Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 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

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AC99

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 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 extension of comment period.

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

the comment period on the proposed determination of endangered status

for four plants and threatened status for six plants from the foothills

of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California is extended. The species

proposed for endangered status are Brodiaea pallida, Calyptridium

pulchellum, Lupinus citrinus var. deflexus, and Mimulus shevockii,

while the species proposed for threatened status are Allium

tuolumnense, Carpenteria californica, Clarkia springvillensis,

Fritillaria striata, Navarretia setiloba, and Verbena californica.

DATES: The comment period, which originally closed on December 5, 1994,

and was reopened and extended to February 13, 1995, now closes on June

4, 1995. Any comments received by the closing date will be considered

in the final decision on this proposal.

ADDRESSES: 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 916/979-2120.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Allium tuolumnense (Rawhide Hill onion), Brodiaea pallida (Chinese

Camp brodiaea), Calyptridium pulchellum (Mariposa pussypaws),

Carpenteria californica (carpenteria), Clarkia springvillensis

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

Lupinus citrinus var. deflexus (Mariposa lupine), Mimulus shevockii

(Kelso Creek monkeyflower), Navarretia setiloba (Piute Mountains

navarretia), and Verbena californica (Red Hills vervain) 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, Calyptridium pulchellum, Lupinus citrinus var.

deflexus, and Mimulus shevockii as endangered, and list Allium

tuolumnense, Carpenteria californica, Clarkia springvillensis,

Fritillaria striata, Navarretia setiloba, and Verbena californica as

threatened (59 FR 50540). The comment period on this proposal

originally closed on December 5, 1994. [[Page 8343]] On December 29,

1994, the Service reopened and extended the public comment period until

February 13, 1995, to accommodate a public hearing held on January 31,

1995, in Bakersfield, California (59 FR 67268). In response to a letter

dated January 25, 1995, from Congressmen Richard Pombo and William M.

Thomas of California requesting an extension in the public comment

period until June and several other similar requests made in writing or

given in testimony at the public hearing, the Service extends the

comment period to allow for the collection of additional data during

1995 field season on the status and distribution of the proposed

plants. Written comments may now be submitted until June 4, 1995, to

the Service in the ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Jim A. Bartel, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland,

Oregon 97232-4181.

Authority

The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of

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

Dated: February 8, 1995.

Mollie H. Beattie,

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 95-3620 Filed 2-13-95; 8:45 am]

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