[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 26, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33082-33083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16240]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public
Hearing and Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Threatened and
Endangered Status for Five Plants and a Lizard From Monterey County,
California
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed Rule; notice of public hearing and reopening of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), provides notice of a
public hearing on the proposed endangered status for coastal dunes
milkvetch (Astragalus tener var. titi), Yadon's piperia (Piperia
yadonii), Hickman's potentilla (Potentilla hickmanii), Monterey clover
(Trifolium trichocalyx) and the black legless lizard (Anniella pulchra
nigra); and threatened status for Gowen cypress (Cupressus goveniana
ssp. goveniana). In addition, the Service has reopened the comment
period. All parties are invited to submit comments on this proposal.
DATES: The public hearing will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on
Wednesday, July 17, 1996, in Monterey, California. The public comment
period now closes August 30, 1996. Any comments received by the closing
date will be considered in the final decision on this proposal.
ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel,
One Golf Course Road, Monterey, California. Written comments and
materials concerning this proposal may be submitted at the hearing or
sent directly to the Field Supervisor, Ventura Field Office, 2493
Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003. Comments and
materials will be available for public inspection, by appointment,
during normal business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Connie Rutherford (see ADDRESSES section) or at 805/644-1766.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Most of the habitat for the plants and lizard is found in coastal
habitats in northern Monterey County. Coastal dunes milk-vetch and
Monterey clover are restricted to private lands on the Monterey
Peninsula. Hickman's potentilla is restricted to two populations: one
on the Monterey
[[Page 33083]]
Peninsula, and one recently discovered near Devil's Slide in San Mateo
County. Gowen cypress stands occur on the Monterey Peninsula, and at
Point Lobos State Reserve five miles to the south. Yadon's piperia
occurs primarily on private lands on the Monterey Peninsula, with other
populations extending as far south as Palo Colorado Canyon, and as far
north as Blohm Ranch north of Prunedale. The black legless lizard
occurs on private and State Park lands between the Salinas and Carmel
Rivers, on the Monterey Peninsula, and along Monterey Bay. A few
populations of Yadon's piperia and the black legless lizard occur on
Federal lands at Fort Ord.
The five plant taxa and the lizard are threatened by one or more of
the following: alteration, destruction, and fragmentation of habitat
resulting from urban and golf course development; recreational
activities; highway widening; military activities; competition with
non-native species; and alteration of natural fire cycles. All taxa are
also threatened with stochastic extinction due to the small numbers of
populations or individuals.
On August 2, 1995, the Service published a proposed rule on
proposed endangered status for Astragalus tener var. titi, Piperia
yadonii, Potentilla hickmanii, Trifolium trichocalyx, and the black
legless lizard (Anniella pulchra nigra); and threatened status for
Gowen cypress (Cupressus goveniana ssp. goveniana (60 FR 39326).
Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act requires that a public hearing be held if
one is requested within 45 days of the publication of the proposed rule
in the Federal Register. Public hearing requests were received within
the allotted time period from Robert D. Thornton of Nossaman, Guthner,
Knox, and Elliot in Irvine, California. Because a Congressional
moratorium on the Service's activities associated with final listing
actions was in effect from April 1995 to April 1996, scheduling of the
hearing had been delayed. The Service has scheduled a public hearing on
July 17, 1996, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, One Golf Course Road,
Monterey, California.
Anyone wishing to make statements for the record should bring a
written copy of their statements to the hearing. Oral statements may be
limited in length if the number of parties present at the hearing
necessitates such a limitation. Oral and written comments receive equal
consideration. The Service places no limits to the length of written
comments or materials presented at the hearing or mailed to the
Service. Legal notices announcing the date, time, and location of the
hearing are being published in newspapers concurrently with this
Federal Register notice.
The comment period on the proposal was initially closed on October
17, 1995. To accommodate the hearing, the public comment period is
reopened upon publication of this notice. Written comments may now be
submitted until August 30, 1996, to the Service office in the ADDRESSES
section.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: June 19, 1996.
Thomas J. Dwyer,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 96-16240 Filed 6-25-96; 8:45 am]
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