Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Rule To List Five Plants and a Lizard From Monterey County, California, as Endangered or Threatened

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AD09

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of

Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Rule To List Five Plants and a

Lizard From Monterey County, California, as Endangered or Threatened

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 ot the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), gives notice that the

comment period is reopened on the proposed rule to list Astragalus

tener var. titi (coastal dunes milk-vetch), Piperia yadonii (Yadon's

piperia), Potentilla hickmanii (Hickman's potentilla), Trifolium

trichocalyx (Monterey clover) and the black legless lizard (Anniella

pulchra nigra) as endangered; and Cupressus goveniana ssp. goveniana

(Gowen cypress) as threatened. The comment period has been reopened to

allow all interested parties to submit new information on the proposal

and to provide opportunity for comment on the

[[Page 15647]]

new information on distribution and abundance of Piperia yadonii that

was submitted at the end of the previous comment period.

DATES: The public comment period closes on May 2, 1997. Any comments

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

on this proposal.

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 inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diane Steeck of the Ventura Field

Office (see ADDRESSES section) at (805)644-1766 or facsimile (805)644-

3958).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 2, 1995, the Service published a rule proposing

endangered status for Astragalus tener var. titi (coastal dunes milk-

vetch), Piperia yadonii (Yadon's piperia), Potentilla hickmanii

(Hickman's potentilla), Trifolium trichocalyx (Monterey clover) and the

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

for Cupressus goveniana ssp. goveniana (Gowen cypress).

These six taxa are currently found primarily along the coast of

northern Monterey County, California. An extant population of

Potentilla hickmanii is also known from San Mateo County. 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; military activities; competition with non-native species;

and alteration of natural fire cycles. Due to their small number of

individuals, several taxa are also threatened with extinction due to

random natural events or unforseen human activities.

The initial comment period closed on October 9, 1995. Although a

public hearing was requested, a hearing could not be held during the

initial comment period, due to a Federal moratorium on final listing

actions (Pub. L. 104-6), which had taken effect on April 10, 1995 and

stipulated that no funds could be used to make final listing or

critical habitat determinations. Once the Federal moratorium was

lifted, on April 26, 1996, and funding was restored, the Service

scheduled the public hearing and reopened the comment period. The

public hearing was held on August 20, 1996, and the comment period

closed on August 30, 1996. At the public hearing, new information was

presented on the distribution and abundance of Piperia yadonii. This

information was included in a report received by the Service on August

30, 1996. The Service believes that the new information on the

distribution and abundance of Piperia yadonii is significant and is

providing the public an opportunity to comment on it. In addition to

comments on Piperia yadonii, the Service requests any additional

information on the species listed in the proposed rule, including:

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

(or lack thereof) to any of the species, and;

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

populations of any of the species.

Comments may be submitted through May 2, 1997 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: March 17, 1997.

Michael J. Spear,

Regional Director, Region 1, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 97-7448 Filed 4-1-97; 8:45 am]

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