[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 9, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36021-36023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17390]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: 90-day Finding on 
a Petition to List the Santa Ana Speckled Dace, Santa Ana Sucker, and 
the Shay Creek Threespine Stickleback as Endangered

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding.

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SUMMARY: The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 90-
day finding on a petition to list three fish as endangered, pursuant to 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The Service finds that 
the petition did not present substantial scientific or commercial 
information indicating the petitioned action may be warranted for two 
of the three species because it does not substantiate that the Santa 
Ana speckled dace and Shay Creek threespine stickleback are described 
subspecies or distinct vertebrate population segments as described in 
the Service's vertebrate population policy. 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. Regarding 
the third fish species, the Service finds that substantial information 
exists to support a decision that listing may be warranted for the 
Santa Ana sucker.

DATES: The finding announced in this notice was made on June 28, 1996. 
Comments and materials may be submitted until further notice.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Barrett (see ADDRESSES above), 
telephone (619) 431-9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that the Service make a 
finding on whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species 
presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating 
that the petitioned action may be warranted. To the maximum extent 
practicable, this finding is to be made within 90 days of the receipt 
of the petition, and the finding is to be published promptly in the 
Federal Register. This finding is based on information contained in the 
petition, supporting information submitted with the petition, and 
otherwise available to the Service at the time the finding is made. If 
the Service determines that the petitioned action may be warranted, the 
Service will commence a review of the status of the involved species. 
Status reviews will be commenced in accordance with priorities 
established by the Service pursuant to the May 16, 1996, Final Listing 
Priority Guidance (61 Fed Reg 24722).
    On September 6, 1994, the Service received a petition dated 
September 2, 1994, 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., 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. The letter clearly identified itself as a petition and 
contained the names, signatures, and addresses of the petitioners. 
Accompanying the petition was supporting information relating to 
taxonomy, ecology, and past and present distribution of all three 
species.
    The petition, supporting documentation, and other information 
available in the Service files has been reviewed to determine if 
substantial information is available to indicate that the requested 
actions may be warranted. On the basis of the best scientific and 
commercial information available, the Service finds the petitioned 
action may be warranted for the Santa Ana sucker because of the threats 
to low population numbers, and is not warranted for the Santa Ana 
speckled dace based on taxonomic uncertainty. While the petitioners 
failed to present substantial information indicating that the Shay 
Creek threespine stickleback should be listed as a subspecies or 
distinct vertebrate population segment, the Shay Creek threespine 
stickleback is presently regarded as a population of the unarmored 
threespine stickleback and already receives the protections of the Act. 
A status review will be commenced in accordance with the Final Listing 
Priority Guidance for the Santa Ana sucker.

Santa Ana Sucker

    The Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus santaanae) is a member of the 
sucker family (Catostomidae). The Santa Ana sucker was originally 
described as Pantosteus santa-anae by Snyder (1908, as in Moyle 1976). 
The genus Pantosteus was reduced to a subgenus of Catostomus and the 
hyphen omitted from the specific name in a subsequent revision of the 
nomenclature (Smith 1966). The American Fisheries Society

[[Page 36022]]

