Availability of Draft Revised Recovery Plan for MacFarlane's Four-O'Clock (Mirabilis macfarlanei) for Review and Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of Draft Revised Recovery Plan for MacFarlane's

Four-O'Clock (Mirabilis macfarlanei) for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability

for public review of a draft revised recovery plan for MacFarlane's

four-o'clock. (Mirabilis macfarlanei). This plant occurs in grassland

habitats in Idaho County, Idaho, and Wallowa County, Oregon.

DATES: Comments received on the draft recovery plan by June 4, 1999

will be considered by the Service.

[[Page 16479]]

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft revised recovery plan are available for

inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the

following locations: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1387 South Vinnell

Way, Room 368, Boise, Idaho 83709 (phone: 208/378-5243). Requests for

copies of the draft revised recovery plan and written comments and

materials regarding this plan should be addressed to the Supervisor at

the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edna Rey-Vizgirdas, botanist, at the

above address.

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 Service's endangered species

program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is working to

prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native to the

United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for

the conservation of the species, establish criteria for the recovery

levels for downlisting or delisting them, and estimate time frames and

costs for implementing the recovery measures needed.

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

(Act), requires the development of a recovery plan for listed species

unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular

species. Section 4(f) of the Act as amended in 1988 requires that

public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be

provided during recovery plan development. The Service will consider

all information presented during the public comment period prior to

approval of each new or revised recovery plan. Substantive technical

comments will result in changes to the plans. Substantive comments

regarding recovery plan implementation may not necessarily result in

changes to the recovery plans, but will be forwarded to appropriate

Federal or other entities so that they can take these comments into

account during the course of implementing recovery actions.

Individualized responses to comments will not be provided.

MacFarlane's four-o'clock (Mirabilis macfarlanei) is listed as

threatened. A member of the four-o'clock family, this plant is found in

low to mid-elevation canyon grassland habitats in west-central Idaho

and northeastern Oregon. Plants are found on gravelly to loamy and

sandy soils between approximately 300 and 900 meters (1,000 to 3,000

feet) elevation. Grazing by domestic livestock and the invasion of

exotic (nonnative) plants are the greatest threats to this species.

Other threats include human trampling, off-road vehicle use,

construction and maintenance of roads and trails, and herbicide

spraying.

The objective of this plan is to provide a framework for the

recovery of MacFarlane's four-o'clock so that protection by the Act is

no longer necessary. The recovery strategy for this species is focused

on protecting habitat and maintaining self-sustaining populations of

MacFarlane's four-o'clock throughout its range in Idaho and Oregon, and

minimizing or eliminating threats to the populations.

This plan describes an 8-part strategy with specific tasks

necessary to maintain suitable grassland ecosystems that provide

habitat for MacFarlane's four-o'clock. The tasks, when implemented,

will stabilize and maintain populations throughout the range of

MacFarlane's four-o'clock by protecting sufficient occupied and

adjacent suitable habitat, implementing actions that may be necessary

to eliminate or control threats, managing habitat to maintain or

enhance viable populations of MacFarlane's four-o'clock, monitoring the

status of populations and habitat conditions to ensure that recovery

actions are successful, conducting research to determine the population

dynamics and ecology of the species to guide management efforts and

ensure the conservation of the species, and establishing a long-term

seed storage facility for MacFarlane's four-o'clock.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan

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

considered prior to approval of this plan.

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

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

Dated: March 30, 1999.

David L. McMullen,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 99-8204 Filed 4-2-99; 8:45 am]

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