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[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 133 (Monday, July 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37584-37587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17671]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of a Technical/Agency Draft Multi-Species 
Recovery Plan for the Threatened and Endangered Species of South 
Florida

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the 
availability for public review of Volume II of a two-volume draft 
multi-species recovery plan for the threatened and endangered species 
of South Florida and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Volume II 
provides an ecosystem approach toward restoration of the South Florida 
Ecosystem, and discusses the biological composition, status, trends, 
management, and restoration needs of 23 major ecological communities in 
this region. This volume integrates the needs for species of concern in 
addition to the federally listed species discussed in Volume I. A 
notice announcing the availability of Volume I was published in the 
Federal Register on March 6, 1998 (63 FR 11304). The Service solicits 
review and comments from the public on Volume II of the draft recovery 
plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or 
before September 30, 1998, to ensure consideration by the Service.

[[Page 37585]]

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft recovery plan can be obtained by 
contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Publications Unit, 
National Conservation Training Center, c/o Aramark, Rt. 1 Box 166, 
Shepherd Grade Rd., Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443. The Service is 
encouraging that requests for copies be for the CD-ROM version as the 
hard copy encompasses approximately 850 pages. Additionally, this 
document may be viewed or downloaded from the Service's South Florida 
Ecological Service's Field Office website at: http://www.fws.gov/r4eao/esvb.htm.
    Written comments and materials regarding the plan should be 
addressed to Dawn Jennings, South Florida Field Office, 1360 U.S. 
Highway 1, Suite 5, Vero Beach, Florida 32960. Comments and materials 
received are available on request for public inspection, by 
appointment, during normal business hours at the South Florida Field 
Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dawn Jennings at the South Florida 
Field Office (561) 562-3909 for information on the recovery plan; the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Publications Unit (304) 876-7203 for 
additional copies of the draft recovery plan.

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 Fish and Wildlife Service's 
threatened and endangered species program. To help guide the recovery 
effort, the Service prepares recovery plans for most of the listed 
species native to the United States. Recovery plans describe actions 
that may be necessary for conservation of these species, establish 
criteria for the recovery levels for reclassification from endangered 
to threatened status or removal from the list, and estimate the time 
and cost for implementing the needed recovery measures.
    The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. et 
seq.) 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 requires that public notice and an 
opportunity for public review and comment be provided during the 
recovery plan development. The Service will consider all information 
presented during a public comment period prior to approval of each new 
or revised recovery plan. The Service and other Federal agencies will 
take these comments into account in the course of implementing approved 
recovery plans.
    The Multi-Species Recovery Plan identifies the recovery and 
restoration needs of 68 threatened and endangered species and their 
habitats in the South Florida Ecosystem--an area encompassing 67,346 
square kilometers covering the 19 southernmost counties in Florida, 
using an ecosystem-wide approach. The species addressed in this plan 
are found throughout South Florida. Some are endemic to this area, 
others range outside of South Florida, and some of the species included 
in this plan migrate through or winter in South Florida. These species 
use every vegetative, terrestrial, and aquatic community present in 
South Florida. The status of these species varies, although very few 
show an increasing trend. These species include:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Status                 Species                 Scientific name     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Mammals                                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
E...............  Florida panther...........  Puma (=Felis) concolor    
                                               coryi.                   
E...............  Key deer..................  Odocoileus virginianus    
                                               clavium.                 
E...............  Key Largo cotton mouse....  Peromyscus gossypinus     
                                               allapaticola.            
E...............  Key Largo woodrat.........  Neotoma floridana smalli. 
E...............  Silver rice rat...........  Oryzomys palustris natator
                                               (=O. argentatus).        
E...............  Lower Keys marsh rabbit...  Sylvilagus palustris      
                                               hefneri.                 
T...............  Southeastern beach mouse..  Peromyscus polionotus     
                                               niveiventris.            
E...............  West Indian manatee.......  Trichechus manatus.       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Birds                                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
T...............  Audubon's crested caracara  Polyborus plancus         
                                               audubonii.               
E...............  Bachman's warbler.........  Vermivora bachmanii.      
T...............  Bald eagle................  Haliaeetus leucocephalus. 
E...............  Cape Sable seaside sparrow  Ammodramus (=Ammospiza)   
                                               maritimus mirabilis.     
E...............  Snail kite................  Rostrhamus sociabilis     
                                               plumbeus.                
E...............  Florida grasshopper         Ammodramus savannarum     
                   sparrow.                    floridanus.              
T...............  Florida scrub-jay.........  Aphelocoma coerulescens.  
E...............  Ivory-billed woodpecker...  Campephilus principalis.  
E...............  Kirtland's warbler........  Dendroica kirtlandii.     
T...............  Piping plover.............  Charadrius melodus.       
E...............  Red-cockaded woodpecker...  Picoides (=Drendrocopos)  
                                               borealis.                
T...............  Roseate tern..............  Sterna dougallii          
                                               dougallii.               
E...............  Wood stork................  Mycteria americana.       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Reptiles                                
------------------------------------------------------------------------
E...............  American crocodile........  Crocodylus acutus.        
T...............  Atlantic salt marsh snake.  Nerodia clarkii           
                                               (=fasciata) taeniata.    
T...............  Bluetail (blue-tailed)      Eumeces egregius lividus. 
                   mole skink.                                          
T...............  Eastern indigo snake......  Drymarchon corais couperi.
E...............  Green sea turtle..........  Chelonia mydas.           
E...............  Hawksbill sea turtle......  Eretmochelys imbricata.   
E...............  Kemp's (Atlantic) ridley    Lepidochelys kempii.      
                   sea turtle.                                          
E...............  Leatherback sea turtle....  Dermochelys coriacea.     
T...............  Loggerhead sea turtle.....  Caretta caretta.          