recognizes the Santa Ana sucker as the full species, C. santaanae 
(Robins et al. 1991).
    The Santa Ana sucker's historical range includes the Los Angeles, 
San Gabriel, and Santa Ana River drainage systems located in southern 
California (Smith 1966). An introduced population also occurs in the 
Santa Clara River drainage system in southern California (Moyle 1976). 
Moyle and Yoshiyama (1992) state that only the San Gabriel River 
population can be considered relatively viable and self-sustaining 
within the native range.
    Although the Santa Ana sucker was described as common in the 1970s 
(Moyle 1976), the species has experienced dramatic declines throughout 
most of its range (Moyle and Yoshiyama 1992). Santa Ana suckers have 
adaptations such as short generation time, high fecundity and a 
relatively prolonged spawning period that presumably allows them to 
rapidly repopulate streams after severe flooding events (Greenfield et 
al. 1970). Nevertheless, they are intolerant of polluted or highly 
modified streams (Moyle and Yoshiyama 1992).
    This apparent, overall decline is of concern given this species' 
high fecundity and apparent broad habitat tolerances. Urbanization, 
water diversions, dams, pollution, heavy recreational use, gold mining 
wastes, gravel extraction, and introduced competitors and or predators 
have probably contributed in the decline of the species (Moyle and 
Yoshiyama 1992, Swift et al, 1993).
    Swift (in Moyle and Yoshiyama 1992) summarized the status and 
threats facing each of the populations in their native range.
    <bullet> Los Angeles River (Big Tujunga Creek below Big Tujunga 
Dam)--Extreme fluctuations in water quality pose problems for all 
fishes in this reach. The Santa Ana sucker is very rare and may already 
be lost here.
    <bullet> San Gabriel River (contiguous West, North, and East forks 
about 40 km below Cogswell Dam)--The West Fork is threatened by 
accidental high flows from Cogswell Reservoir that have devastated this 
reach in the past. The Cattle Canyon tributary of the East Fork is 
impacted by increased gold mining (suction dredging) and the population 
has been much reduced or may be absent in Cattle Canyon.
    <bullet> Santa Ana River--Several hundred fish were observed below 
Prado Dam in 1986 and 1987, although sampling above the dam in 1987 
yielded only five Santa Ana suckers. Water quality is threatened by 
many and various local inputs, such as runoffs from light industry and 
surrounding farmed lands (T. Haglund, personal communication).
    Subsequent to the receipt of the petition, a general fish survey of 
the Santa Ana River below Prado Dam yielded only 5 suckers from a total 
of approximately 150 fishes captured (Mike Guisti, California Game and 
Fish Department, pers. comm.). A survey of the East Fork of the San 
Gabriel River above the confluence with Cattle Canyon found the sucker 
to be relatively common, 125 of 382 fish captured (Paul Barrett, pers. 
obs., Fish and Wildlife Service files). The Santa Ana sucker's present 
status in the Los Angeles River is unknown.
    The Service finds that the petitioners provided substantial 
evidence that the petitioned action may be warranted for the Santa Ana 
sucker.

Santa Ana Speckled Dace

    The Santa Ana speckled dace is found in the headwaters of the Santa 
Ana and San Gabriel river drainages, often in isolated stocks. The 
petitioners presented a variety of information suggesting that the 
Santa Ana speckled dace is an undescribed subspecies of Rhinichthys 
osculus, member of the Cyprinidae family. While the petitioners assert 
that the Santa Ana speckled dace is a valid subspecies, they did not 
provide a peer-reviewed paper supporting that conclusion, nor did they 
provide a draft manuscript that the Service could subject to peer 
review. In fact, citing Moyle (1976), the petitioners actually point 
out difficulties with speckled dace systematics, ``Although 
systematists now seem to have little trouble placing the many forms 
into Rhinichtys osculus (Hubbs, Miller, and Hubbs, 1974), the status of 
the many described (and undescribed) subspecies can only be called 
chaotic.'' The primary support for subspecific status includes 
reference to a Master's thesis (Cornelius 1969) which was not included 
with the petition, and reference to unpublished genetic data. Other, 
anecdotal evidence supporting subspecific status includes a species 
account written by C.C. Swift that was included as pages 207-212 in a 
document entitled Fishes, Aquatic Diversity Management Areas, and 
Endangered Species: A Plan to Protect California's native Aquatic 
Biota, edited by Moyle and Yoshiyama (1992). This account cites a paper 
by Hubbs et al. (1979) that includes the Santa Ana speckled dace as an 
unnamed subspecies, but a copy of the paper was not provided and the 
literature cited section of the account did not include a citation that 
would allow the Service to identify the paper.

