[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50396-50397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25420]


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

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.

[[Page 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