Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public Hearing and Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Threatened and Endangered Status for Five Plants and a Lizard From Monterey County, California

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public

Hearing and Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Threatened and

Endangered Status for Five Plants and a Lizard From Monterey County,

California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), pursuant to the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), provides notice of a

public hearing on the proposed endangered status for coastal dunes

milkvetch (Astragalus tener var. titi), Yadon's piperia (Piperia

yadonii), Hickman's potentilla (Potentilla hickmanii), Monterey clover

(Trifolium trichocalyx) and the black legless lizard (Anniella pulchra

nigra); and threatened status for Gowen cypress (Cupressus goveniana

ssp. goveniana). 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 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on

Wednesday, July 17, 1996, in Monterey, California. The public comment

period now closes August 30, 1996. Any comments received by the closing

date will be considered in the final decision on this proposal.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel,

One Golf Course Road, Monterey, California. Written comments and

materials concerning this proposal may be submitted at the hearing or

sent directly to the Field Supervisor, Ventura Field Office, 2493

Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003. Comments and

materials will be available for public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Connie Rutherford (see ADDRESSES section) or at 805/644-1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Most of the habitat for the plants and lizard is found in coastal

habitats in northern Monterey County. Coastal dunes milk-vetch and

Monterey clover are restricted to private lands on the Monterey

Peninsula. Hickman's potentilla is restricted to two populations: one

on the Monterey

[[Page 33083]]

Peninsula, and one recently discovered near Devil's Slide in San Mateo

County. Gowen cypress stands occur on the Monterey Peninsula, and at

Point Lobos State Reserve five miles to the south. Yadon's piperia

occurs primarily on private lands on the Monterey Peninsula, with other

populations extending as far south as Palo Colorado Canyon, and as far

north as Blohm Ranch north of Prunedale. The black legless lizard

occurs on private and State Park lands between the Salinas and Carmel

Rivers, on the Monterey Peninsula, and along Monterey Bay. A few

populations of Yadon's piperia and the black legless lizard occur on

Federal lands at Fort Ord.

The five plant taxa and the lizard are threatened by one or more of

the following: alteration, destruction, and fragmentation of habitat

resulting from urban and golf course development; recreational

activities; highway widening; military activities; competition with

non-native species; and alteration of natural fire cycles. All taxa are

also threatened with stochastic extinction due to the small numbers of

populations or individuals.

On August 2, 1995, the Service published a proposed rule on

proposed endangered status for Astragalus tener var. titi, Piperia

yadonii, Potentilla hickmanii, Trifolium trichocalyx, and the black

legless lizard (Anniella pulchra nigra); and threatened status for

Gowen cypress (Cupressus goveniana ssp. goveniana (60 FR 39326).

Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act requires that a public hearing be held if

one is requested within 45 days of the publication of the proposed rule

in the Federal Register. Public hearing requests were received within

the allotted time period from Robert D. Thornton of Nossaman, Guthner,

Knox, and Elliot in Irvine, California. Because a Congressional

moratorium on the Service's activities associated with final listing

actions was in effect from April 1995 to April 1996, scheduling of the

hearing had been delayed. The Service has scheduled a public hearing on

July 17, 1996, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, One Golf Course Road,

Monterey, 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 to the length of written

comments or materials presented at the hearing or mailed to the

Service. Legal notices announcing the date, time, and location of the

hearing are being published in newspapers concurrently with this

Federal Register notice.

The comment period on the proposal was initially closed on October

17, 1995. To accommodate the hearing, the public comment period is

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

submitted until August 30, 1996, to the Service office in the ADDRESSES

section.

Authority

The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973

(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: June 19, 1996.

Thomas J. Dwyer,

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

[FR Doc. 96-16240 Filed 6-25-96; 8:45 am]

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