Shay Creek Threespine Stickleback

    The petitioners indicated that the Shay Creek threespine 
stickleback is an undescribed form of the threespine stickleback 
(Gasterosteus aculeatus) that should be listed separately from the 
endangered unarmored threespine stickleback. The Service regards the 
Shay Creek threespine stickleback as a population of the Federally 
listed unarmored threespine stickleback and the petitioners failed to 
present substantiated scientific information indicating that the 
petitioned action may be warranted. Specifically, the petitioners did 
not present peer-reviewed information supporting their claim that the 
Shay Creek threespine stickleback is a separate subspecies or distinct 
vertebrate population. In light of this decision and until the Service 
is presented with substantiated information to the contrary, the Shay 
Creek threespine stickleback remains a population of the Federally 
endangered unarmored threespine stickleback.
    It is Service policy to issue not-substantial 90-day findings on 
petitions for species or subspecies if that designation has not passed 
scientific peer review either as part of acceptance for publication or 
through some other equivalent review. The Santa Ana speckled dace and 
Shay Creek threespine stickleback are not so named. Should the Santa 
Ana speckled dace or Shay Creek threespine stickleback be determined to 
be a valid subspecies as evidenced by a description in a peer-reviewed 
scientific journal, or a distinct population segment in accord with the 
February 7, 1996, ``Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population 
Segments Under the Endangered Species Act `` (61 FR 4722), the Service 
may consider a proposal to list this species in accordance with the 
Service's listing priority guidance. In addition to taxonomic 
information, any new petition should clearly identify threats to the 
taxa, including estimates of the probability of catastrophic events to 
the populations.
    The Service will continue to seek information regarding the Santa 
Ana speckled dace. As additional data becomes available in the future, 
the Service may reassess the need for preparing a proposal to list this 
species, in accordance with the final Listing Priority Guidance.

Conformance with Listing Priority Guidance

    On May 16, 1996 the Service published a description of how it will 
prioritize the various listing actions for the remainder of fiscal year 
1996 (61 FR

[[Page 36023]]

24722-24728). Based on the listing priority guidance, the subject 
finding would characteristically have been assigned to tier 3 and 
processing would have been delayed until a later date. Despite requests 
for deference to the listing priority guidance, however, the Service 
has received no relief and is compelled by court order to issue this 
finding.

References Cited

Buth, D. G. and C. B. Crabtree. 1982. Genetic variability and 
population structure of Catostomus santaanae in the Santa Clara 
drainage. Copeia, 1982:439-444.
Greenfield, D. W., S. T. Ross, and G. D. Deckert. 1970. Some aspects 
of the life history of the Santa Ana sucker, Catostomus (Pantosteus) 
santaanae (Snyder). California Fish and Game 56:166-179.
Haglund, T. A. and D. G. Buth. 1988. Allozymes of the unarmored 
threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) and 
identification of the Shay Creek population. Isozyme Bulletin, 
21:196.
Hubbs, W. I. Follett, and L. C. Hubbs. 1979. List of fishes of 
California. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, 
No. 133, 51 pp.
Moyle, P. B. 1976. Inland Fishes of California. University of 
California Press, 405 pp.
Moyle, P. B. and R. M. Yoshiyama. 1992. Fishes, aquatic diversity 
management areas, and endangered species: Plan to protect 
California's native aquatic biota. The California Policy Seminar, 
University of California.
Robins, C. R., R. M. Baily, C. E. Bond, J. R. Brooker, E. A. 
Lachner, R. N. Lea, and W. B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific 
names of fishes of the United States and Canada. American Fisheries 
Society Special Publication 20. Bethesda, Maryland.
Swift, C. C., T. R. Haglund, M. Ruiz, and R. N. Fisher. 1993. The 
status and distribution of the freshwater fishes of southern 
California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, 
92:1-67.

Author

    This notice was prepared by Paul J. Barrett, Carlsbad Field Office 
(see ADDRESSES section above).

Authority

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

    Dated: June 28, 1996.
John G. Rogers,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 96-17390 Filed 7-8-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P