Notice of Availability of a Technical/Agency Draft Multi-Species Recovery Plan for the Threatened and Endangered Species of South Florida

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of a Technical/Agency Draft Multi-Species

Recovery Plan for the Threatened and Endangered Species of South

Florida

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the

availability for public review of Volume II of a two-volume draft

multi-species recovery plan for the threatened and endangered species

of South Florida and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Volume II

provides an ecosystem approach toward restoration of the South Florida

Ecosystem, and discusses the biological composition, status, trends,

management, and restoration needs of 23 major ecological communities in

this region. This volume integrates the needs for species of concern in

addition to the federally listed species discussed in Volume I. A

notice announcing the availability of Volume I was published in the

Federal Register on March 6, 1998 (63 FR 11304). The Service solicits

review and comments from the public on Volume II of the draft recovery

plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or

before September 30, 1998, to ensure consideration by the Service.

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ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft recovery plan can be obtained by

contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Publications Unit,

National Conservation Training Center, c/o Aramark, Rt. 1 Box 166,

Shepherd Grade Rd., Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443. The Service is

encouraging that requests for copies be for the CD-ROM version as the

hard copy encompasses approximately 850 pages. Additionally, this

document may be viewed or downloaded from the Service's South Florida

Ecological Service's Field Office website at: http://www.fws.gov/r4eao/

esvb.htm.

Written comments and materials regarding the plan should be

addressed to Dawn Jennings, South Florida Field Office, 1360 U.S.

Highway 1, Suite 5, Vero Beach, Florida 32960. Comments and materials

received are available on request for public inspection, by

appointment, during normal business hours at the South Florida Field

Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dawn Jennings at the South Florida

Field Office (561) 562-3909 for information on the recovery plan; the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Publications Unit (304) 876-7203 for

additional copies of the draft recovery plan.

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 Fish and Wildlife Service's

threatened and endangered species program. To help guide the recovery

effort, the Service prepares recovery plans for most of the listed

species native to the United States. Recovery plans describe actions

that may be necessary for conservation of these species, establish

criteria for the recovery levels for reclassification from endangered

to threatened status or removal from the list, and estimate the time

and cost for implementing the needed recovery measures.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. et

seq.) 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 requires that public notice and an

opportunity for public review and comment be provided during the

recovery plan development. The Service will consider all information

presented during a public comment period prior to approval of each new

or revised recovery plan. The Service and other Federal agencies will

take these comments into account in the course of implementing approved

recovery plans.

The Multi-Species Recovery Plan identifies the recovery and

restoration needs of 68 threatened and endangered species and their

habitats in the South Florida Ecosystem--an area encompassing 67,346

square kilometers covering the 19 southernmost counties in Florida,

using an ecosystem-wide approach. The species addressed in this plan

are found throughout South Florida. Some are endemic to this area,

others range outside of South Florida, and some of the species included

in this plan migrate through or winter in South Florida. These species

use every vegetative, terrestrial, and aquatic community present in

South Florida. The status of these species varies, although very few

show an increasing trend. These species include:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Status Species Scientific name

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mammals

------------------------------------------------------------------------

E............... Florida panther........... Puma (=Felis) concolor

coryi.

E............... Key deer.................. Odocoileus virginianus

clavium.

E............... Key Largo cotton mouse.... Peromyscus gossypinus

allapaticola.

E............... Key Largo woodrat......... Neotoma floridana smalli.

E............... Silver rice rat........... Oryzomys palustris natator

(=O. argentatus).

E............... Lower Keys marsh rabbit... Sylvilagus palustris

hefneri.

T............... Southeastern beach mouse.. Peromyscus polionotus

niveiventris.

E............... West Indian manatee....... Trichechus manatus.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Birds

------------------------------------------------------------------------

T............... Audubon's crested caracara Polyborus plancus

audubonii.

E............... Bachman's warbler......... Vermivora bachmanii.

T............... Bald eagle................ Haliaeetus leucocephalus.

E............... Cape Sable seaside sparrow Ammodramus (=Ammospiza)

maritimus mirabilis.

E............... Snail kite................ Rostrhamus sociabilis

plumbeus.

E............... Florida grasshopper Ammodramus savannarum

sparrow. floridanus.

T............... Florida scrub-jay......... Aphelocoma coerulescens.

E............... Ivory-billed woodpecker... Campephilus principalis.

E............... Kirtland's warbler........ Dendroica kirtlandii.

T............... Piping plover............. Charadrius melodus.

E............... Red-cockaded woodpecker... Picoides (=Drendrocopos)

borealis.

T............... Roseate tern.............. Sterna dougallii

dougallii.

E............... Wood stork................ Mycteria americana.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reptiles

------------------------------------------------------------------------

E............... American crocodile........ Crocodylus acutus.

T............... Atlantic salt marsh snake. Nerodia clarkii

(=fasciata) taeniata.

T............... Bluetail (blue-tailed) Eumeces egregius lividus.

mole skink.

T............... Eastern indigo snake...... Drymarchon corais couperi.

E............... Green sea turtle.......... Chelonia mydas.

E............... Hawksbill sea turtle...... Eretmochelys imbricata.

E............... Kemp's (Atlantic) ridley Lepidochelys kempii.

sea turtle.

E............... Leatherback sea turtle.... Dermochelys coriacea.

T............... Loggerhead sea turtle..... Caretta caretta.

