Notice of Availability of a Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the Great Lakes and Northern Great Plains Population of the Piping Plover for Review and Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of a Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the

Great Lakes and Northern Great Plains Population of the Piping Plover

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 a draft revised recovery plan for the

Great Lakes and Northern Great Plains Population of the Piping Plover

(Charadrius melodus). The Service listed the piping plover as

endangered and threatened in January, 1986, and completed a recovery

plan for the Great Lakes and Northern Great Plains populations in May,

1988. That recovery plan is being revised to incorporate new

information on the species' biology, the results of the 1991

International Piping Plover Census, and changes in threats experienced

by the two populations. The Service solicits review and comments from

the public on this draft revised plan.

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

before October 6, 1994 to receive consideration by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan may obtain

a copy by contacting the Chief, Division of Endangered Species, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1

Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056 (phone: 612/725-3276;

fax 612/725-3526). Written comments and materials regarding the plan

should be addressed to Ronald L. Refsnider at the above address.

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:

Ronald L. Refsnider at the above address and phone numbers.

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 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 the

recovery levels for downlisting or delisting them, and estimate time

and cost for implementing the recovery measures needed. The Service

revises existing recovery plans, as needed, to reflect important new

biological information, significant changes in a species' status, or

the accomplishment of tasks identified in the original plan.

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 also take these comments into account in the

course of implementing approved recovery plans.

The piping plover was listed as endangered in the Great Lakes

watershed, and threatened in the Great Plains, along the Atlantic

coast, and throughout the remainder of its range due to the near-

extirpation of the species in the Great Lakes area and its dwindling

population elsewhere. To facilitate recovery of this widespread

species, it was separated into two recovery programs, one of which

deals with Atlantic coast-nesting birds and the second includes the

inland-nesting piping plovers. This recovery plan deals only with the

inland-nesting populations of the piping plover.

In recent years the Great Lakes piping plovers have nested only

along the sandy shorelines of Michigan. Predation, disturbance, habitat

degradation and destruction, and possibly insufficient prey are

believed to be the factors preventing the expansion of this population.

Northern Great Plains piping plovers are more widespread, nesting along

prairie rivers and alkali wetlands in Iowa, Minnesota, North and South

Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and the Prairie Provinces of Canada.

Predation, disturbance, and habitat loss also affect these nesting

areas. Piping plovers from both nesting areas spend the winter along

the Gulf Coast of the United States and Mexico, where they face the

same threats, as well as contaminant spills from Gulf Coast shipping

and oil extraction activities.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan

described. All comments received by the date specified above will be

considered prior to approval of the plan.

Authority

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

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

Dated: June 29, 1994.

Marvin E. Moriarty,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 94-16490 Filed 7-7-94; 8:45 am]

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