Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Extension of Comment Period and Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Threatened Status for Rumex Orthoneurus (Chiricahua Dock)

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AE89

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Extension of

Comment Period and Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Threatened

Status for Rumex Orthoneurus (Chiricahua Dock)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period and notice of public

hearing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) gives notice that

a public hearing will be held and the comment period extended on the

proposed rule to list the plant Rumex orthoneurus (Chiricahua or

Blumer's dock) as threatened. The hearing and the extension of the

comment period will allow all interested parties to submit oral or

written comments on the proposal.

DATES: The comment period for this proposal will be extended from July

30, 1998, to October 1, 1998. Comments must be received by the closing

date. Any comments that are received after the closing date may not be

considered in the final decision on the proposal. The public hearing

will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on August 18, 1998, in Silver City,

New Mexico.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at Light Hall Auditorium,

Western New Mexico University, 1000 College Street, Silver City, New

Mexico. Written comments should be sent to the State Supervisor, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, 2321 W. Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, Phoenix,

Arizona 85021. Comments and materials received will be available for

public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the

above Service address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey A. Humphrey, at the above

address, 602/640-2720.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes to list Rumex

orthoneurus (commonly known as Chiricahua or Blumer's dock) as

threatened pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended

(Act). This plant is a rare Southwest endemic occurring within riparian

and cienega (marshy wetland) habitats at elevations ranging from 1,950

to 2,763 m (6,398 to 9,065 ft). The plant is known from the Chiricahua,

Pinaleno, Huachuca, Sierra Ancha, and White mountains in Arizona. In

New Mexico, the plant is known from the Mogollon and San Francisco

mountains. The plant is also believed to extend into northern New

Mexico in the Pecos Wilderness and to have been extirpated from the

Lincoln National Forest. A site in Mexico in the Sierra de los Ajos has

also been reported. Habitat loss and degradation due to livestock

grazing, recreation, water diversions and development, road

construction and maintenance, and wildfire imperil the continued

existence of this species. This proposal, if made final, would extend

the Act's protection to this plant. A proposed rule to list this

species as threatened was published in the Federal Register (63 FR

15813) on April 1, 1998.

Pursuant to 50 CFR 424.16(c)(2), the Service may extend or reopen a

comment period upon finding that there is good cause to do so. Full

participation of the affected public in the species listing process,

allowing the Service to consider the best scientific and commercial

data available in making a final determination on the proposed action,

is deemed as sufficient cause.

Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act, as amended (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 a proposed rule. In response to four such

requests, the Service will hold a public hearing on the date and at the

address described above.

Anyone wishing to make an oral statement for the record is

encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement and present it

to the Service at the start of the hearing. In the event there is a

large attendance, the time allotted for oral statements may have to be

limited. Oral and written statements receive equal consideration. There

are no limits to the length of written comments presented at the

hearings or mailed to the Service. Legal notices announcing the dates,

times, and locations of the hearings will be published in newspapers

concurrently with the Federal Register notice.

The current comment period on this proposal closes on July 30,

1998. In order to accommodate this public hearing, the Service extends

the public comment period. Written comments may now be submitted until

October 1, 1998, to the Service office in the ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Jeffrey A. Humphrey (see

ADDRESSES).

Authority

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

(16 U.S.C. 1531-1544).

Dated: July 24, 1998.

Renne Lohoefener,

Acting Regional Director, Region 2, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 98-20223 Filed 7-28-98; 8:45 am]

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