[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 51126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25843]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Availability of Draft Recovery Plan for the Morro Shoulderband
Snail and Four Plants From Western San Luis Obispo County, California
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 (Service) announces the
availability for public review of the draft Recovery Plan for the Morro
Shoulderband Snail and Four Plants from Western San Luis Obispo County.
The snail and the four plants occur in coastal habitats between Nipomo
and San Simeno Creek in Western San Luis Obispo County, California.
These taxa were listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on
December 15, 1994 (59 FR 64613).
DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan received by December 29,
1997, will be considered by the Service.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan may obtain
a copy by contacting the Field Supervisor at the following address:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura,
California 93003 (phone: 805/644-1766). Comments and material received
are available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal
business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diane Steeck, Botanist, or Kim Touneh,
Invertebrate Zoologist, at the above Ventura address.
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 plants 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 needed to downlist or delist them, and estimate time and cost
for implementing the necessary recovery measures.
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. The Service and other
Federal agencies will also take these comments into account in the
course of implementing approved recovery plans. Individualized
responses to comments will not be provided.
This recovery plan includes one snail species that is listed as
endangered, three plant taxa that are listed as endangered and one
plant taxon that is listed as threatened. All are endemic to western
San Luis Obispo County, California. The currently known range of the
Morro shoulderband snail (Helminthoglypta walkeriana) includes the
Morro Spit and those areas south of Morro Bay, west of Los Osos Creek
and north of Hazard Canyon that still support coastal dune and sage
scrub habitats. Morro manzanita (Arctostaphylos morroeniss) is
restricted to Baywood fine sands to the south of Morro Bay in stands of
varying size scattered over approximately 890 acres. Five of the six
known occurrences of Indian Knob mountainbalm (Eriodictyon altissimum)
also occur south of Morro Bay, typically at the margins of chaparral
and coastal sage scrub communities; the sixth occurrence, for which the
species was named, is located about 15 miles to the south, at Indian
Knob. Inland, Chorro Creek bog thistle (Cirsium fontinale var.
obispoense) is known from nine locations between San Simeon and Pismo
Beach, where it is restricted to serpentine seeps and springs. Pismo
clarkia (Clarkia speciosa ssp. immaculata) is known from about a dozen
locations in the area between Pismo Beach and Nipomo Mesa, where it is
restricted to grasslands.
The Morro shoulderband snail is threatened principally by habitat
destruction and degradation due to increasing development, invasion of
non-native plant species (i.e. veldt grass), senescence of dune
vegetation, and recreational use (e.g. off-road vehicle activity).
Competition with the brown garden snail (Helix aspersa), molluscicides,
and increased likelihood of extinction due to the small size and
isolation of populations are potential threats. Morro manzanita and
Indian Knob mountainbalm are threatened with habitat destruction and
degradation due to development, and possibly by invasion of non-native
plant species, and senescence resulting from alteration in fire cycles.
Threats to the Chorro Creek bog thistle include water diversion, road
maintenance, excessive cattle trampling and, potentially, invasive non-
native plants. The principal threat to the Pismo clarkia is habitat
destruction and degradation due to development. Road maintenance
activities, overgrazing, and competition with non-native grasses may
also be threats.
This plan provides for the recovery of the snail, Morro manzanita,
and Indian knob mountainbalm so that protection by the Act is no longer
necessary. It provides for downlisting Chorro Creek bog thistle and
Pismo clarkia to threatened status.
Protection and management of the species' habitat are the primary
goals of the recovery effort.
Public Comments Solicited
The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan. All
comments recovery by the data specified above will be considered prior
to revision and 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 24, 1997.
Michael J. Spear,
Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 97-25843 Filed 9-29-97; 8:45 am]
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