[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49855-49856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23945]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Utah Pediocactus:
San Rafael Cactus (Pediocactus despainii) and Winkler Cactus
(Pediocactus winkleri) for Review and Comment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the
availability for public review of a draft recovery plan for the Utah
Pediocactus: San Rafael Cactus (Pediocactus despainii) and Winkler
Cactus (Pediocactus winkleri). The two cacti occur in Emery and Wayne
Counties, Utah. The Service solicits review and comment from the public
on this draft recovery plan.
DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or
before November 27, 1995, to ensure they receive consideration by the
Service.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan may obtain
a copy by contacting the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Lincoln Plaza, Suite 404, 145 East 1300 South, Salt Lake City,
Utah 84115. Written comments and materials regarding this plan should
be sent to the Field Supervisor at the Salt Lake City address given
above. Comments and materials received are available on request for
public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the
above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John L. England, Botanist (see ADDRESSES above), at telephone 801/524-
5001.
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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service)
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 conservation of the species, establish
criteria for recovery levels for downlisting or delisting them, and
estimate time and cost for implementing the recovery measures needed.
The Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended (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 also will take these comments into account in the
course of implementing approved recovery plans.
The San Rafael cactus is a small, leafless, stem succulent, with
yellowish to peach color flowers 1.5 to 2.5 cm (0.6 to 1.0 in) long and
1.8 to 2.5 cm (0.7 to 1.0 in) in diameter. The San Rafael cactus is
restricted to the San Rafael Swell of central Emery County, Utah, and
is known from three populations with a total number of individuals
estimated to be about 20,000.
The Winkler cactus is a small, leafless, stem cactus with peach to
pink flowers borne on the upper end of the tubercles near the apex of
the stem. The flowers are 1.7 to 2.2 cm (0.7 to 0.9 in) long and 1.7 to
3.0 cm (0.7 to 1.2 in) in diameter. The Winkler cactus is restricted to
Wayne and Emery Counties, Utah, and is known from six populations with
a total number of individuals estimated to be about 5,000.
The San Rafael cactus was listed as an endangered species under the
authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), on
September 16, 1987 (52 FR 34917). The Winkler cactus was proposed for
listing as an endangered species under the authority of the Act on
October 6, 1993 (58 FR 52062). The final rule listing the Winkler
cactus has been held up in the recent moratorium on listing actions.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) expects to publish the
final rule once the moratorium is lifted. For that reason, and because
the Service is also preparing multispecies recovery plans and recovery
plans that address candidate species where appropriate, the Winkler
cactus is included in this recovery plan.
These species were listed due to being highly desirable specimen
plants for cactus collections, their limited habitat and small
population size, and to current and potential threats from off-road
vehicle use, trampling by both
[[Page 49856]]
humans and domestic livestock, and by mineral resource exploration and
development. The goal of the recovery plan is to maintain viable
populations of the species at their known sites to ensure the species
survival, and to guide recovery efforts to facilitate downlisting of
the species.
Recovery efforts will focus on protecting the species' population
and habitat from habitat destroying activities and preventing
collections from natural populations through the sections 7 and 9
prohibitions of the Act for plan species. Biological and ecological
research of the species' biology and their relationships and
interactions with their environment is necessary to guide future
management of the species' population and habitat to ensure their
continued survival and the preservation of the species' ecosystem.
Additional recovery efforts will focus on inventory of potential
habitat and minimum viable population studies of their known
populations.
Public Comments Solicited
The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan
described above. All comments received by the date specified in the
DATES section above will be considered prior to approval of the
recovery plan.
Authority: The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the
Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Dated: September 21, 1995.
Elliot N. Sutta,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 95-23945 Filed 9-26-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M
