6696 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 2010 / Notices 

would include developing a bicycle and 

hiking trail, opening Crims and Price 

Islands to waterfowl hunting, closing a 

small section of Steamboat Slough to 

waterfowl hunting to improve public 

safety, installing new interpretive 

exhibit panels, and developing 

curriculum for the refuge study sites. 

Public Availability of Documents 

We encourage you to stay involved in 

the CCP planning process by reviewing 

and commenting on the proposals we 

have developed in the CCP/DEIS. 

Copies of the CCP/DEIS on CD–ROM are 

available by request from Charlie 

Stenvall, Project Leader, Willapa 

National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 3888 

SR 101, Ilwaco, WA 98624; phone (360) 

484–3482. The Draft CCP/EIS will also 

be available for viewing and 

downloading on the Internet at http:// 

www.fws.gov/lc and http:// 

www.fws.gov/jbh. Printed copies of the 

CCP/DEIS may be reviewed at the Julia 

Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian 

White-tailed Deer, 46 Steamboat Slough 

Road, Cathlamet, WA 98612; Willapa 

National Wildlife Refuge Complex 

(address above); and at the following 

libraries. 

• Blanch Bradley Library, 100 Main 

Street, Cathlamet, WA 98612. 

• Astoria Public Library, 450 10th 

Street, Astoria, OR 97103. 

• Clatskanie Library District, 11 

Lillich Street, Clatskanie, OR 97016. 

• Ilwaco Timberline Regional Library, 

158 1st Avenue, Ilwaco, WA 98624. 

• Longview Public Library, 1600 

Louisiana Street, Longview, WA 98632. 

Next Steps 

After this comment period ends, we 

will analyze the comments and address 

them in the form of a final CCP/EIS. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Dated: January 15, 2010. 

David J. Wesley, 

Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon. 

[FR Doc. 2010–1292 Filed 2–9–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2009–N237; 80221–1113– 

0000–C2] 

Draft Recovery Plan for Tidal Marsh 

Ecosystems of Northern and Central 

California 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of document availability 

for review and comment. 

SUMMARY: We, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), announce the 

availability of a draft recovery plan for 

Tidal Marsh Ecosystems of Northern 

and Central California for public review 

and comment. This draft recovery plan 

is an expansion and revision of our 1984 

California Clapper Rail and Salt Marsh 

Harvest Mouse Recovery Plan. The plan 

also addresses several federally 

endangered plant species: Cirsium 

hydrophilum var. hydrophilum (Suisun 

thistle), Cordylanthus mollis ssp. mollis 

(soft bird’s-beak), Suaeda californica 

(California sea-blite), and the Morro Bay 

portion of Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. 

maritimus (salt marsh bird’s-beak). 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by June 10, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft recovery 

plan are available by request from the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 

2800 Cottage Way, Rm. W–2605, 

Sacramento, CA 95825 (telephone: 916– 

414–6600). An electronic copy of the 

draft recovery plan is also available at 

http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/ 

index.html#plans. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Hull, Recovery Branch Chief, at the 

above address or telephone number. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Recovery of endangered or threatened 

animals and plants is a primary goal of 

the Endangered Species Act (Act) (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our endangered 

species program. Recovery means 

improvement of the status of listed 

species to the point at which listing is 

no longer required under the criteria set 

out in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. 

Recovery plans describe actions 

considered necessary for the 

conservation of the species, establish 

criteria for downlisting or delisting 

listed species, and estimate time and 

cost for implementing the measures 

needed for recovery. The Draft Recovery 

Plan for Tidal Marsh Ecosystems of 

Northern and Central California features 

five endangered species. The biology of 

these species is at the core of the draft 

recovery plan, but the goal of this 

recovery planning effort is the 

comprehensive restoration and 

management of tidal marsh ecosystems. 

This draft recovery plan is an 

expansion and revision of The 

California Clapper Rail and Salt Marsh 

Harvest Mouse Recovery Plan (Service 

1984). Since that time a great deal of 

effort has been dedicated to recovery 

and conservation activities, and 

additional information has been 

obtained through research and 

observation that allows us to better 

focus our recovery strategy. The historic 

distribution of the California clapper 

rail encompasses major tidal salt 

marshes between Humboldt Bay and, 

arguably, Morro Bay. This distribution 

defines the approximate geographic 

scope of this draft recovery plan. 

The plan also covers three federally 

endangered plant species and the 

northernmost population of an 

additional federally endangered plant 

species. Two of the species, Cirsium 

hydrophilum var. hydrophilum (Suisun 

thistle) and Cordylanthus mollis ssp. 

mollis (soft bird’s-beak), are restricted to 

the northern reaches of the San 

Francisco Bay Estuary. The other 

endangered tidal marsh plant, Suaeda 

californica (California sea-blite), 

historically occurred in both San 

Francisco Bay and Morro Bay; however, 

except for three reintroductions to San 

Francisco Bay, it is now restricted to 

Morro Bay. Another federally listed 

plant, Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. 

maritimus (salt marsh bird’s-beak), has 

its northern range limit in Morro Bay. 

Morro Bay was omitted from the Salt 

Marsh Bird’s Beak Recovery Plan 

(Service 1985a) because the taxonomic 

interpretation at the time classified this 

population in another subspecies that is 

not federally listed. The current 

taxonomy includes the Morro Bay 

population as Cordylanthus maritimus 

ssp. maritimus. It is included in this 

draft recovery plan due to its colocation 

with Suaeda californica in Morro Bay. 

