Availability of Draft Recovery Plans for the Key Largo Woodrat, Key Largo Cotton Mouse, Gulf Sturgeon, Two Hernando County Plants, and Four Apalachicola Plants for Review and Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of Draft Recovery Plans for the Key Largo Woodrat,

Key Largo Cotton Mouse, Gulf Sturgeon, Two Hernando County Plants, and

Four Apalachicola Plants 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 four draft recovery plans for the

following species: The Key Largo woodrat (Neotoma floridana smalli) and

cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola), Gulf sturgeon

(Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) two Hernando County plants (Campanula

robinsiae, Justicia cooleyi), and four Apalachicola plants (Euphorbia

telephioides, Macbridea alba, Pinguicula ionantha, Scutellaria

floridana). The Key Largo woodrat and Key Largo cotton mouse are

restricted to the north half of Key Largo, Monroe County, Florida. The

Gulf sturgeon occurs in most major rivers from the Mississippi River to

the Suwannee River, and marine waters of the central and eastern Gulf

of Mexico and Florida Bay. The two Hernando County plants occur in the

hilly countryside north of Tampa. The four Apalachicola plants occur in

the pinelands and wetlands in Liberty, Franklin, Gulf, and Bay Counties

in the Florida panhandle. The Service solicits review and comment from

the public on these draft plans.

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

before March 7, 1994, to receive consideration by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plans for the

Key Largo woodrat and cotton mouse, two Hernando County plants, or the

four Apalachicola plants may obtain a copy by contacting David J.

Wesley, Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint Drive, South, suite 310,

Jacksonville, Florida 32216 (Telephone: 904-232-2580, FAX 904-232-

2404). Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan for the Gulf

sturgeon may obtain a copy by contacting Ms. Gail A. Carmody, Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1612 June Avenue, Panama

City, Florida 32244 (Telephone: 904-768-0552, FAX 904-763-2177).

Written comments and materials regarding these plans should be

addressed to the appropriate above individual. Comments and material

received are available upon request for public inspection, by

appointment, and during normal business hours at the above addresses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information on the Key Largo woodrat and cotton mouse recovery

plan, contact Linda Finger at the Jacksonville, Florida, address. For

information on the two Hernando County Plants and the four Apalachicola

plants recovery plan, contact David L. Martin at the Jacksonville,

Florida address. For information on the Gulf sturgeon recovery plan,

contact Lorna Patrick at the Panama City, Florida 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

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.

The Key Largo woodrat and cotton mouse were listed as endangered

species on August 31, 1984. Both species require tropical hardwood

hammock forests for food and cover. An estimated 6,500 woodrats and

18,000 cotton mice occur on 2,100 acres of forested uplands. Both

species originally occurred throughout all of the hardwood hammocks of

Key Largo, but are now restricted to only north Key Largo, representing

about one-half their original distribution. Primary threats to these

species include habitat destruction and fragmentation, road mortality,

and vulnerability to catastrophic events such as storms or fires.

Current habitat acquisition by both the State and Federal governments

will provide nearly complete public ownership for the remaining

hardwood hammocks on north Key Largo. Specific recovery actions include

additional habitat purchase and protection and the future

reestablishment of both species to the southern portion of Key Largo.

The Gulf sturgeon, a subspecies of the Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser

oxyrinchus, was listed as a threatened species on September 30, 1991.

The Gulf sturgeon is an anadromous fish which migrates from salt water

into large coastal rivers to spawn and spend the warmer months. The

majority of its life is spent in fresh water. The current population

levels of Gulf sturgeon in rivers other than the Suwannee and

Apalachicola rivers are unknown, but are thought to be reduced from

historic levels. Historically, the subspecies occurred in most major

rivers from the Mississippi River to the Suwannee River, and marine

waters of the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico to Florida Bay. Major

factors in the decline of the Gulf sturgeon include barriers (dams) to

historical spawning habitats, habitat loss, water quality degradation,

and overfishing.

The recovery plan for the Gulf sturgeon was prepared by a Recovery

Team containing members from the States of Louisiana, Mississippi,

Alabama, and Florida, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, the

National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Biological Survey,

university researchers, commercial fishing interests, conservation

organizations, and the Service. The draft plan currently available for

public comment resulted from a technical review during the summer of

1992. Major recovery actions include identifying and restoring

essential habitats of the Gulf sturgeon. Initial restoration efforts

will focus on riverine habitats. Another recovery action includes

reducing incidental catch of the fish by commercial fishermen. The

ultimate recovery goal for the Gulf sturgeon is to establish population

levels that would allow delisting of the fish in selected river

systems. After delisting, the goal is to establish populations that

could support commercial fishing in those selected river systems.

The two Hernando County plants Campanula robinsiae (Brooksville

bellflower) and Justicia cooleyi (Cooley's water-willow) were listed as

endangered species on August 28, 1989. Brooksville bellflower inhabits

wet ``prairies'' and lake margins in the hill country of Hernando

County. Cooley's water-willow primarily inhabits hardwood forests, but

appears to persist or thrive in clearings, pastures, and roadsides. Its

distribution appears to be primarily in the hills of Hernando County,

but it is also known from Sumter County, near Mascotte. The draft

recovery plan emphasizes better information on the life history of the

bellflower, an annual that grows in late winter and is often under

water. For Cooley's water-willow, immediate efforts are needed to

control the spread of alien pest vines, especially air-potato (a

tropical yam that produces tubers on its vines) and skunkvine (an Asian

vine that can cover the ground in a forest, and whose leaves have a

fecal odor when brused). Recovery efforts for these plants will begin

on land owned by Federal and State agencies.

Three Apalachicola plants were listed as threatened species on May

8, 1992: Euphorbia telephioides (Telephus spurge), Macbridea alba

(white birds-in-a-nest), and Scutellaria floridana (Florida skullcap).

The fourth species, Pinguicula ionantha (Godfrey's butterwort) was

listed as a threatened species on July 12, 1993. These four plants

overlap in their distributions and habitats in the low-lying outer

Coastal Plain near the Apalachicola River, roughly from the

southwestern portion of Apalachicola National Forest west to Panama

City. Telephus spurge occupies low sand ridges. White birds-in-a-nest

and Florida skullcap occur in grassy pinelands and savannahs; Godfrey's

butterwort occurs in savannahs, bogs, and seasonal ponds. Three of the

four species occur in Apalachicola National Forest, where ongoing

management, especially prescribed burning, is needed to ensure that

they are secure. Telephus spurge, which does not occur on public land,

and the other species outside of Apalachicola National Forest are

threatened by habitat degradation due to lack of prescribed fire and by

forestry practices, including planting practices. The recovery plan

calls for ensuring that habitat for the three plants is appropriately

managed in the National Forest and, to the extent feasible, privately-

owned habitat be protected through conservation easements or purchase

by public conservation agencies.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the four 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: December 22, 1993.

David J. Wesley,

Field Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 94-187 Filed 1-5-94; 8:45 am]

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