[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49818-49819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23974]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding
on a Petition To List Mimulus clivicola (Bank Monkeyflower)
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition finding.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 12-
month finding for a petition to list Mimulus clivicola (bank
monkeyflower) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (Act). After review of all available scientific and commercial
data, the Service finds that listing this species is not warranted at
this time.
DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on September 19,
1995.
ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments, or questions concerning this
petition may be sent to the Field Supervisor, Portland Field Office,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2600 SE 98th Avenue, Suite 100,
Portland, Oregon 97266. The petition finding, supporting data,
comments, and materials received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
address.
[[Page 49819]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Andrew F. Robinson, Jr., staff
botanist, see ADDRESSES section or telephone 503/231-6179.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that, for any petition to
revise the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants that
presents substantial scientific and commercial information, the Service
make a finding within 12 months of the date of the receipt of the
petition on whether the petitioned action is (a) not warranted, (b)
warranted, or (c) warranted but precluded from immediate proposal by
other pending proposals of higher priority. Such 12-month findings are
to be published promptly in the Federal Register.
On June 28, 1989, the Service received a petition dated May 1,
1989, from Steve Paulson representing Friends of the Clearwater,
Lenore, Idaho, to list Mimulus clivicola (bank monkeyflower) as an
endangered species. The petition cited as potential threats to the
species an extremely limited range, the threatened destruction of
habitat (specifically the Dworshak connection road, Clearwater National
Forest), and the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms. At the
time of the petition there were only 30 documented populations of M.
clivicola. A 90-day finding was made by the Service that the petition
presented substantial information indicating that the requested action
may be warranted. The 90-day finding was published in the Federal
Register on November 1, 1990 (55 FR 46080). A status review was
continued for the category 2 candidate species (50 FR 6214; February
21, 1990). The Service reclassified Mimulus clivicola as a category 3C
candidate on September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51175) as a result of new
information about the status of the species. Category 3C candidates are
those taxa that have proven to be more abundant or widespread than
previously believed and/or those that are not subject to any
identifiable threat.
Mimulus clivicola is an annual herb up to about 6 inches in height
with purple flowers and opposite elliptic leaves. M. clivicola occurs
within fairly mountainous regions from 1,200 feet to 7,120 feet
elevation in Idaho and Oregon. The plant is typically found where there
is exposed mineral soil, including sites where the soil has been
exposed because of big game activity or manmade disturbance along
trails and roadcuts. However, the species also needs moist areas that
are saturated in the spring. Today there are 152 known extant
populations with a combined population size varying from 46,000 to
63,000 plants that occupy 132 acres of habitat. The majority of the
populations (92 percent) occur on Federal land including 6 populations
occurring on Bureau of Land Management lands and l34 on Forest Service
lands. Only 12 populations (8 percent) occur on private lands.
A Species Management Guide, which specifically addresses
conservation strategies for Mimulus clivicola on Forest Service lands
was prepared in 1992 by the Forest Service. Of the 134 populations
occurring on Forest Service lands, 58 were identified for protection
with the 1992 Species Management Guide. The construction of Dworshak
Reservoir on the North fork Clearwater River destroyed habitats
occupied by M. clivicola (the Ahasanka and Dent populations). Although
road building/maintenance, mining, recreational activities, timber
harvest, cattle grazing, and alien plant invasions still disturb 118
out of 152 populations (78 percent) of M. clivicola, recent
information indicates that this species is tolerant of moderate
disturbance. This conclusion is based on the fact that much of the
habitat with areas of exposed mineral soil that support M. clivicola
populations was along the tops of older roadcuts or beside trails.
Currently 20 populations grow along trails and 68 grow along roads.
Eight populations occurring on the Payette National Forest in Idaho and
Wallowa-Whitman National Forests in Oregon are subject to damage by
livestock grazing. Exclosures were constructed around two of these
populations in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forests in 1990 to protect
these sites. The presence of Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), a weedy
alien annual plant, has been documented as being present in 59 (39
percent) populations of M. clivicola. Preliminary laboratory studies
suggest that B. tectorum inhibits germination (allelopathci affects) of
selected native plants. M. clivicola is an annual species, and thus the
presence of B. tectorum and the possibility of it inhibiting
germination of seed of M. clivicola may affect these populations.
However, there is no information at this time to indicate that the
continued existence of M. clivicola as a species is threatened by the
presence of such invasive alien plants.
The service has reviewed the petition, other available literature
and information, and consulted with biologists and researchers familiar
with Mimulus clivicola. On the basis of the best scientific and
commercial information available regarding M. clivicola, the Service
finds that the petitioned action is not warranted at this time because
the taxon is not in danger of extinction or likely to become so in the
foreseeable future. The Service reclassified M. clivicola as a category
3C candidate on September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51175). Category 3C
candidates are those taxa that have proven to be more abundant or
widespread than previously believed and/or those that are not subject
to any identifiable threat. If information becomes available indicating
that M. clivicola may be threatened with extinction, the Service would
reevaluate this decision.
References
A complete list of references used in the preparation of this
finding is available upon request from the Portland Field Office (see
ADDRESSES section).
Author
The primary author of this document is Dr. Andrew F. Robinson Jr.,
Portland Field Office (see ADDRESSES section).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: September 19, 1995.
John G. Rogers,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 95-23974 Filed 9-26-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M