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T............... Sand skink................ Neoseps reynoldsi.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Invertebrates

------------------------------------------------------------------------

E............... Schaus swallowtail Heraclides (=Papilio)

butterfly. aristodemus ponceanus.

T............... Stock Island tree snail... Orthalicus reses.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plants

------------------------------------------------------------------------

E............... Avon Park harebells....... Crotalaria avonensis.

E............... Beach jacquemontia........ Jacquemontia reclinata.

E............... Beautiful pawpaw.......... Deeringothamnus

pulchellus.

E............... Britton's beargrass....... Nolina brittoniana.

E............... Carter's mustard.......... Warea carteri.

E............... Crenulate lead-plant...... Amorpha crenulata.

E............... Deltoid spurge............ Chamaesyce (=Euphorbia)

deltoidea.

T............... Florida bonamia........... Bonamia grandiflora.

E............... Florida golden aster...... Chrysopsis (=Heterotheca)

floridana.

E............... Florida perforate cladonia Cladonia perforata.

E............... Florida ziziphus.......... Ziziphus celata.

E............... Four-petal pawpaw......... Asimina tetramera.

E............... Fragrant prickly-apple.... Cereus eriophorus var.

fragrans.

T............... Garber's spurge........... Chamaesyce (=Euphorbia)

garberi.

E............... Garrett's mint............ Dicerandra christmanii.

E............... Highlands scrub hypericum. Hypericum cumulicola.

E............... Key tree-cactus........... Pilosocereus (=Cereus)

robinii.

E............... Lakela's mint............. Dicerandra immaculata.

E............... Lewton's polygala......... Polygala lewtonii.

E............... Okeechobee gourd.......... Cucurbita okeechobeensis

ssp. okeechobeensis.

T............... Papery whitlow-wort....... Paronychia chartacea

(=Nyachia pulvinata).

T............... Pigeon wing............... Clitoria fragrans.

E............... Pygmy fringe-tree......... Chionanthus pygmaeus.

E............... Sandlace.................. Polygonella myriophylla.

E............... Scrub blazing star........ Liatris ohlingerae.

T............... Scrub buckwheat........... Eriogonum longifolium var.

gnaphalifolium.

E............... Scrub lupine.............. Lupinus aridorum.

E............... Scrub mint................ Dicerandra frutescens.

E............... Scrub plum................ Prunus geniculata.

E............... Short-leaved rosemary..... Conradina brevifolia.

E............... Small's milkpea........... Galactia smallii.

E............... Snakeroot................. Eryngium cuneifolium.

E............... Tiny polygala............. Polygala smallii.

E............... Wide-leaf warea........... Warea amplexifolia.

E............... Wireweed.................. Polygonella basiramia

(=ciliata var. b.).

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Service has completed recovery plans for many of these species

at various times between 1980 and 1996 to identify actions necessary to

effect recovery. The ivory-billed woodpecker, Bachman's warbler, silver

rice rat, Key Largo woodrat, Key Largo cotton mouse, and Okeechobee

gourd do not have approved recovery plans. Since the approval of many

of the recovery plans for South Florida species, identified tasks have

been completed, and new information has become available on the

biology, distribution, life history, and needs of these species. In

addition, some species with a South Florida population had no tasks

identified for recovery in this area. This plan updates some existing

recovery plans, serves as the recovery plan for other species, or

identifies South Florida's contribution to recovery. The plan also

addresses new threats and needs for all the species identified within

it. This plan is a two-volume effort to identify recovery needs of the

species of South Florida and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The

focus of Volume I is the individual species, while Volume II integrates

the species needs with those of the ecological communities in which

they reside.

Paper copies of both volumes of the draft recovery plan are

available for public inspection at the following locations:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Florida Field Office, U.S.

Highway 1, Suite 5, Vero Beach, Florida 32960. 561-562-3909

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Merritt Island National Wildlife

Refuge, 4 miles east of Titusville, State Road 402, Titusville, Florida

32782. 407-861-0667

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, J.N. ``Ding'' Darling National Wildlife

Refuge, 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel, Florida 33957. 813-472-1100

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Panther National Wildlife

Refuge, 3860 Tollgate Boulevard, Suite 300, Naples, Florida 34114. 941-

353-8442

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Key Deer Refuge, Winn Dixie

Shopping Plaza, Big Pine Key, Florida 33043-1510. 305-872-2239

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge,

10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach, Florida 33437-4796. 561-732-3684

University of Florida, Smathers Library West, Gainesville, Florida

32611

University of Miami Library, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida

33149

University of Central Florida Library, 4000 Central Florida Blvd.,

Orlando, Florida 32816

Florida Atlantic University Library, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, Florida

33431

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Florida International University Library, FIU University Park, 11200 SW

A St., Miami, Florida 33199

University of South Florida Library, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa,

Florida 33620

Florida Gulf Coast University Library, 19501 Ben Hill Griffin Parkway,

Ft. Myers, Florida 33965-6565

Archbold Biological Station Library, P.O. Box 2057, Old State Road 8,

Lake Placid, Florida 33852

Fairchild Tropical Garden Library, 11935 Old Cutler Road, Miami,

Florida 33156

Big Pine Key Branch Library, 213 Key Deer Boulevard, Big Pine Key,

Florida 33043

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan

described. All comments received by the date identified above will be

considered prior to approval of the plan.

Authority

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

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

Dated: June 24, 1998.

James J. Slack,

Project Leader.

[FR Doc. 98-17671 Filed 7-10-98; 8:45 am]

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