Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Threatened and Endangered Status for Seven Desert Milk-Vetch Taxa From California and Nevada

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of

Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Threatened and Endangered

Status for Seven Desert Milk-Vetch Taxa From California and Nevada

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; Notice of 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

reopening of the comment period for five plants that have been proposed

as endangered: Lane Mountain milk-vetch (Astragalus jaegerianus),

Coachella Valley milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae),

Fish Slough milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. piscinensis),

Peirson's milk-vetch (Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii), and

triple-ribbed milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. micans); and two

plants that have been proposed as threatened: shining milk-vetch

(Astragalus tricarinatus) and Sodaville milk-vetch (Astragalus

lentiginosus var. sesquimetralis). The comment period has been reopened

to acquire additional information from interested parties, and to

reconsider the proposed listing actions.

DATES: The public comment period closes October 18, 1996. Any comments

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

on this proposal.

[[Page 46431]]

ADDRESSES: Written comments and materials concerning this proposal

should be sent directly to the Field Supervisor, Ventura Field Office,

2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003. Comments and

materials received will be available for public inspection, by

appointment, during normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diane Steeck (see ADDRESSES section)

at 805/644-1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The seven taxa included within the proposed rule occur in Inyo,

Mono, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Imperial Counties within

California; Mineral and Nye Counties in Nevada; and northeastern Baja

California, Mexico. Like many taxa in the genus Astragalus, these seven

taxa are endemic to habitats with specific substrate or hydrologic

conditions and are, therefore, naturally limited in distribution by the

availability of habitat. Five of the seven taxa occur primarily on

public lands.

The seven plant taxa may be threatened by one or more of the

following: off-road vehicle (ORV) use, grazing and trampling by

livestock and feral burros, competition from alien plants, urban

development, alteration of soil hydrology, and construction related to

fisheries development. Several of the plants may also be threatened

with random naturally occurring events by virtue of their small numbers

and population sizes.

On May 8, 1992, the Service published a rule proposing endangered

status for Astragalus jaegerianus, A. lentiginosus var. coachellae, A.

lentiginosus var. piscinensis, A. magdalenae var. peirsonii, and A.

lentiginosus var. micans; and threatened status for A. tricarinatus and

A. lentiginosus var. sesquimetralis (57 FR 19844). The original comment

period closed on July 7, 1992.

The Service was unable to make a final listing determination on

these species because of a limited budget, other endangered species

assignments driven by court orders, and higher listing priorities. In

addition, a moratorium on listing actions (Public Law 104-6), which

took affect on April 10, 1995, stipulated that no funds could be used

to make final listing or critical habitat determinations. Now that

limited funding has been restored and the President has waived the

moratorium on the use of appropriated funds for final listing and

critical habitat determinations, the Service is proceeding with a final

determination for these seven plants. This final decision, however,

must address and consider any changes in the administration of desert

lands since 1992, like the lands transferred from the Bureau of Land

Management to the National Park Service, and any conservation efforts,

like the West Mohave Conservation Plan, that may have influenced

management of desert areas.

Due to the length of time that has elapsed since the close of the

initial comment period, changing procedural and biological

circumstances and the need to review the best scientific and commercial

information available during the decision-making process, the comment

period is being reopened. The Service particularly seeks information

that has become available in the last four years, concerning:

(1) Biological, commercial, or other relevant data on any threat

(or lack thereof) to these species;

(2) Additional information on the size, number, or distribution of

populations; and

(3) Whether one or more of these plant species are subject to

conservation agreements or other protection instruments, and their

possible impacts to such species.

Written comments may now be submitted until October 18, 1996 to the

Service office in the ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Diane Steeck (see ADDRESSES

section).

Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered

Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: August 26, 1996.

Thomas Dwyer,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1.

[FR Doc. 96-22332 Filed 8-30-96; 8:45 am]

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