Availability of Draft Recovery Plans for Conradina glabra (Apalachicola Rosemary) and Conradina etonia (Etonia Rosemary) for Review and Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of Draft Recovery Plans for Conradina glabra

(Apalachicola Rosemary) and Conradina etonia (Etonia Rosemary) 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 two draft recovery plans: the

Conradina glabra (Apalachicola rosemary) Recovery Plan and the

Conradina etonia (Etonia rosemary) Recovery Plan. Conradina glabra is

restricted to an area of several square miles of gently undulating

upland, originally with longleaf pine-wiregrass vegetation, dissected

by ravines of the Sweetwater Creek system in northern Liberty County,

Florida. Conradina etonia is only known to occur on private lands in

Putnam County, Florida. It is restricted to very limited areas of scrub

vegetation, including shrubby oaks and sand pines, on deep white-sand

soils. The Service solicits review and comment from the public on these

draft plans.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or

before August 23, 1994 to receive consideration by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plans for

Conradina glabra (Apalachicola rosemary) or Conradina etonia (Etonia

rosemary) may obtain a copy by contacting David J. Wesley, State

Administrator, Jacksonville Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 6620 Southpoint Drive, South, Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida

32216. Comments and material received are available upon request for

public inspection, by appointment, and during normal business hours at

the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Recovery Plan

for Conradina glabra (Apalachicola rosemary) or for Conradina etonia

(Etonia rosemary) contact Linda Finger at the Jacksonville, Florida,

address (Telephone: 904-232-2580, FAX 904-232-2404).

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 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 of 1973 (Act), 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 will take these comments into account in the course of

implementing approved recovery plans.

Conradina glabra was listed as an endangered species on July 12,

1993. C. glabra is a narrowly distributed species that was originally

restricted to a specialized habitat, the edges of steephead ravines and

possibly also to upland longleaf pine-wiregrass vegetation. Steepheads

are heads of ravines having slopes undermined by groundwater seeing

into the ravine bottom, which causes the slopes to gradually slump,

carrying the vegetation with it. The plant appears to require full

sunlight or light shade. Planted pine trees are likely, by the time

they mature, to produce dense shade that could kill this species.

Another possible problem in planted pine stands is that sand pine

(which is currently grown in the area) does not tolerate prescribed

fire, which may help keep habitat open for C. glabra. At the present

time, 7 natural populations of Conradina glabra are known, 6 of them on

land owned by a forest products company and on public road rights-of-

way. The seventh, a protected population, was documented at Torreya

State Park but has not been relocated. An additional population is

being established a short distance (2.5 km) from 2 of the extant

populations, on similar ravine edges, in the Apalachicola Bluffs and

Ravines Preserve, owned by The Nature Conservancy. Since initiation of

this project, 2 small, naturally occurring populations have been

discovered on the Preserve. Specific recovery actions include possible

habitat acquisition or conservation easements and developing prescribed

fire and mowing regimes beneficial to the plant.

Conradina etonia was discovered in 1990, described in 1991, and

listed as an endangered species on July 12, 1993. It is known from only

two sites near Etonia Creek in Putnam County, Florida, where it is

restricted to very limited areas of scrub vegetation with scrubby

evergreen oaks (Quercus spp.) and sand pines (Pinus clausa). This

habitat is a northern extension of the deep scrub habitat of south

Florida, where several plant species characteristic of Florida scrub

reach their northeastern range limit. Development is the major threat

as this species occurs only on private land already subdivided for

residential development when it was discovered. Because of the very

recent discovery of Conradina etonia, little is known about specific

habitat requirements and limiting factors.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the two recovery plans

described. All comments received by the date specified will be

considered prior to the approval of the plans.

Authority: The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the

Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: June 16, 1994.

Don Palmer,

Acting Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office.

[FR Doc. 94-15377 Filed 6-23-94; 8:45 am]

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