Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 / Notices 50395

Utah Reclamation, Mitigation and

Conservation Commission; Bureau of

Reclamation; Central Utah Water

Conservancy District; Army Corps of

Engineers; and the Service. The

agreement focuses on eliminating or

minimizing threats to the least chub and

its habitat to the greatest extent possible

and on restoring and maintaining

populations of least chub throughout its

historical range. The Service solicits

review and comment from the public on

the draft agreement.

DATES: Comments on the Draft

Conservation Agreement must be

received on or before October 27, 1997

to be considered by the Service during

preparation of the final conservation

agreement and prior to the Service’s

determination whether it will be a

signatory party to the agreement.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the Draft Conservation Agreement may

obtain a copy by contacting the Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 145 East 1300 South, Suite 404,

Salt Lake City, Utah 84115. Written

comments and materials regarding the

Draft Conservation Agreement also

should be directed to the same address.

Comments and written materials will be

available upon request for public

inspection, by appointment, during

normal business hours at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Reed E. Harris, Field Supervisor

(see ADDRESSES section) (telephone 801/

524–5001).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The least chub is a small monotypic

minnow endemic to the Bonneville

Basin in Utah where it was once

common and widely distributed. The

distribution and abundance of least

chub populations have declined steadily

over the past 15–20 years, and at the

time it was proposed for Federal listing

as an endangered species with critical

habitat, September 29, 1995 (60 FR

50518), was only known to occur within

the Snake Valley in western Utah. The

declines in range and abundance of least

chub has been attributed to competition

and predation from nonnative species

and habitat loss and degradation.

Shortly after the species was proposed

for Federal listing, the Utah Department

of Natural Resources initiated

development of a Conservation

Agreement, working cooperatively with

other agencies, in an effort to reduce the

threats affecting the least chub.

The Draft Conservation Agreement

focuses on identifying, reducing and

eliminating significant threats to the

species that warrant its listing as an

endangered species with critical habitat,

and on restoring and maintaining least

chub populations throughout its

historical range.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service will use information

received in its determination on

whether it should be a signatory party

to the agreement. Comments or

suggestions from the public, other

concerned government agencies, the

scientific community, industry, or any

other interested party concerning this

draft document are hereby solicited. All

comments and materials received will

be considered prior to the approval of

any final document.

Author: The primary author of this

notice is Janet Mizzi (see ADDRESSES

section) (telephone 801/524–5001).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

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

Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, the Fish

and Wildlife Service Coordination Act

of 1964, and the National Memorandum

of Understanding (94 (SMU–058)).

Dated: September 18, 1997.

Terry T. Terrell,

Deputy Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.

[FR Doc. 97–25414 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan

for the Threatened and Rare Native

Fishes of the Warner Basin and Alkali

Subbasin: Warner Sucker (Catostomus

warnerensis) (Threatened); Hutton Tui

Chub (Gila bicolor ssp.) (Threatened);

Foskett Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys

osculus ssp.) (Threatened); Cowhead

Lake Tui Chub (Gila bicolor vaccaceps)

(Candidate); Warner Valley Redband

Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss ssp.)

(Special Concern)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) announces the

availability of the draft recovery plan for

the Threatened and Rare Native Fishes

of the Warner Basin and Alkali

Subbasin. These fishes include the

threatened Warner sucker (Catostomus

warnerensis), the threatened Hutton tui

chub (Gila bicolor ssp.), the threatened

Foskett speckled dace (Rhinichthys

osculus ssp.), the candidate Cowhead

Lake tui chub (Gila bicolor vaccaceps)

and the Warner Valley redband trout

(Oncorhynchus mykiss ssp.) which is

considered to be of special concern.

These species inhabit a wide variety

of spring, stream, and lake habitats in

the Warner Basin of Oregon, California,

and Nevada. The Hutton tui chub

inhabits a spring system in the Alkali

Subbasin of Oregon. The Service solicits

review and comment from the public on

this draft plan.

DATES: All 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 State Supervisor,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon

State Office, 2600 S.E. 98th Avenue,

Suite 100, Portland, Oregon 97266–1398

(telephone 503–231–6179). Written

comments and materials regarding the

plan should be addressed to the State

Supervisor, at the above address.

Comments and materials received are

available on request for public

inspection, by appointment, during

normal business hours at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Antonio Bentivoglio at the above

Oregon State Office address and phone

number.

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 U.S. Fish and

Wildlife 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

necessary for the conservation of the

species, establish criteria for

reclassification or delisting, and

estimate the time and cost for

implementing the recovery measures

needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973

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

seq.) requires 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 be

provided during recovery plan

development. The Service hereby

publishes a notice that the draft plan is
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.