Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule To List the Plant Puccinellia parishii (Parish's alkali grass) as Endangered

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part l7

RIN 1018-AC2l

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Withdrawal of

Proposed Rule To List the Plant Puccinellia parishii (Parish's alkali

grass) as Endangered

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) withdraws a proposal

to list the plant Puccinellia parishii (Parish's alkali grass) as an

endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended. This small annual grass occurs near desert springs, seeps, and

seasonally wet areas in Apache, Coconino, and Yavapai counties,

Arizona; San Bernardino County, California; San Miguel County,

Colorado, and Catron, Cibola, Grant, Hidalgo, McKinley, Sandoval, and

San Juan counties, New Mexico. The sites in Apache and Coconino

counties, Arizona, are on the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations. This

determination is based on the recent discovery of additional

populations and on new information concerning the species' habitat

requirements and apparent tolerance to habitat impacts.

ADDRESSES: The complete file for this notice is available for public

inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the

Service's New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road,

NE., Albuquerque, New Mexico 87113.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charlie McDonald at the above address,

or telephone 505/346-2525.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Parish's alkali grass was first collected by Samuel Bonsal Parish

at Rabbit Springs in the Mojave Desert of California in 1915. A.S.

Hitchcock described it as a new species in 1928. The genus Puccinellia

contains about 100 species of mostly north-temperate grasses (Willis

and Shaw 1973); there are 10 species in the United States (Hitchcock

and Chase 1951). Most species of Puccinellia have polyploid chromosome

numbers with only two diploid species in the United States, P. parishii

and P. lemonii (Church 1949). Studies by Davis and Goldman (1993)

indicate that P. parishii and P. lemonii are each genetically and

morphologically distinct.

Parish's alkali grass is a dwarf, ephemeral (winter-to-spring),

tufted annual. The leaves are 1-3 centimeters (cm) (0.4-1.2 inches

(in)) long, firm, upright, and very narrow. Flowering stems are 2-20 cm

(0.8-8.0 in) long, number 1-25 per plant, and appear from April to May.

Plants grow from about March through June, but can only be positively

identified during the flowering period. Plants die during the typically

dry southwestern spring. By mid-July, there is usually no sign of

plants at occupied sites.

Parish's alkali grass occupies alkaline springs, seeps, and

seasonally wet areas that occur at the heads of drainages or on gentle

slopes at elevations of 800-2200 meters (m) (2600-7200 feet (ft)). The

amount of available habitat depends on the size of the wet area and can

vary from a few square meters to 16 hectares (ha) (40 acres (ac)). The

species requires continuously damp soils during its late winter to

spring growing period. The number of plants in a population can

fluctuate widely from year to year in response to growing conditions.

Parish's alkali grass often grows in association with Distichlis

spicata (salt grass), Sporobolus airoides (alkali sacaton), Carex spp.

(sedge), Scirpus spp. (bulrush), Juncus spp. (rush),

[[Page 51330]]

Eleocharis spp. (spike rush), and Anemopsis californica (yerba mansa).

The geographic range of Parish's alkali grass extends about 1,000

kilometers (km) (600 miles (mi)) east to west from Sandoval County, New

Mexico, to San Bernardino County, California, and about 600 km (370 mi)

north to south from San Miguel County, Colorado, to Hidalgo County, New

Mexico.

Parish's alkali grass is currently known from 30 sites. There are

17 sites in New Mexico, 11 in Arizona, 1 in California, and 1 in

Colorado. In the proposed rule to list the species (59 FR 14378; March

28, 1994), it was reported from 10 sites, although 1 of these sites was

later determined to be a misidentified specimen.

The known sites in New Mexico have increased to 17 from the 1

reported in the proposed rule. Personnel of the New Mexico Forestry

Division discovered 12 new sites in Catron (1), Cibola (1), Hidalgo

(1), McKinley (6), and Sandoval (3) counties (Sivinski 1995). Two new

sites are in San Juan County (K. Heil, San Juan College, Farmington,

New Mexico, pers. comm. 1995), and the Bureau of Land Management

reported two new sites in Sandoval County (in litt. 1996). The one site

reported in the proposed rule is in Grant County.

