Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public Hearing and Reopening of Public Comment Period on Proposed Endangered Status for Two San Fransciso Bay California Tidal Marsh Plants

DEPARTMENT OF THE 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

Status for Two San Fransciso Bay California Tidal Marsh 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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), pursuant to the

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

public hearing and reopening of the comment period on the proposed

endangered status for Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum (Suisun

thistle) and Cordylanthus mollis ssp. mollis (soft bird's-beak). All

parties are invited to comment on this proposal.

DATES: The public hearing will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on

Wednesday, October 2, 1996, in Fairfield, California. The public

comment period now closes on October 15, 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 Holiday Inn, 1350

Holiday Lane, Fairfield, California. Written comments and materials

concerning this proposal should be sent to the Field Supervisor,

Sacramento Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3310 El Camino

Avenue, Suite 130, Sacramento, California 95821-6340. Comments and

materials received, as well as the supporting documentation used in

preparing the rule, will be available for public inspection, by

appointment, during normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirsten Tarp, Sacramento Field Office

(see ADDRESSES section) at (916) 979-2710; facsimile (916) 979-2723.

[[Page 47106]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum (Suisun thistle) and

Cordylanthus mollis ssp. mollis (soft bird's beak) are restricted to

salt or brackish tidal marshes within the San Francisco Bay area in

northern California. Habitat conversion, changes in salinity of tidal

marshes, water pollution, indirect effects of urbanization, habitat

fragmentation, mosquito abatement activities such as off-road vehicle

use and dredging, competition with non-native plants, insect predation,

chance environmental events, inadequacy of existing laws, erosion, and

other human-caused activities variously threaten these plants.

Activities such as waterfowl hunting, bird watching, and fishing do not

adversely affect the plants. A proposal to list these two plants was

published in the Federal Register on June 12, 1995 (60 FR 31000).

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. A public hearing request was received

within the allotted time period from Paul Campos, General Council for

the Building Industry Association. 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 was

delayed. The Service has now scheduled a public hearing to be held on

Wednesday, October, 2, 1996, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Holiday

Inn, 1350 Holiday Lane, Fairfield, California.

Anyone wishing to make statements for the record should bring a

written copy of their statement 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 August 21, 1995.

To accommodate the hearing, the public comment period is reopened upon

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

October 15, 1996, to the Service in the ADDRESSES section.

The primary author of this notice is Kirsten Tarp (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: August 30, 1996.

Thomas Dwyer,

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

[FR Doc. 96-22765 Filed 9-5-96; 8:45 am]

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