[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50396-50397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25420]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Availability of Draft Recovery Plan for Applegate's Milk-vetch
(Astragalus applegatei) 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 announces the availability
for public review of the Technical/Agency Draft Recovery Plan for
Applegate's Milk-vetch (Astragalus applegatei Peck). This endangered
plant is from the Lower Klamath Basin near the city of Klamath Falls,
Klamath County, in southern Oregon.
DATE: Comments on the draft recovery plan received by November 24, 1997
will be considered by the Service.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft recovery plan are available for
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the
following locations: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath Falls Fish
and Wildlife Office, 6610 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603.
Requests for copies of the draft recovery plan and written comments and
materials regarding this plan should be addressed to Steven Alan Lewis,
Project Leader, at the above Klamath Falls office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barb Masinton at the Klamath Falls
address above (541/885-8481).
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 the Service's endangered species
program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is working to
prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native to the
United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for
the conservation of the species, establish criteria for the recovery
levels for downlisting or delisting them, and estimate time and cost
for implementing the recovery measures needed.
The Endangered Species Act, as amended (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. 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 the public comment period prior to
approval of each new or revised Recovery Plan. Substantive technical
comments will result in changes to the plans. Substantive comments
regarding recovery plan implementation may not necessarily result in
changes to the recovery plans, but will be forwarded to appropriate
Federal or other entities so that they can take these comments into
account during the course of implementing recovery actions.
Individualized responses to comments will not be provided.
Astragalus applegatei (Applegate's milk-vetch) is endangered and is
currently known from only three populations occurring in the Lower
Klamath Basin near the city of Klamath Falls, Klamath County, in
southern Oregon. It is restricted to flat-lying, seasonally moist,
strongly alkaline soils. Although it is currently replete with
introduced grasses and other weeds, the species' habitat was
historically characterized by sparse, native bunch grasses and patches
of bare soil. Intensive agricultural and urban development of the
Klamath River floodplain has resulted in severe depletion and
fragmentation of Applegate's milk-vetch habitat. The largest of the
three populations continues to face attrition through industrial
development on private lands. Virtually all remaining potential
(undeveloped) habitat for the species has been seriously modified by a
proliferation of weeds, fire suppression, flood control, and land
reclamation projects involving extensive construction of drainage
ditches and water retention dikes. Threats to the species are
exacerbated by the small number of populations in a limited area, which
increases the vulnerability of Applegate's milk-vetch to extirpation
due to random mortality events. Furthermore, the smaller populations
may not have enough individuals to maintain the genetic variability
necessary for long-term population viability.
[[Page 50397]]
This plan provides a framework for the recovery of Applegate's
milk-vetch so it can at least be reclassified from endangered to
threatened status, and might eventually no longer need the protection
by the Endangered Species Act. This plan summarizes available
information about the species, reviews the threats to its continued
existence, and lists management actions needed to remove these threats.
Immediate actions needed to prevent extinction of Applegate's milk-
vetch includes conservation of natural populations and establishment of
new populations. Inventories will be conducted to attempt to find
undiscovered populations and to find suitable sites to establish new
populations. Habitat management will be instituted for populations of
this plant, as will monitoring to determine whether populations are
likely to persist. Long-term activities necessary to perpetuate this
species in its natural habitats include long-term seed storage and
propagation to mitigate future population losses and make it possible
to maintain genetic variability in small populations that are
vulnerable to inbreeding depression and/or allele fixation. Research to
define population self-sustainability, improve population establishment
and augmentation techniques, assess the efficacy of habitat management
strategies, and evaluate the plant's soil and water requirements are
all needed to help make appropriate management decisions.
Public Comments Solicited
The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan. 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: September 18, 1997.
Don Weathers,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific
Region.
[FR Doc. 97-25420 Filed 9-24-97; 8:45 am]
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