Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public Hearing and Extension of Public Comment Period on Three Proposed Rules To List Four Species as Endangered and One Species as Threatened

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public

Hearing and Extension of Public Comment Period on Three Proposed Rules

To List Four Species as Endangered and One Species as Threatened

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing and extension of public

comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), under the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended, gives notice that a public hearing

will be held on the proposed endangered status for the San Diego fairy

shrimp, Quino checkerspot butterfly, Laguna Mountains skipper

butterfly, and Downingia concolor var. brevior and on the proposed

threatened status for Limnanthes gracilis ssp. parishii. The hearing

will allow all interested parties to submit oral or written comments on

these proposals.

DATES: A public hearing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday,

October 19, 1994, in Rancho Bernardo (North County San Diego),

California. The public comment period will be extended to October 31,

1994. Comments from all interested parties must be received by October

31, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The hearing on Wednesday, October 19, 1994, will be held at

the Radisson Hotel, 11520 West Bernardo Court, Rancho Bernardo (North

County San Diego), California. Written comments and materials may be

submitted at the hearing or may be sent directly to the Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730 Loker Avenue West,

Carlsbad, California 92008. Comments and materials received will be

available for public inspection during business hours by appointment,

at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gail Kobetich, (telephone 619/431-9440).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Laguna Mountains skipper, a small butterfly within the skipper

family (Hesperiidae), is about 3 centimeters (cm) (1 inch) in length

and distinguished from other subspecies by extensive white wing

markings. The Laguna Mountains skipper occurs in open meadows of pine

forest and is currently found at one site in the Laguna Mountains and

one site on Mount Palomar in San Diego County.

The Quino checkerspot, is a small member of the brush-footed

butterfly family (Nymphalidae). It is about 3 cm (1 inch) in length and

checkered with dark brown, reddish, and yellowish spots. The Quino

checkerspot is restricted to sunny openings on clay soils formed from

gabbro parent materials within shrubland habitats of the interior

foothills of southwestern California and northwestern Baja California,

Mexico. The Quino checkerspot may have been one of the most abundant

butterflies in San Diego, Orange, and western Riverside Counties during

the early part of the twentieth century. Currently five to six

populations remain in San Diego and southern Riverside Counties.

The San Diego fairy shrimp, is a member of the Branchinectidae, a

freshwater crustacean, family in the Order Anostraca (fairy shrimp). It

is a small and delicate animal with large stalked compound eyes, no

carapace, and 11 pairs of swimming legs. The San Diego fairy shrimp is

restricted to vernal pools in San Diego County from San Marcos and

Ramona south to Otay Mesa and at Valle de Palmas in northwestern Baja

California, Mexico.

Downingia concolor var. brevior, is a low, blue-flowered annual

that is restricted to grassy meadows that are vernally wet (wet during

the rainy season) with saturated soil conditions. It is restricted to

the Cuyamaca Valley in the vicinity of Cuyamaca Lake, San Diego County.

Limnanthes gracilis var. parishii, is a low, widely-branching annual

with white flowers. There are fewer than 20 population of L. gracilis

ssp. parishii in the Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Laguna Mountains and on

Santa Rosa Plateau. The largest population, which includes most of the

individuals, is found in the Cuyamaca Valley.

These species are threatened by one or more of the following

factors: grazing, habitat destruction and fragmentation from

agricultural and urban development, alteration of wetlands,

recreational activities, collection by lepidopterists and other human

disturbances, stochastic events, exotic plants, and the inadequacy of

existing regulatory mechanisms.

On August 4, 1994, the Service published three rules in the Federal

Register that proposed the Laguna Mountains skipper and Quino

checkerspot as endangered (59 FR 39868), the San Diego fairy shrimp as

endangered (59 FR 39874), and Downingia concolor var. brevior as

endangered and Limnanthes gracilis ssp. parishii as threatened (59 FR

39879). In response to a formal request from William Hazeltine,

environmental consultant, Oroville, California, the Service has

scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday, October 19, 1994 at the

Radisson Hotel, 11520 West Bernardo Court, Rancho Bernardo (North

County San Diego), California.

Those parties wishing to make a statement for the record should

bring a copy of their statement to present to the Service at the start

of the hearing. Oral statements may be limited in length, if the number

of parties present at the hearing necessitates such a limitation. There

are, however, no limits to the length of written comments or materials

presented at the hearing or mailed to the Service. Written comments

will be given the same weight as oral comments. Written comments may be

submitted at the hearing or mailed to the address given in the

ADDRESSES section of this notice. The comment period closes on October

31, 1994.

Authority

The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of

1973, as amended: (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C.

4201-4245; Pub. L. 99-625, 100 Stat. 3500), unless otherwise noted.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, and Transportation.

(Proposed Rule and Notice of Public Hearing: San Diego fairy shrimp,

Quino checkerspot, Laguna Mountains skipper, Downingia concolor var.

brevior; endangered without critical habitat; Limnanthes gracilis

ssp. parishii, threatened without critical habitat.)

Dated: September 19, 1994.

Thomas Dwyer,

Acting Regional Director, Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 94-23555 Filed 9-23-94; 8:45 am]

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