[[Page 37586]]

                                                                        
T...............  Sand skink................  Neoseps reynoldsi.        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Invertebrates                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
E...............  Schaus swallowtail          Heraclides (=Papilio)     
                   butterfly.                  aristodemus ponceanus.   
T...............  Stock Island tree snail...  Orthalicus reses.         
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Plants                                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
E...............  Avon Park harebells.......  Crotalaria avonensis.     
E...............  Beach jacquemontia........  Jacquemontia reclinata.   
E...............  Beautiful pawpaw..........  Deeringothamnus           
                                               pulchellus.              
E...............  Britton's beargrass.......  Nolina brittoniana.       
E...............  Carter's mustard..........  Warea carteri.            
E...............  Crenulate lead-plant......  Amorpha crenulata.        
E...............  Deltoid spurge............  Chamaesyce (=Euphorbia)   
                                               deltoidea.               
T...............  Florida bonamia...........  Bonamia grandiflora.      
E...............  Florida golden aster......  Chrysopsis (=Heterotheca) 
                                               floridana.               
E...............  Florida perforate cladonia  Cladonia perforata.       
E...............  Florida ziziphus..........  Ziziphus celata.          
E...............  Four-petal pawpaw.........  Asimina tetramera.        
E...............  Fragrant prickly-apple....  Cereus eriophorus var.    
                                               fragrans.                
T...............  Garber's spurge...........  Chamaesyce (=Euphorbia)   
                                               garberi.                 
E...............  Garrett's mint............  Dicerandra christmanii.   
E...............  Highlands scrub hypericum.  Hypericum cumulicola.     
E...............  Key tree-cactus...........  Pilosocereus (=Cereus)    
                                               robinii.                 
E...............  Lakela's mint.............  Dicerandra immaculata.    
E...............  Lewton's polygala.........  Polygala lewtonii.        
E...............  Okeechobee gourd..........  Cucurbita okeechobeensis  
                                               ssp. okeechobeensis.     
T...............  Papery whitlow-wort.......  Paronychia chartacea      
                                               (=Nyachia pulvinata).    
T...............  Pigeon wing...............  Clitoria fragrans.        
E...............  Pygmy fringe-tree.........  Chionanthus pygmaeus.     
E...............  Sandlace..................  Polygonella myriophylla.  
E...............  Scrub blazing star........  Liatris ohlingerae.       
T...............  Scrub buckwheat...........  Eriogonum longifolium var.
                                               gnaphalifolium.          
E...............  Scrub lupine..............  Lupinus aridorum.         
E...............  Scrub mint................  Dicerandra frutescens.    
E...............  Scrub plum................  Prunus geniculata.        
E...............  Short-leaved rosemary.....  Conradina brevifolia.     
E...............  Small's milkpea...........  Galactia smallii.         
E...............  Snakeroot.................  Eryngium cuneifolium.     
E...............  Tiny polygala.............  Polygala smallii.         
E...............  Wide-leaf warea...........  Warea amplexifolia.       
E...............  Wireweed..................  Polygonella basiramia     
