[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 185 (Monday, September 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23555]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 26, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public
Hearing and Extension of Public Comment Period on Three Proposed Rules
To List Four Species as Endangered and One Species as Threatened
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing and extension of public
comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended, gives notice that a public hearing
will be held on the proposed endangered status for the San Diego fairy
shrimp, Quino checkerspot butterfly, Laguna Mountains skipper
butterfly, and Downingia concolor var. brevior and on the proposed
threatened status for Limnanthes gracilis ssp. parishii. The hearing
will allow all interested parties to submit oral or written comments on
these proposals.
DATES: A public hearing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday,
October 19, 1994, in Rancho Bernardo (North County San Diego),
California. The public comment period will be extended to October 31,
1994. Comments from all interested parties must be received by October
31, 1994.
ADDRESSES: The hearing on Wednesday, October 19, 1994, will be held at
the Radisson Hotel, 11520 West Bernardo Court, Rancho Bernardo (North
County San Diego), California. Written comments and materials may be
submitted at the hearing or may be sent directly to the Field
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730 Loker Avenue West,
Carlsbad, California 92008. Comments and materials received will be
available for public inspection during business hours by appointment,
at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gail Kobetich, (telephone 619/431-9440).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Laguna Mountains skipper, a small butterfly within the skipper
family (Hesperiidae), is about 3 centimeters (cm) (1 inch) in length
and distinguished from other subspecies by extensive white wing
markings. The Laguna Mountains skipper occurs in open meadows of pine
forest and is currently found at one site in the Laguna Mountains and
one site on Mount Palomar in San Diego County.
The Quino checkerspot, is a small member of the brush-footed
butterfly family (Nymphalidae). It is about 3 cm (1 inch) in length and
checkered with dark brown, reddish, and yellowish spots. The Quino
checkerspot is restricted to sunny openings on clay soils formed from
gabbro parent materials within shrubland habitats of the interior
foothills of southwestern California and northwestern Baja California,
Mexico. The Quino checkerspot may have been one of the most abundant
butterflies in San Diego, Orange, and western Riverside Counties during
the early part of the twentieth century. Currently five to six
populations remain in San Diego and southern Riverside Counties.
The San Diego fairy shrimp, is a member of the Branchinectidae, a
freshwater crustacean, family in the Order Anostraca (fairy shrimp). It
is a small and delicate animal with large stalked compound eyes, no
carapace, and 11 pairs of swimming legs. The San Diego fairy shrimp is
restricted to vernal pools in San Diego County from San Marcos and
Ramona south to Otay Mesa and at Valle de Palmas in northwestern Baja
California, Mexico.
Downingia concolor var. brevior, is a low, blue-flowered annual
that is restricted to grassy meadows that are vernally wet (wet during
the rainy season) with saturated soil conditions. It is restricted to
the Cuyamaca Valley in the vicinity of Cuyamaca Lake, San Diego County.
Limnanthes gracilis var. parishii, is a low, widely-branching annual
with white flowers. There are fewer than 20 population of L. gracilis
ssp. parishii in the Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Laguna Mountains and on
Santa Rosa Plateau. The largest population, which includes most of the
individuals, is found in the Cuyamaca Valley.
These species are threatened by one or more of the following
factors: grazing, habitat destruction and fragmentation from
agricultural and urban development, alteration of wetlands,
recreational activities, collection by lepidopterists and other human
disturbances, stochastic events, exotic plants, and the inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms.
On August 4, 1994, the Service published three rules in the Federal
Register that proposed the Laguna Mountains skipper and Quino
checkerspot as endangered (59 FR 39868), the San Diego fairy shrimp as
endangered (59 FR 39874), and Downingia concolor var. brevior as
endangered and Limnanthes gracilis ssp. parishii as threatened (59 FR
39879). In response to a formal request from William Hazeltine,
environmental consultant, Oroville, California, the Service has
scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday, October 19, 1994 at the
Radisson Hotel, 11520 West Bernardo Court, Rancho Bernardo (North
County San Diego), California.
Those parties wishing to make a statement for the record should
bring a copy of their statement to present to the Service at the start
of the hearing. Oral statements may be limited in length, if the number
of parties present at the hearing necessitates such a limitation. There
are, however, no limits to the length of written comments or materials
presented at the hearing or mailed to the Service. Written comments
will be given the same weight as oral comments. Written comments may be
submitted at the hearing or mailed to the address given in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice. The comment period closes on October
31, 1994.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended: (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C.
4201-4245; Pub. L. 99-625, 100 Stat. 3500), unless otherwise noted.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, and Transportation.
(Proposed Rule and Notice of Public Hearing: San Diego fairy shrimp,
Quino checkerspot, Laguna Mountains skipper, Downingia concolor var.
brevior; endangered without critical habitat; Limnanthes gracilis
ssp. parishii, threatened without critical habitat.)
Dated: September 19, 1994.
Thomas Dwyer,
Acting Regional Director, Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-23555 Filed 9-23-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M