The known sites in Arizona have increased to 11 from the 7 reported

in the proposed rule. The grass is described as common at one new site

in Yavapai County about 240 km (150 mi) southwest of the nearest other

Arizona site (P. Warren, The Nature Conservancy, Tucson, Arizona, pers.

comm. 1996). Three new sites are in Apache County, one on the Apache-

Sitgreaves National Forest (T. Myers, U.S. Forest Service,

Springerville, Arizona, in litt. 1997), and two on the Navajo Indian

Reservation (D. Roth, Navajo Natural Heritage Program, Window Rock,

Arizona, pers. comm. 1997). The seven sites reported in the proposed

rule are in Coconino County on the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations.

The known sites in California have decreased to one from the two

reported in the proposed rule. Dr. Andrew Sanders of the University of

California, Riverside, has identified the plants from Edwards Air Force

Base in Kern County as Puccinellia simplex rather than P. parishii (C.

Rutherford, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in litt. 1995).

The most recently discovered site occurs near Miramonte Reservoir

in San Miguel County, Colorado (J. Ferguson, Bureau of Land Management,

Montrose, Colorado, pers. comm. 1998). Arnold Clifford, a botanist with

Ecosphere Inc., discovered this site, the first recorded for Parish's

alkali grass in Colorado, in the summer of 1998 during environmental

surveys for a proposed gas transmission line. The site has 2,200-2,700

plants. Additional suitable habitat is present in the area, but has not

been surveyed.

Previous Federal Action

Federal action on this species began as a result of section 12 of

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.), which directed the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to

prepare a report on those plants considered to be endangered,

threatened, or extinct in the United States. The Smithsonian

Institution presented this report, designated as House Document No. 94-

51, to Congress on January 9, 1975. On July 1, 1975, we published a

notice in the Federal Register (40 FR 27823) accepting the Smithsonian

report as a petition within the context of section 4(c)(2) (now section

4(b)(3)) of the Act, and giving notice of our intention to review the

status of the plants named therein. On December 15, 1980 (45 FR 82479),

we published an updated notice reviewing the native plants being

considered for classification as endangered or threatened. We placed

Parish's alkali grass in Category 1 in that notice. Category 1 included

those plants for which we had sufficient information to support

proposing to list them as threatened or endangered. We placed Parish's

alkali grass in Category 2 in the November 23, 1983, supplement to the

plant notice (48 FR 53640). Category 2 included those taxa for which

available information indicated listing may be warranted, but for which

information on status and threats sufficient to support listing

proposals was lacking. We included Parish's alkali grass in Category 2

in the 1985 and 1990 plant notices (50 FR 39525, September 27, 1985; 55

FR 6183, February 21, 1990), and in Category 1 in the 1993 notice (58

FR 51144; September 30, 1993).

Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act requires the Secretary to make

findings on certain pending petitions within 1 year of their receipt.

Section 2(b)(1) of the 1982 amendments further requires that all

petitions pending on October 13, 1982, be treated as having been newly

submitted on that date. Because Parish's alkali grass was included in

the 1975 Smithsonian report, which was accepted as a petition, we

treated the petition to list this species as being newly submitted on

October 13, 1982. In each year from 1983 to 1993, we made a finding

that listing Parish's alkali grass was warranted, but precluded by

other listing actions of higher priority, in accordance with section

4(b)(3)(B)(iii) of the Act.

On March 28, 1994, we published a proposal in the Federal Register

(59 FR 14378) to list Parish's alkali grass as endangered. We received

one request for a public hearing. We published a notice announcing the

public hearing and reopening the comment period in the Federal Register

on August 30, 1994 (59 FR 44700). We held the public hearing on

September 15, 1994, in Tuba City, Arizona.

In consideration of the length of time since the initial proposal

and the acquisition of new information about Parish's alkali grass, we

published a notice in the Federal Register on July 20, 1998 (63 FR

38803), that summarized the new information and reopened the comment

period for 30 days.

