50396 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 / Notices

available for public review during a 60-

day comment period.

The Warner sucker inhabits the lakes

and low gradient stream reaches of the

Warner Valley in southeastern Oregon.

The Foskett speckled dace inhabits two

springs in the Coleman subbasin of the

Warner Valley. The Hutton tui chub

inhabits one spring, and may inhabit a

second spring, in the Alkali subbasin of

the Chewaucan Basin, in southeastern

Oregon. The Warner sucker was listed

in September of 1985 (50 FR 39117),

and critical habitat was designated at

that time. The Foskett speckled dace

and Hutton tui chub were listed in

March of 1985 (50 FR 12305) and at that

time the designation of critical habitat

was determined to be imprudent.

In addition to these listed species, this

plan also addresses the conservation

needs of the candidate Cowhead Lake

tui chub and the Warner Valley redband

trout which is considered to be of

special concern. The Cowhead Lake tui

chub is native to Cowhead Lake, Modoc

County, California, where it inhabits the

seasonal waters of the lake and a nearby

slough that drains the lake. The Warner

Valley redband trout is native to the

Warner Valley and is found in the same

habitats as the Warner sucker, but also

in higher gradient stream reaches

upstream of the Warner sucker’s habitat.

Most of these species are impacted by

a variety of human induced

disturbances to their habitats. Activities

such as grazing of livestock, timber

harvest, road construction, irrigation

practices, and the stocking of non-native

fish species have all contributed to the

declines of, or otherwise increased the

risk of extinction of, these species.

Recovery and long term conservation of

these species will require establishment

of self-sustaining populations with

adequate distribution in current habitats

and, in some cases, the reestablishment

of migration corridors among habitats.

For spring dwelling species,

conservation will additionally require

securing spring water sources, research

into long-term habitat management

needs, and assessment of genetic threats

to small populations.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments

on the recovery plan. All comments

received by the date specified above

will be considered prior to the approval

of the plan.

Author: The author of this notice is

Antonio Bentivoglio (see Oregon State Office

address above).

Authority

The authority for this action is section

4(f) of the Endangered Species Act, 16

U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: August 30, 1997.

Mike Spear,

Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 97–25419 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of Draft Recovery Plan for

Applegate’s Milk-vetch (Astragalus

applegatei) for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service announces the availability for

public review of the Technical/Agency

Draft Recovery Plan for Applegate’s

Milk-vetch (Astragalus applegatei Peck).

This endangered plant is from the

Lower Klamath Basin near the city of

Klamath Falls, Klamath County, in

southern Oregon.

DATE: Comments on the draft recovery

plan received by November 24, 1997

will be considered by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft recovery

plan are available for inspection, by

appointment, during normal business

hours at the following locations: U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath Falls

Fish and Wildlife Office, 6610

Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, Oregon

97603. Requests for copies of the draft

recovery plan and written comments

and materials regarding this plan should

be addressed to Steven Alan Lewis,

Project Leader, at the above Klamath

Falls office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barb

Masinton at the Klamath Falls address

above (541/885–8481).

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 and cost for implementing

the recovery measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act, as

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (Act),

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 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.

Astragalus applegatei (Applegate’s

milk-vetch) is endangered and is

currently known from only three

populations occurring in the Lower

Klamath Basin near the city of Klamath

Falls, Klamath County, in southern

Oregon. It is restricted to flat-lying,

seasonally moist, strongly alkaline soils.

Although it is currently replete with

introduced grasses and other weeds, the

species’ habitat was historically

characterized by sparse, native bunch

grasses and patches of bare soil.

Intensive agricultural and urban

development of the Klamath River

floodplain has resulted in severe

depletion and fragmentation of

Applegate’s milk-vetch habitat. The

largest of the three populations

continues to face attrition through

industrial development on private

lands. Virtually all remaining potential

(undeveloped) habitat for the species

has been seriously modified by a

proliferation of weeds, fire suppression,

flood control, and land reclamation

projects involving extensive

construction of drainage ditches and

water retention dikes. Threats to the

species are exacerbated by the small

number of populations in a limited area,

which increases the vulnerability of

Applegate’s milk-vetch to extirpation

due to random mortality events.