                                               (=ciliata var. b.).      
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Service has completed recovery plans for many of these species 
at various times between 1980 and 1996 to identify actions necessary to 
effect recovery. The ivory-billed woodpecker, Bachman's warbler, silver 
rice rat, Key Largo woodrat, Key Largo cotton mouse, and Okeechobee 
gourd do not have approved recovery plans. Since the approval of many 
of the recovery plans for South Florida species, identified tasks have 
been completed, and new information has become available on the 
biology, distribution, life history, and needs of these species. In 
addition, some species with a South Florida population had no tasks 
identified for recovery in this area. This plan updates some existing 
recovery plans, serves as the recovery plan for other species, or 
identifies South Florida's contribution to recovery. The plan also 
addresses new threats and needs for all the species identified within 
it. This plan is a two-volume effort to identify recovery needs of the 
species of South Florida and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The 
focus of Volume I is the individual species, while Volume II integrates 
the species needs with those of the ecological communities in which 
they reside.
    Paper copies of both volumes of the draft recovery plan are 
available for public inspection at the following locations:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Florida Field Office, U.S. 
Highway 1, Suite 5, Vero Beach, Florida 32960. 561-562-3909
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Merritt Island National Wildlife 
Refuge, 4 miles east of Titusville, State Road 402, Titusville, Florida 
32782. 407-861-0667
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, J.N. ``Ding'' Darling National Wildlife 
Refuge, 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel, Florida 33957. 813-472-1100
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Panther National Wildlife 
Refuge, 3860 Tollgate Boulevard, Suite 300, Naples, Florida 34114. 941-
353-8442
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Key Deer Refuge, Winn Dixie 
Shopping Plaza, Big Pine Key, Florida 33043-1510. 305-872-2239
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, 
10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach, Florida 33437-4796. 561-732-3684
University of Florida, Smathers Library West, Gainesville, Florida 
32611
University of Miami Library, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 
33149
University of Central Florida Library, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., 
Orlando, Florida 32816
Florida Atlantic University Library, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, Florida 
33431

[[Page 37587]]

Florida International University Library, FIU University Park, 11200 SW 
A St., Miami, Florida 33199
University of South Florida Library, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, 
Florida 33620
Florida Gulf Coast University Library, 19501 Ben Hill Griffin Parkway, 
Ft. Myers, Florida 33965-6565
Archbold Biological Station Library, P.O. Box 2057, Old State Road 8, 
Lake Placid, Florida 33852
Fairchild Tropical Garden Library, 11935 Old Cutler Road, Miami, 
Florida 33156
Big Pine Key Branch Library, 213 Key Deer Boulevard, Big Pine Key, 
Florida 33043

Public Comments Solicited

    The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan 
described. All comments received by the date identified above will be 
considered prior to approval of the plan.

Authority

    The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered 
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

    Dated: June 24, 1998.
James J. Slack,
Project Leader.
[FR Doc. 98-17671 Filed 7-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
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