Processing of this proposed rule conforms with our Listing Priority

Guidance for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999, published on May 8, 1998 (63

FR 25502). The guidance clarifies the order in which we will process

rulemakings giving highest priority (Tier 1) to processing emergency

rules to add species to the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants (Lists); second priority (Tier 2) to processing final

determinations on proposals to add species to the Lists, processing new

proposals to add species to the Lists, processing administrative

findings on petitions (to add species to the Lists, delist species, or

reclassify listed species), and processing a limited number of proposed

or final rules to delist or reclassify species; and third priority

(Tier 3) to processing proposed or final rules designating critical

habitat. Processing of this proposed rule is a Tier 2 action.

Summary of Comments and Recommendations

In the March 28, 1994, proposed rule, and the August 30, 1994, and

July 20, 1998, notices reopening the comment period, we requested all

interested parties to submit factual reports or information that might

contribute to the development of a final rule. We contacted appropriate

Federal and State agencies, Tribal and county governments, scientific

organizations, and other interested parties and requested them to

comment. We published notices of the proposed listing in mid-April,

1994, in three newspapers in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and four in

California. We published notices announcing the public hearing and

reopening of the

[[Page 51331]]

comment period in two newspapers in Arizona on September 10, 1994.

Three people attended the public hearing. One individual made oral

comments opposing the listing. Fourteen comment letters were received,

one from a Federal agency, three from State agencies, four from Tribal

governments, two from private organizations, and four from individuals.

Two commenters supported the listing, eight opposed the listing, and

four offered comments or information without taking a position on the

listing. Below we discuss specific comments or issues, which are

contrary to our decision to withdraw the proposed listing. Comments of

a similar nature or point are grouped into general issues for purposes

of response.

Issue 1: Parish's alkali grass merits protection because of its

small and isolated populations that are limited to a very specific

habitat.

Response: Recent discoveries indicate that Parish's alkali grass,

although still rare, is more common than previously supposed. Some of

the newly discovered populations indicate Parish's alkali grass

occupies a somewhat broader range of habitats than previously known.

Several new populations were discovered at sites that are wet only

during the winter and spring. These ephemeral seeps are not marked on

maps and were discovered when searching springs in the same general

area. The number of these seeps is unknown, but they greatly increase

the available suitable habitat for Parish's alkali grass.

Issue 2: Parish's alkali grass is threatened by livestock grazing

and other impacts that have modified desert springs in the southwest.

Response: We agree that a large number of desert springs in the

southwest have been modified for various uses. Some of the newly

discovered populations, however, cast doubt on the negative effects of

livestock on Parish's alkali grass. Heavy grazing and trampling have

occurred for decades at several springs where Parish's alkali grass is

present. Disturbance around springs may reduce competition and create

open microsites that benefit this small annual grass. The relationship

between livestock impacts at springs and Parish's alkali grass requires

further study.

Issue 3: Parish's alkali grass is threatened by the potential loss

of entire ecosystems where it is found.

Response: We are aware that various factors have caused some

springs in the Southwest to go permanently dry. Sivinski (1995) used

topographic maps to determine the locations of 58 springs in New Mexico

that could be habitat for Parish's alkali grass. In surveys of these

springs, he found five dry and the flow from six others completely

captured for livestock or domestic use. Most of the remaining springs

had been modified at some time, but still flowed. Nevertheless, as

discussed under factor A of the following ``Summary of Factors

Affecting the Species'' section, Parish's alkali grass has been

discovered at sites other than springs, which greatly increases the

likelihood of finding more populations of this plant.

