Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of the Comment Period on the Proposed Endangered Status and Notice of Availability of the Draft Conservation Agreement for Review and Comment for Pediocactus winkleri (Winkler cactus) in Central Utah

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AC09

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of the

Comment Period on the Proposed Endangered Status and Notice of

Availability of the Draft Conservation Agreement for Review and Comment

for Pediocactus winkleri (Winkler cactus) in Central Utah

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service provides notice that the comment

period is reopened on a proposal to list Pediocactus winkleri (Winkler

cactus) as endangered, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973

(Act), as amended. The Service is reopening the comment period on this

proposal and any new information. In addition, the Service announces

the availability of a draft conservation agreement for Pediocactus

winkleri, also for public comment. This conservation agreement is

accessible on the internet at www.blm.gov\utah.

DATES: The comment period on this proposal and draft conservation

agreement is extended until July 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and materials concerning the proposal and

draft conservation agreement should be sent to the Field Supervisor,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lincoln Plaza Suite 404, 145 East 1300

South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115. Comments and materials received will

be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal

business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John L. England at the above address (telephone 801/524-5001).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 6, 1993, the Service proposed to add Pediocactus

winkleri (Winkler cactus) to the list of endangered and threatened

plants (58 FR 52059). At that time Pediocactus winkleri was known from

six populations with a total population of about 3,500 plants with a

range in central Utah from near Notom in central Wayne County to near

Fremont Junction in southwestern Emery County.

Since the closing of the comment period on December 6, 1993, an

additional population has been discovered near Ferron in western Emery

County, Utah. In addition, additional plants have been documented

within previously known populations. While the documented numbers of

the species have increased little over the 1993 estimates, the Service

now estimates that the population may number up to 10,000 plants (Fish

and Wildlife Service 1994, 1997). The Bureau of Land Management and the

National Park Service initiated a comprehensive inventory of the

species within its potential habitat in the spring of 1998.

The Species continues to be exploited by cactus collectors. In

1984, the Service established a population monitoring transect for P.

winkleri in an easily accessible area that cactus collectors frequent

(Fish and Wildlife Service 1994, 1997). The Service has periodically

monitored this transect, usually at 2-year intervals. The P. winkeri

population along this transect declined from 53 plants 1984 to zero

plants in 1997. The Notom population's estimated size has declined from

about 2,000 individuals in 1984 (Heil 1984) to an estimated 700

individuals in 1997 (Fish and Wildlife Service 1997). The Service

during its 1997 survey of the Notom population discovered several

shovel marks within the occupied habitat of this species. These marks

were at the locations of plants last observed in 1994 and missing in

1997. Threats to species and its habitat, from off-highway vehicles,

mining and quarrying, oil and gas drilling, and livestock trampling,

continue with varying significance throughout the species range (Fish

and Wildlife Service 1997).

A moratorium on listing actions (Public Law 104-6) took effect

April 10, 1996, and prevented the Service from making a final decision

on this proposal by the August 1995 administrative deadline. The

moratorium was lifted on April 26, 1996, when the appropriation for the

Department of the Interior for the remainder of fiscal year 1996 was

enacted into law. In a Federal Register document published on May 16,

1996 (61 FR 24722), the Service outline in detail the history of the

moratorium and indicated the priorities it would follow in eliminating

the listing program backlog resulting from the moratorium. Preparation

of the final rule for this proposed species is considered a Tier 2

priority--processing final decisions on proposed listings. For more

information on the moratorium and the priority for backlogged listing

actions, refer to the May 16, 1996, Federal Register notice.

The Service does not believe that the new distributional and

population information has changed the status of the species. However,

we are reopening the comment period on the proposed rule to solicit

comments on this new information and request any additional information

on scientific studies conducted since the comment period last closed on

December 6, 1993.

The Draft Conservation Agreement was developed by the Bureau of

Land Management, in coordination with the Park Service, Forest Service,

and the Service. The agreement focuses on identifying, reducing and

eliminating significant threats to Pediocactus winkleri (and P.

Despainii, a listed species) that warrant its candidate status, and on

enhancing and maintaining the species population to ensure its long

term conservation. The Service also is seeking comments on the adequacy

of the proposed conservation agreement and whether or not the agreement

will satisfactorily provide for the species conservation independent of

the Endangered Species Act. The Service hereby announces reopening of

the comment period until July 22, 1998.

References Cited

Heil, K.D. 1984. Status report on Pediocactus winkleri. U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Denver, Colorado. 14 pp.

[[Page 33902]]

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1994. Pediocactus winkleri status

report supplement. Salt Lake City, Utah. 12 pp.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1997. Pediocactus winkleri status

report supplement 2. Salt Lake City, Utah. 11 pp. + append.

Author: The primary author of this notice is John L. England (see

ADDRESSES above).

Authority.

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

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

Dated: June 15, 1998.

Terry T. Terrell,

Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 98-16500 Filed 6-19-98; 8:45 am]

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