Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Public Hearing and Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Endangered Status for Four Plants and Threatened Status for Six Plants From the Foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Public Hearing and

Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Endangered Status for Four

Plants and Threatened Status for Six Plants From the Foothills of the

Sierra Nevada Mountains of California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

comment period.

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

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides notice that a

public hearing will be held on the proposed determination of endangered

status for Brodiaea pallida (Chinese Camp brodiaea), Calyptridium

pulchellum (Mariposa pussypaws), Lupinus citrinus var. deflexus

(Mariposa lupine), and Mimulus shevockii (Kelso Creek monkeyflower),

and threatened status for Allium tuolumnense (Rawhide Hill onion),

Carpenteria californica (carpenteria), Clarkia springvillensis

(Springville clarkia), Fritillaria striata (Greenhorn adobe lily),

Navarretia setiloba (Piute Mountains navarretia), and Verbena

californica (Red Hills vervain). In addition, the Service has reopened

the comment period. All parties are invited to submit comments on this

proposal.

DATES: The public hearing will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and 6:00

to 8:00 p.m. on January 31, 1995, in Bakersfield, California. The

comment period, which originally closed on December 5, 1994, now closes

on February 13, 1995. Any comments received after the closing date may

not be addressed in the final decision on this proposal.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Red Lion Hotel, 3100

Camino del Rio Court, Bakersfield, California. Comments and materials

should be submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento

Field Office, 2800 Cottage Way, E-1803, Sacramento, California 95825-

1846. Comments and materials received will be available for public

inspection during normal business hours, by appointment, at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ken Fuller (see ADDRESSES section) or at 916/979-2122.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Allium tuolumnense, Brodiaea pallida, Calyptridium pulchellum,

Carpenteria californica, Clarkia springvillensis, Fritillaria striata,

Lupinus citrinus var. deflexus, Mimulus shevockii, Navarretia setiloba,

and Verbena californica are plant species found in the foothills of the

Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. These ten plants are restricted

to various substrate-specific habitats in Fresno, Kern, Madera,

Mariposa, Tulare, and Tuolumne Counties. These plants face ongoing

threats from one or more of the following: urbanization, inadequate

regulatory mechanisms, random stochastic events, off-highway vehicle

use, logging, overgrazing, illegal dumping, alteration of natural fire

regimes, maintenance of roads and rights-of-ways, insect predation,

agricultural land conversion, mining, proposed highway projects, and

competition from brush species and nonnative grass species.

On October 4, 1994, the Service published a proposed rule to list

Brodiaea pallida (Chinese Camp brodiaea), Calyptridium pulchellum

(Mariposa pussypaws), Lupinus citrinus var. deflexus (Mariposa lupine),

and Mimulus shevockii (Kelso Creek monkeyflower) as endangered, and

list Allium tuolumnense (Rawhide Hill onion), Carpenteria californica

(carpenteria), Clarkia springvillensis (Springville clarkia),

Fritillaria striata (Greenhorn adobe lily), Navarretia setiloba (Piute

Mountains navarretia), and Verbena californica (Red Hills vervain) as

threatened (58 FR 50540). Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531

et seq.) requires that a public hearing be held if it is requested

within 45 days of the publication of the proposed rule. Public hearing

requests were received several requestors. As a result, the Service has

scheduled a public hearing on January 31, 1995, at the Red Lion Hotel

in Bakersfield, California. Anyone wishing to make statements for the

record should bring a written copy of their statements to the hearing.

Oral statements may be limited in length if the number of parties

present at the hearing necessitates such a limitation. Oral and written

comments received equal consideration. The Service places no limits on

the length of written comments or materials presented at the hearing or

mailed to the Service.

The comment period on the proposal originally closed on December 5,

1994. to accommodate the hearing, the Service reopens the public

comment period. Written comments may now be submitted until February

13, 1995, to the Service in the ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Ken Fuller (see ADDRESSES

section).

Authority

The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)

Dated: December 22, 1994.

H. Dale Hally,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 94-32032 Filed 12-28-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-M