Availability of Draft Recovery Plan for Applegate's Milk-vetch (Astragalus applegatei) for Review and Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of Draft Recovery Plan for Applegate's Milk-vetch

(Astragalus applegatei) for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability

for public review of the Technical/Agency Draft Recovery Plan for

Applegate's Milk-vetch (Astragalus applegatei Peck). This endangered

plant is from the Lower Klamath Basin near the city of Klamath Falls,

Klamath County, in southern Oregon.

DATE: Comments on the draft recovery plan received by November 24, 1997

will be considered by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft recovery plan are available for

inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the

following locations: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath Falls Fish

and Wildlife Office, 6610 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603.

Requests for copies of the draft recovery plan and written comments and

materials regarding this plan should be addressed to Steven Alan Lewis,

Project Leader, at the above Klamath Falls office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barb Masinton at the Klamath Falls

address above (541/885-8481).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Restoring endangered or threatened animals and plants to the point

where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their

ecosystems is a primary goal of the Service's endangered species

program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is working to

prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native to the

United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for

the conservation of the species, establish criteria for the recovery

levels for downlisting or delisting them, and estimate time and cost

for implementing the recovery measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)

(Act), requires the development of recovery plans for listed species

unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular

species. Section 4(f) of the Act as amended in 1988 requires that

public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be

provided during recovery plan development. The Service will consider

all information presented during the public comment period prior to

approval of each new or revised Recovery Plan. Substantive technical

comments will result in changes to the plans. Substantive comments

regarding recovery plan implementation may not necessarily result in

changes to the recovery plans, but will be forwarded to appropriate

Federal or other entities so that they can take these comments into

account during the course of implementing recovery actions.

Individualized responses to comments will not be provided.

Astragalus applegatei (Applegate's milk-vetch) is endangered and is

currently known from only three populations occurring in the Lower

Klamath Basin near the city of Klamath Falls, Klamath County, in

southern Oregon. It is restricted to flat-lying, seasonally moist,

strongly alkaline soils. Although it is currently replete with

introduced grasses and other weeds, the species' habitat was

historically characterized by sparse, native bunch grasses and patches

of bare soil. Intensive agricultural and urban development of the

Klamath River floodplain has resulted in severe depletion and

fragmentation of Applegate's milk-vetch habitat. The largest of the

three populations continues to face attrition through industrial

development on private lands. Virtually all remaining potential

(undeveloped) habitat for the species has been seriously modified by a

proliferation of weeds, fire suppression, flood control, and land

reclamation projects involving extensive construction of drainage

ditches and water retention dikes. Threats to the species are

exacerbated by the small number of populations in a limited area, which

increases the vulnerability of Applegate's milk-vetch to extirpation

due to random mortality events. Furthermore, the smaller populations

may not have enough individuals to maintain the genetic variability

necessary for long-term population viability.

[[Page 50397]]

This plan provides a framework for the recovery of Applegate's

milk-vetch so it can at least be reclassified from endangered to

threatened status, and might eventually no longer need the protection

by the Endangered Species Act. This plan summarizes available

information about the species, reviews the threats to its continued

existence, and lists management actions needed to remove these threats.

Immediate actions needed to prevent extinction of Applegate's milk-

vetch includes conservation of natural populations and establishment of

new populations. Inventories will be conducted to attempt to find

undiscovered populations and to find suitable sites to establish new

populations. Habitat management will be instituted for populations of

this plant, as will monitoring to determine whether populations are

likely to persist. Long-term activities necessary to perpetuate this

species in its natural habitats include long-term seed storage and

propagation to mitigate future population losses and make it possible

to maintain genetic variability in small populations that are

vulnerable to inbreeding depression and/or allele fixation. Research to

define population self-sustainability, improve population establishment

and augmentation techniques, assess the efficacy of habitat management

strategies, and evaluate the plant's soil and water requirements are

all needed to help make appropriate management decisions.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan. All

comments received by the date specified above will be considered prior

to approval of this plan.

Authority

The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered

Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: September 18, 1997.

Don Weathers,

Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific

Region.

[FR Doc. 97-25420 Filed 9-24-97; 8:45 am]

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