Summary of Factors Affecting the Species

Section 4(a)(1) of the Act and regulations (50 CFR part 424)

promulgated to implement the listing provisions of the Act set forth

the procedures for adding species to the Federal lists and for

withdrawing a proposed rule when warranted. We may determine a species

to be an endangered or threatened species due to one or more of the

five factors described in section 4(a)(1). These factors as they apply

to the withdrawal of the proposed rule for Puccinellia parishii

Hitchcock (Parish's alkali grass) are as follows:

A. The present or threatened destruction. modification. or

curtailment of its habitat or range. Parish's alkali grass is

vulnerable to alteration of the hydrology of the habitats upon which it

depends. Sivinski (1995) observed that 11 of the 58 springs that he

surveyed for Parish's alkali grass in New Mexico were either dry or

completely captured for livestock or domestic use. In addition to

natural drought, other factors causing springs to go dry in the

Southwest include groundwater pumping, erosion and stream entrenchment,

and salt cedar (Tamarix spp.) invasion. However, Parish's alkali grass

is apparently able to withstand some types of human disturbance. For

example, the grass occurs where there is farming, where springs have

been modified into earthen impoundments, and where there is light to

heavy livestock grazing and trampling. In one instance, a highway

right-of-way fence protects part of a site from grazing. The protected

area has a dense stand of sweet clover (Melilotus sp.) and no Parish's

alkali grass, but the grass is abundant in the grazed area only a few

meters away. Further study is needed to determine what types of

disturbances are detrimental to Parish's alkali grass, and what types

may benefit the species through reduced competition with other

vegetation and the creation of favorable microsites for seedling

establishment.

Parish's alkali grass is now known from 30 sites as opposed to 10

sites reported in the proposed rule. Some of the new discoveries have

extended the overall range of the species. In particular, the site in

southwestern Colorado extends the species' range about 330 km (205 mi)

northeastward from previously known sites in Arizona, and the discovery

in west-central Arizona extends the species' range about 240 km (150

mi) southwestward in that State. Many of the new sites fill gaps in the

known distribution making populations much less disjunct from one

another than previously supposed.

Characteristics of some recently discovered Parish's alkali grass

sites indicate that the species occupies a somewhat broader range of

habitats than previously supposed. Several sites were discovered where

the soils are subirrigated and wet only during the winter and spring

months. These sites are generally not identified as springs on maps and

are only noticeable because their greener vegetation contrasts with the

surrounding brown vegetation during the dry spring months. One newly

discovered site occurs at 2,240 m (7,350 ft) in elevation, which is 410

m (1,350 ft) higher than any of the sites identified in the proposed

rule. These discoveries greatly increase the number of potential sites

where Parish's alkali grass might be found.

B. Overutilization for commercial. recreational. scientific. or

educational purposes. We do not know of any commercial or recreational

uses for Parish's alkali grass. Although we identified scientific

collecting as a potential threat in the proposed rule, the newly

discovered populations reduce this concern. In addition, this annual

grass is abundant in favorable years within its limited habitat and

should be unharmed by limited collecting for taxonomic or ecological

research. We do not know of any trade of Parish's alkali grass and do

not expect any to develop.

C. Disease or predation. Cattle generally do not graze Parish's

alkali grass due to its small size. Jackrabbits (Lepus californicus)

have been documented grazing the San Bernardino County, California,

site during midsummer with unknown effects (T. Thomas, pers. comm.

1993). No significant disease has been observed in this species.

D. The inadequacv of existing regulatory mechanisms. Parish's

alkali grass is included as a Highly Safeguarded species on the list of

plants protected under the Arizona Native Plant Law ARS3-901,

administered by the Arizona Department of Agriculture.

[[Page 51332]]

A Highly Safeguarded species is one ``* * * whose prospects for

survival in this State are in jeopardy * * *'' The protections afforded

a Highly Safeguarded species include restrictions on collecting and a

requirement for salvage permits.

The Navajo Fish and Wildlife Department has developed the Navajo

Nation Endangered Species List for Tribal lands under Title 17 Section

507(a) of the Navajo Tribal Code and Navajo Nation Council Resources

Committee Resolution RCF-014-91. Parish's alkali grass is identified as

a Group 2 species on this list, meaning that it is considered in danger

of being eliminated from all or a significant portion of its range on

the Navajo Nation. This designation became effective February 14, 1994

(L. Benallie, Navajo Fish and Wildlife Department, in litt. 1993).

Although the State of California does not list Parish's alkali

grass as endangered, it is on List lB of the Native Plant Society's

Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California

(California Native Plant Society 1992). List lB plants are considered

``* * * rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere.''