Recovery strategies and actions are 

provided for the Morro Bay population 

of Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. 

maritimus. However, because we do not 

consider the entire range of the species 

in this document, recovery criteria have 

not been included. This draft recovery 

plan also addresses 11 species of 

concern: The salt marsh wandering 

shrew (Sorex vagrans halicoetes), 

Suisun shrew (Sorex ornatus sinuosus), 

San Pablo vole (Microtus californicus 

sanpabloensis), California black rail 

(Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus), 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 2010 / Notices 6697 

three song sparrow subspecies of the 

San Francisco Bay Estuary (Melospiza 

melodia spp.), saltmarsh common 

yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas 

sinuosa), old man tiger beetle (Cicindela 

senilis senilis), Lathryrus jepsonii ssp. 

jepsonii (delta tule pea), and Spartina 

foliosa (Pacific cordgrass). 

Species included in this draft 

recovery plan occur in a variety of tidal 

marsh habitats, where they are limited 

by the requirements of moisture, 

salinity, topography, soil types, and 

climatic conditions. Adjacent uplands 

and ecotone areas are also crucial 

habitats for many of these species. 

Primary threats to all the listed species 

include: 

(1) Historical and current habitat loss 

and fragmentation due to urban 

development, agriculture, and diking 

related to duck hunting; 

(2) Altered hydrology and salinity; 

(3) Nonnative invasive species; 

(4) Inadequate regulatory 

mechanisms; 

(5) Disturbance; 

(6) Contamination; 

(7) Sea-level rise due to climate 

change; and 

(8) Risk of extinction due to 

vulnerability of small populations in the 

face of random naturally occurring 

events. 

We expect that the following species 

recovery objectives will be met: 

(1) Secure self-sustaining wild 

populations of each covered species 

throughout their full ecological, 

geographical, and genetic ranges; 

(2) Ameliorate or eliminate the 

threats, to the extent possible, that 

caused the species to be listed or of 

concern and any future threats; and 

(3) Restore and conserve a healthy 

ecosystem function supportive of tidal 

marsh species. 

These objectives will be accomplished 

through implementation of a variety of 

recovery measures, including habitat 

acquisition, protection, management 

and restoration; species status surveys/ 

monitoring; research; and stakeholder 

coordination, public participation, and 

outreach. 

Request for Public Comments 

We request written comments on the 

draft recovery plan. All comments 

received by the date specified in DATES

will be considered prior to approval of 

this plan. If you wish to comment, you 

may submit your comments and 

materials concerning this recovery plan 

by one of these methods: 

1. You may submit written comments 

and information by mail or facsimile or 

in person to the Sacramento Fish and 

Wildlife Office at the above address (see 

ADDRESSES). 

2. You may send comments by 

electronic mail (e-mail) to: 

R8TM_RP_CA@fws.gov. If you submit 

comments by e-mail, please submit 

them as an ASCII file and avoid the use 

of special characters and any form of 

encryption. Please also include your 

name and return address in your e-mail 

message. 

Comments and materials received, as 

well as supporting documentation used 

in preparation of the recovery plan, will 

be available for inspection, during 

normal business hours at the above 

Sacramento address (see ADDRESSES). 

We specifically seek comments on the 

following: 

(1) Biological, commercial trade, or 

other relevant data concerning any 

threat (or lack thereof) to the species; 

(2) Feedback on the durability of the 

science regarding climate change and its 

treatment presented in the draft 

recovery plan and comments on how 

best to ameliorate threats to the species 

in that regard; 

(3) Additional information concerning 

the range, distribution, and population 

size of these species, including the 

location of any additional populations; 

(4) Current or planned activities in the 

subject area and their possible impacts 

on these species; and 

(5) The suitability and feasibility of 

the recovery criteria, strategies, or 

actions described in the Draft Plan. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is section 

4(f) of the Endangered Species Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1533(f). 

Alexandra Pitts, 

Regional Director, Region 8, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2279 Filed 2–9–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R2–ES–2009–N273; 20124–1113– 

0000–C2] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Draft Yuma Clapper Rail 

(Rallus longirostris yumanensis) 

Recovery Plan, First Revision 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of document availability 

for public review: draft revised recovery 

plan. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 

availability of the Draft Yuma Clapper 

Rail (Rallus longirostris yumanensis) 

Recovery Plan, First Revision under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). The species currently 

inhabits the mainstem Colorado River in 

Arizona, California, and Nevada; the 

Virgin River in Arizona, Nevada, and 

Utah; the Gila River in Arizona; and the 

Salton Sea in California. The Service 

solicits review and comment from the 

public on this draft revised recovery 

plan. The Service will also accept any 

new information on the status of the 

Yuma clapper rail throughout its range 

to assist in finalizing the revised 

recovery plan. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, we 

must receive any comments no later 

than April 12, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review 

the draft revised recovery plan can 

obtain a paper or electronic copy from 

the Arizona Ecological Services Field 

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

2321 W. Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, 

Phoenix, AZ 85021–4951; by phone at 

(602) 242–0210 extension 236; by e-mail 

at ycrrecovery@fws.gov; or on our Web 

site at www.fws.gov/southwest/es/ 

arizona/. Written comments and 

materials on the draft revised recovery 

plan may be mailed to ‘‘Field 

Supervisor’’ at the address above or emailed to ycrrecovery@fws.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lesley Fitzpatrick (see ADDRESSES). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 

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

seq.), requires the development of 

recovery plans for listed species, unless 

such a plan would not promote the 

conservation of a particular species. 

Recovery plans help guide the recovery 

effort by describing actions considered 

necessary for the conservation of the 


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