[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 64 (Thursday, April 3, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15872-15873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8450]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding 
for a Petition To List the Santa Ana Sucker as Endangered

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition finding.

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SUMMARY: The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 12-
month finding for a petition to list the Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus 
santaanae) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). 
The Santa Ana sucker is found in small shallow streams in southern 
California, and although described as common in the 1970s, the species 
has experienced declines throughout most of its range because of 
urbanization, water pollution, dams, introduced non-native fishes, and 
other human-caused disturbances. The Service finds that the petition to 
list the Santa Ana sucker is warranted but precluded by other listing 
actions of higher priority.

DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on March 27, 
1997. Comments from all interested parties may be submitted until 
further notice.

ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments, or questions concerning this 
finding should be submitted to the Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Field 
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730 Loker Avenue West, 
Carlsbad, California 92008. Comments and materials received will be 
available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business 
hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Barrett, Carlsbad Field Office 
see ADDRESSES section) (telephone 619/431-9440 or facsimile 619/431-
9624).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act requires that for any petition to 
revise the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants that 
contains substantial scientific or commercial information indicating 
that the petitioned action may be warranted, a finding be made within 
12 months of the date of receipt of the petition on whether the 
petitioned action is: (a) not warranted, (b) warranted, or (c) 
warranted but precluded from immediate proposal by other pending 
proposals. Such 12-month findings are to be published promptly in the 
Federal Register. Section 4(b)(3)(B)(iii) of the Act states that the 
Service may make warranted but precluded findings if it can demonstrate 
that an immediate proposed rule is precluded by other pending proposals 
and that expeditious progress is being made on other listing actions. 
Section 4(b)(3)(C) requires that petitions for which the requested 
action is found to be warranted but precluded should be treated as 
though resubmitted on the date of such finding, i.e., requiring a 
subsequent finding to be made within 12 months.
    Because of budgetary constraints and the lasting effects of the 
congressionally imposed listing moratorium, the Service is processing 
petitions and other listing actions according to the listing priority 
guidance published in the Federal Register on December 5, 1996 (61 FR 
64475). The guidance for fiscal year 1997 clarifies the order in which 
the Service will process listing activities with appropriated funds. 
Administrative findings for listing petitions that are not assigned to 
tier 1 (emergency listing actions) will be processed as a tier 3 
priority (61 FR 64480). Further action on the subject petition falls 
within tier 3 of the current guidance. Because of pending proposed 
species listings (tier 2 activities), the Pacific Region (Region 1) 
will be primarily processing final decisions on proposed rules during 
fiscal year 1997 (61 FR 64477). However, as the Pacific Region nears 
completion of its pending tier 1 and 2 actions, the Service expects 
Region 1 to begin processing some tier 3 actions later this fiscal 
year. Priority within tier 3 will be given to new proposals for species 
facing high-magnitude, imminent threats (61 FR 64480), especially 
court-ordered proposals for such species with listing priority numbers 
of 1 through 3 (e.g., Fund for Animals v. Babbitt, Civ. No. 92-800 (SS) 
(D.D.C.)).
    On September 6, 1994, the Service received a petition under the Act 
to list the Santa Ana speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus ssp.), Santa 
Ana sucker (Catostomus santaanae), and the Shay Creek threespine 
stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus ssp.) as endangered species. The 
petition was submitted by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Inc. 
(located in San Francisco, California), on behalf of seven groups. The 
seven groups are the California-Nevada Chapter of the American 
Fisheries Society, The Nature School, The California Sportfishing 
Protection Alliance, Friends of the River, Izaak Walton League of 
America, California Trout, and Trout Unlimited.
    A timely finding on the subject petition was precluded by higher 
priority listing actions and budget constraints. On May 16, 1996, the 
Service published a description of how it would prioritize the various 
listing actions for the remainder of fiscal year 1996 (61 FR 24722). 
Based on this listing priority guidance, the 90-day finding was 
designated as a tier 3 action, and the processing of tier 3 actions was 
not expected to begin during the remainder of fiscal year 1996. Despite 
requests for deference to the listing