Furthermore, the smaller populations

may not have enough individuals to

maintain the genetic variability

necessary for long-term population

viability.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 / Notices 50397

This plan provides a framework for

the recovery of Applegate’s milk-vetch

so it can at least be reclassified from

endangered to threatened status, and

might eventually no longer need the

protection by the Endangered Species

Act. This plan summarizes available

information about the species, reviews

the threats to its continued existence,

and lists management actions needed to

remove these threats. Immediate actions

needed to prevent extinction of

Applegate’s milk-vetch includes

conservation of natural populations and

establishment of new populations.

Inventories will be conducted to attempt

to find undiscovered populations and to

find suitable sites to establish new

populations. Habitat management will

be instituted for populations of this

plant, as will monitoring to determine

whether populations are likely to

persist. Long-term activities necessary to

perpetuate this species in its natural

habitats include long-term seed storage

and propagation to mitigate future

population losses and make it possible

to maintain genetic variability in small

populations that are vulnerable to

inbreeding depression and/or allele

fixation. Research to define population

self-sustainability, improve population

establishment and augmentation

techniques, assess the efficacy of habitat

management strategies, and evaluate the

plant’s soil and water requirements are

all needed to help make appropriate

management decisions.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments

on the recovery plan. 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: September 18, 1997.

Don Weathers,

Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Pacific Region.

[FR Doc. 97–25420 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of Draft Recovery

Plan for Nelson’s Checker-Mallow

(Oregon and Washington) for Review

and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability

and public comment period.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) announces the

availability for public review of a draft

recovery plan for the Nelson’s checkermallow (Sidalcea nelsoniana), listed as

a threatened species on February 12,

1993 (58 FR 8242). The species occurs

primarily as scattered populations in

two distinct ecological regions—the

northern Coast Range and the

Willamette Valley of Oregon. Two

outlying populations are located in the

Puget Trough of Washington.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery

plan received by November 24, 1997

will be considered by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the draft recovery plan may obtain a

copy by contacting the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Oregon State Office,

2600 S.E. 98th Ave., Suite 100, Portland,

Oregon 97266–1398. Written comments

and material regarding the plan should

be addressed to the Field Supervisor at

the above address. Comments and

materials received are available for

public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Andrew F. Robinson Jr., Fish and

Wildlife Biologist, at the above address

or by phone at 503/231–6179.

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

the site specific management actions

considered necessary for conservation

and survival of the species, establish

objectives and measurable criteria for

the recovery levels for downlisting or

delisting them, and estimate time and

cost for implementing the recovery

measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973,

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

(Act), 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, as amended in

1988, requires that public notice and an

opportunity for public review and

comment be provided during recovery

plan development. The Service, and

other affected Federal agencies, will

take these comments into account in the

course of implementing approved

recovery plans.

Nelson’s checker-mallow (Sidalcea

nelsoniana) is a herbaceous perennial

plant species in the mallow family

(Malvaceae). Like many of the members

of its genus, Nelson’s checker-mallow

produces mature plants that have either

exclusively female flowers or perfect

flowers. Nelson’s checker-mallow is

listed as threatened, with 59 known

extant occurrences containing an

estimated 27,000 individuals. The

species typically occurs in or along the

margins of seasonally moist, early

successional valley bottom habitats of

the Willamette Valley or in mountain

meadows in the Oregon Coast Range.

Populations in the Willamette Valley

are threatened by agriculture and urban

development that has resulted in severe

habitat depletion and modification, and

the fragmentation of its populations into

mostly small, widely-scattered patches.

Successional species, primarily

resulting from suppression or

elimination of natural disturbances such

as periodic flooding and fires, are

eliminating Nelson’s checker-mallow

from much of its remaining habitat. In

addition to land use threats, Willamette

Valley populations are subject to

competitive exclusion by exotic species,

seed predation by weevils prior to seed

dispersal, and increased vulnerability to

extirpation due to small population size

and genetic isolation, and lack of

genetic variation within and among

populations.

Land use threats are serious in the

Oregon Coast Range, where the

meadows occupied by Nelson’s checkermallow are isolated from agricultural

and Urban development. The major land

use threat in the Oregon Coast Range is

inundation by a reservoir planned for

Walker Creek, the site of the largest

known population of the species. The

habitat of several Oregon Coast Range

populations is disturbed by recreational

use of habitat by motorcyclists.

The objective of this plan is to

provide a framework for the recovery of

Nelson’s checker-mallow so that its

protection by the Act is no longer

necessary. The plan will be made final

and approved following incorporation

of comments and material received

during this comment period.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments

on the recovery plan described above.

All comments received by the date

specified above will be considered prior

to approval of this plan.