Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the American Chaffseed for Review and Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the American Chaffseed

for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability

for public review of a draft Recovery Plan for the American chaffseed

(Schwalbea americana). The American chaffseed, which historically

occurred in all the coastal states from Massachusetts to Louisiana as

well as the inland states of Kentucky and Tennessee, is now limited to

New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The

species was listed as endangered in 1992 due to its extirpation from

over half of its historical range and a decline in known occurrences.

Although the number of known populations has increased substantially

since the time of its listing, threats to the survival of the American

chaffseed remain, primarily due to fire suppression and concomitant

vegetational succession of the fire-maintained ecosystems where the

species occurs. The recovery objective for this species is to be able

to reclassify it to threatened status by protecting at least 50

distinct, self-sustaining American chaffseed populations. The Service

solicits review and comment from the public on this draft Plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft Recovery Plan must be received December

27, 1994, to receive consideration by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft Recovery Plan can obtain

a copy from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Jersey Field

Office, 927 North Main Street, Building D-1, Pleasantville, New Jersey

08232, telephone 609-646-0620. Comments should be sent to this address,

to the attention of Dana Peters.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dana Peters (see Addresses).

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 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 Recovery Plans.

The document submitted for review is the draft American Chaffseed

(Schwalbea americana) Recovery Plan. This perennial member of the

figwort family, a montypic genus, is primarily a coastal plain species

of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The few inland exceptions to its

coastal distribution are historic records. Although the number of known

extant occurrences of the American chaffseed has increased three-fold

since the species' listing in 1992 (due mainly to intensive searches in

South Carolina), its range has undergone a significant contraction

since the species was first recognized in 1935: where it used to be

found in 13 states from Massachusetts in the North to Texas in the

South, it now occurs in 5 states, from New Jersey to Florida.

Its decline is attributed primarily to development and succession

of its habitat, and these threats to the species' survival persist.

Sandy pineland communities where the species exists have proven to be

especially vulnerable to development because soils are level, deep, and

suitable for building sites. Remaining American chaffseed sites are

threatened primarily by activities or management practices that result

in restriction or suppression of fire, which is apparently needed to

maintain the open subclimax ecosystem inhabited by the species. Other

continuing threats to American chaffseed include inadvertent

disturbance to plants, discontinuation of game management and the

consequent cessation of burning, conversion of the fire-maintained

flatwoods and savannas to commercial pine plantations, commercial pine

straw raking, and the increasing restrictions on prescribed burning of

forest tracts.

Reclassification of the American chaffseed is the primary objective

of the draft Recovery Plan. Reclassification to threatened status will

be considered when at least 50 geographically distinct American

chaffseed populations are permanently protected and managed as needed

to ensure long-range viability, and the species is established or found

at four additional sites in the northern portion of its range. A

delisting objective is not being defined at this time.

Recovery of the American chaffseed will be achieved through a

combination of habitat protection and management, reintroduction of the

species in portions of its former range, research aimed at better

understanding the species' biology in order to predict viability of

populations, and research to determine the best techniques to maintain

the species and its habitat.

The draft Recovery Plan is being submitted for agency review. After

consideration of comments received during the review period, the Plan

will be submitted for final approval.

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: September 20, 1994.

Ronald E. Lambertson,

Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 94-23809 Filed 9-26-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-M