Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 9, 1996 / Proposed Rules 36021

1995, and prevented the Service from

making a final decision on these

proposals by the August 1995

administrative deadline. The

moratorium was lifted on April 26,

1996, when the appropriation for the

Department of the Interior for the

remainder of fiscal year 1996 was

enacted into law. In a Federal Register

document published on May 16, 1996

(61 FR 24722), the Service outlined in

detail the history of the moratorium and

indicated the priorities it would follow

in eliminating the listing program

backlog resulting from the moratorium.

Preparation of final rules for these

proposed species is considered a Tier 2

priority—processing final decisions on

proposed listings. For more information

on the moratorium and the priority for

backlogged listing actions, refer to the

May 15, 1996, Federal Register notice.

The Service hereby announces

another reopening of the comment

period until July 26, 1996. Reopening of

the comment period will allow the

Service to accept information on

scientific studies conducted since the

comment period last closed on May 5,

1995. Any other comments from the

interested public will also be solicited

concerning these proposals.

Author

The primary author of this notice is

Robert S. Butler, Jacksonville Field

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

6620 Southpoint Drive South, Suite 310,

Jacksonville, Florida 32216 (904/232–

2580 or fax 904/232–2404).

Authority: The authority for this action is

the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1361–

1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531–1544; 16 U.S.C. 4201–

4245; Pub. L. 99–625, 100 Stat. 3500, unless

otherwise noted).

Dated: July 1, 1996.

Noreen K. Clough,

Regional Director, Southeast Region, Fish and

Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 96–17222 Filed 7–8–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

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.

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
36022 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 9, 1996 / Proposed Rules

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 peerreviewed 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 notsubstantial 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 peerreviewed 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
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 9, 1996 / Proposed Rules 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