsonii, Pritchardia kaalae, Pritchardia munroi, Pritchardia
napaliensis, Pritchardia remota, Pritchardia schattaueri, Pritchardia
viscosa, Pteralyxia kauaiensis, Pteris lidgatei, Remya kauaiensis,
Remya mauiensis, Remya montgomeryi, Rollandia crispa, Sanicula
mariversa, Sanicula purpurea, Schiedea apokremnos, Schiedea
haleakalensis, Schiedea helleri, Schiedea hookeri, Schiedea kaalae,
Stenogyne campanulata, Schiedea kauaiensis, Stenogyne kanehoana,
Schiedea kealiae, Schiedea lydgatei,Schiedea membranacea, Schiedea
nuttallii, Schiedea sarmentosa, Schiedea spergulina var.
leiopoda,Schiedea spergulina var. spergulina, Schiedea stellarioides,
Schiedea verticillata, Sesbania tomentosa, Sicyos alba, Silene
alexandri, Silene hawaiiensis, Silene lanceolata, Silene perlmanii,
Solanum incompletum, Solanum sandwicense, Spermolepis hawaiiensis,
Stenogyne bifida, Tetramolopium arenarium, Tetramolopium capillare,
Tetramolopium filiforme, Tetramolopium lepidotum ssp. lepidotum,
Tetramolopium remyi, Tetramolopium rockii, Tetraplasandra gymnocarpa,
Trematolobelia singularis, Urera kaalae, Viola chamissoniana ssp.
chamissoniana, Viola helenae, Viola kauaensis var. wahiawaensis, Viola
lanaiensis, Viola oahuensis, Wilkesia hobdyi, Xylosma crenatum,
Zanthoxylum dipetalum var. tomentosum, Zanthoxylum hawaiiense.
In accordance with the U.S. District Court's August 10, 1998, order
(Civil No. 97-00098ACK Conservation Council for Hawaii, et al. vs.
Bruce Babbitt, et al.), the Service is reconsidering the not prudent
determinations that were made for these 245 plant species. We published
a notice seeking any new information that may affect whether we proceed
with a proposal to designate critical habitat for these species (63 FR
65805) on November 30, 1998. The original public comment period closed
on March 1, 1999. Four respondents requested that the public comment
period be extended to allow all interested parties ample opportunity to
respond to our request for comments. Therefore, we are reopening the
public comment period and continue to request comments, suggestions, or
information on our re-evaluation of whether designation of critical
habitat is prudent for these 245 plant species.
We are soliciting information concerning:
(1) Biological, commercial trade, vandalism, or other relevant data
concerning any threat to these species;
(2) The location of any additional populations of these species and
the reasons why any habitat should or should not be determined to be
critical habitat as provided by section 4 of the Act;
(3) Additional information concerning the range, distribution, and
population size of these species;
(4) Current or planned activities in the subject area and their
possible impacts on these species;
(5) Additional information on the principal biological or physical
constituent elements that are essential to the conservation of these
species. These primary constituent elements may include, but are not
limited to, the following: seasonal wetland or dryland, water quality
or quantity, plant pollinator, geological formation, vegetation type,
and specific soil types;
(6) Information on existing management for any of these species and
benefits to these species.
This information should be submitted by May 24, 1999, to the Fish
and Wildlife office in the ADDRESSES section.
Author: The primary author of this document is Christa Russell (see
ADDRESSES section).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 17, 1999.
Thomas J. Dwyer,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 99-7153 Filed 3-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
