Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public Hearing and Reopening of Public Comment Period on Proposed Endangered or Threatened Status for Four Southwestern California Plants

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public

Hearing and Reopening of Public Comment Period on Proposed Endangered

or Threatened Status for Four Southwestern California Plants

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

comment period.

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

public hearing will be held and the comment period reopened on proposed

endangered status for Atriplex coronata var. notatior (San Jacinto

Valley crownscale) and Allium munzii (Munz's onion), and proposed

threatened status for Brodiaea filifolia (thread-leaved brodiaea) and

Navarretia fossalis (spreading navarretia). The Service also proposes

critical habitat for Atriplex coronata var. notatior. All parties are

invited to comment on this proposal.

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

6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, 1995, in Riverside,

California. The public comment period now closes on May 20, 1995. Any

comments received by the closing date will be considered in the final

decision on this proposal.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at the Holiday Inn, Empire

Ballroom, 3400 Market Street, Riverside, 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 normal business

hours, by appointment, at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Field Supervisor (see ADDRESSES

section) at (619) 431-9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Allium munzii (Munz's onion), a member of the lily family, is a

white-flowered, single-leaved, scapose perennial originating from a

bulb. A. munzii is restricted to mesic clay soils in western Riverside

County, California. It is frequently associated with southern

needlegrass grassland, mixed grassland, and open coastal sage scrub, or

occasionally in cismontane juniper woodlands. Twelve populations are

currently known.

Atriplex coronata var. notatior (San Jacinto Valley crownscale or

saltbush) is a low, grey-green, erect annual member of the goosefoot

family. It is restricted to the Traver-Domino-Willows alkaline soils

series of the San Jacinto, Perris, and Menifee Valleys of western

Riverside County, California, in association with alkali sink, alkali

playa, vernal pools, and alkali grassland habitats. This taxon occurs

at 10 population centers. The number of individuals in any given year

vary widely, depending on available rainfall, and the duration and

extent of flooding.

Brodiaea filifolia (thread-leaved brodiaea), a member of the lily

family, is a lavender-flowered scapose perennial herb. It typically

occurs on gentle slopes, and in valleys and flood plains associated

with mesic, southern needlegrass grassland and alkali grassland plant

communities growing on clay, loamy sand, or alkaline silty-clay soils.

The species is distributed in widely disjunct populations from the

foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County,

California, east to the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains in

San Bernardino County, south through western Riverside and eastern

Orange Counties to central coastal San Diego County. About 18 out of 27

historical populations are known to exist throughout its range. The

majority of the populations are centered on the Santa Rosa Plateau,

Riverside County, California, and in the vicinity of Carlsbad, Vista,

and San Marcos, San Diego County, California.

Navarretia fossalis (spreading navarretia) is a low, white-flowered

annual of the phlox family that is found primarily in association with

vernal pools, alkali grassland, and vernal alkali flood plains. N.

fossalis is known from a single occurrence in Los Angeles County,

California, the lowlands of western Riverside County, California, and

coastal San Diego County south into northwestern Baja California,

Mexico. Fewer than 30 populations of this species are known in the

United States. These populations are concentrated in three locations:

Otay Mesa in southern San Diego County, near Hemet and along the San

Jacinto River in Riverside County.

These species are threatened by one or more of the following

factors: Habitat destruction and fragmentation from agricultural and

urban development, pipeline construction, alterations of wetland

hydrology by draining or channelization, clay mining, off-road vehicle

activity, cattle and sheep [[Page 12532]] grazing, weed abatement, fire

suppression practices, competition from alien plant species, and the

inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms.

On December 15, 1994, the Service published a proposed rule on

endangered status for Atriplex coronata var. notatior and Allium

munzii, proposed threatened status for Brodiaea filifolia and

Navarretia fossalis, and critical habitat for Atriplex coronata var.

notatior (59 FR 64812). Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Endangered Species

Act 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 from several requestors. As a result, the Service has

scheduled a public hearing on Thursday, March 23, 1995, at the Holiday

Inn, Empire Ballroom, 3400 Market Street, Riverside, 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 receive 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 was to close on February 13,

1995. To accommodate the hearing, the public comment period is reopened

upon publication of this notice. Written comments may now be submitted

until May 20, 1995, to the Service in the 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: February 28, 1995.

Thomas J. Dwyer,

Regional Director, Region 1, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 95-5484 Filed 3-6-95; 8:45 am]

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