[[Page 15873]]

priority guidance, however, the Service was compelled by court order to 
issue the 90-day finding.
    On July 9, 1996, the Service published a 90-day petition finding 
(61 FR 36021) that substantial information had been presented 
indicating the requested action may be warranted for the Santa Ana 
sucker. This same 90-day petition finding stated that the petition did 
not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating 
the petitioned action may be warranted for the Santa Ana speckled dace 
and Shay Creek threespine stickleback because it did not substantiate 
that the two taxa are described species, subspecies, or distinct 
vertebrate population segments as required under current Service policy 
(61 FR 4722) to be considered for listing. Furthermore, the Service 
presently regards the Shay Creek threespine stickleback as a population 
of the unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus 
williamsoni), a species that is already listed as endangered. While 
work on the 12-month finding, also a tier 3 activity, would not have 
been initiated under the listing priority guidance, the Service 
subsequently initiated a status review for the Santa Ana sucker 
pursuant to an October 10, 1996, court order.
    The Service has carefully assessed the best scientific and 
commercial information available regarding the present and future 
threats facing the Santa Ana sucker. This analysis is documented in the 
Service's Administrative 12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the 
Santa Ana Sucker as Endangered (Finding). Although the Santa Ana sucker 
was described as common in the 1970s (Moyle 1976), the species has 
experienced declines throughout most of its range (Moyle and Yoshiyama 
1992). This apparent overall decline in population numbers is 
particularly surprising given the high reproductive capability and 
broad habitat tolerances of this species. Much of the remaining range 
of the Santa Ana sucker is threatened by urban encroachment, extreme 
alteration of river channels, degraded water quality, dam operations, 
water diversions, introduction of exotic predators and competitors, 
other human-caused factors (e.g., adverse impacts associated with human 
recreational activities), as well as small populations and associated 
genetic concerns. Of the four known populations of the Santa Ana 
sucker, two populations are mostly within the Angeles National Forest. 
Urban encroachment and alteration of river channels are not a threat to 
these two populations, one of which is extant upstream of the 
confluence of the East, West, and North forks of the San Gabriel River 
and may contain the most individuals of any remaining population. 
Therefore, the Service concludes that the magnitude of threats facing 
the Santa Ana sucker are moderate.
    The Service determines, as a result of its status review, that 
sufficient information is currently available to support a proposed 
rule to list the species as endangered or threatened. According to 
Service policy published in the Federal Register on May 12, 1993 (58 FR 
28034), such species are assigned candidate status and given a listing 
priority number. Guidelines for assigning listing priorities were 
published in the Federal Register on September 21, 1983 (48 FR 43098). 
Consequently, given the moderate threats facing the Santa Ana sucker 
throughout its range, the Service hereby assigns the Santa Ana sucker a 
listing priority number of 8.
    Under the Service's current system of proposing species for listing 
based on the magnitude and imminence of threats facing a species, the 
Service considers listing species with higher listing priority numbers 
first. Since the moratorium was lifted on April 26, 1996, the Service 
has completed 131 final determinations (publication of final rules for 
endangered and threatened species and withdrawals of proposed rules). 
The Service believes that this demonstrates that expeditious progress 
is being made to list and delist species under the Act. Despite this 
progress, listing actions are currently pending for many species that 
have higher listing priority numbers than the Santa Ana sucker. Those 
species include a large number of species facing high magnitude and 
imminent threats (listing priority numbers of 1, 2, or 3). Given that 
the Santa Ana sucker has a listing priority number of 8 in light of the 
threats of moderate magnitude, the Service finds that listing the Santa 
Ana sucker is warranted but precluded by listing actions of higher 
priority.

References Cited

    A complete list of references used in the preparation of this 
finding is available upon request from the Carlsbad Field Office (see 
ADDRESSES section).
Author
    The primary author of this document is Paul J. Barrett, Carlsbad 
Field Office (see ADDRESSES section), telephone 619/431-9440.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: March 27, 1997.
John G. Rogers,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 97-8450 Filed 4-2-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P