Under the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act, the

State considers List lB species equivalent to State-listed species for

the purposes of disclosing project impacts to sensitive resources in

environmental assessments. However, such disclosures do not necessarily

protect List lB species from project impacts.

Parish's alkali grass is listed as endangered under the New Mexico

Endangered Plant Species Act (9-10-10 NMSA) and attendant regulation

(19 NMAC 21.2). Species so listed are protected from unauthorized

collection or take in New Mexico (Sivinski and Lightfoot 1995).

Parish's alkali grass was first discovered in Colorado in the

summer of 1998. It is not yet protected under any Colorado endangered

species laws.

The above designations provide conservation measures for Parish's

alkali grass equivalent to many of the measures available through

listing under the Act. State and Tribal listing provides recognition

for the species that results in conservation actions by Federal, State,

and local agencies, private groups, and individuals. Section 7(a) of

the Act, which requires Federal agencies to ensure that activities they

authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the

continued existence of a threatened or endangered species, will not

apply without Federal listing. However, it is the policy of most

Federal agencies to protect State- and Tribal-listed species to a

similar degree as federally listed species.

E. Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued

existence. The discovery of Parish's alkali grass at 20 more sites than

reported in the proposed rule, and the fact that many new sites are at

locations several hundred kilometers from the sites previously known

reduces the concern for extinction through random environmental events

such as drought.

Finding and Withdrawal

Data collected since Parish's alkali grass was proposed for listing

indicate the species is more abundant and has a greater geographic

range than previously supposed. Parish's alkali grass was formerly

thought to occur only at springs, but some of the recently discovered

sites show that suitable habitat exists where soils are subirrigated

(irrigated below the surface) and wet only during the winter and spring

months thus greatly expanding the amount of suitable habitat.

Conditions at some recently discovered sites indicate the species may

tolerate, or even benefit from, certain disturbances that were

previously identified as threats.

Parish's alkali grass is designated as ``endangered'' under State

and Tribal statutes in Arizona, New Mexico, and the Navajo Nation. In

California, it is on List lB of the Native Plant Society's Inventory of

Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California. These designations

provide recognition to the species and promote its conservation in many

ways that are similar to listing under the Act.

Based on recent discoveries of additional sites and new information

on suitable habitats and threats to the species, we have concluded that

listing Parish's alkali grass as endangered or threatened under the Act

is not warranted. Therefore, we withdraw our March 28, 1994, proposed

rule (59 FR 14378) to list Parish's alkali grass as endangered.

References Cited

California Native Plant Society. 1992. Inventory of rare and

endangered vascular plants of California. California Native Plant

Society, Sacramento, California.

Church, G.L. 1949. A cytotaxonomic study of Glyceria and

Puccinellia. American Journal of Botany 36:155-165.

Davis, J.I. and D.H. Goldman. 1993. Isozyme variation and species

delimitation among diploid populations of the Puccinellia

nuttalliania complex (Poaceae): character fixation and the discovery

of phylogenetic species. Taxon 42:585-599.

Hitchcock, A.S. 1928. New Species of grasses from the United States.

Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 41:157-58.

Hitchcock, A.S. and A. Chase. 1951. Manual of the grasses of the

United States, second edition. United States Department of

Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication Number 200, Washington, D.C.

Sivinski, R. 1995. Parish's alkali grass, progress report. New

Mexico Forestry and Resources Conservation Division Section 6

Performance Report, Project E9, Segment 9. U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sivinski, R. and K. Lightfoot, editors. 1995. Inventory of the rare

and endangered plants of New Mexico, third edition. New Mexico

Forestry and Resources Conservation Division, Energy, Minerals and

Natural Resources Department Miscellaneous Publication Number 4.

Willis, J.C. and H.K.A. Shaw. 1973. A dictionary of the flowering

plants and ferns, eighth edition. Cambridge University Press,

Cambridge, England.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Charlie McDonald (See

ADDRESSES section).

Authority

The authority for this action is section 4(b)(6)(B)(ii) of the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: September 17, 1998.

Jamie Rappaport Clark,

Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 98-25717 Filed 9-24-98; 8:45 am]

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