Federal Register/Vol. 63, No. 250/Wednesday, December 30
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71838 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules * * * * * streams or rivers in Cochise and Santa appointment, during normal business Dated: December 22, 1998. Cruz counties, Arizona. If this proposal hours at the above address. Donald Barry, is made final, section 7 of the Act would FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: prohibit destruction or adverse Tom Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Gatz, Endangered Species Coordinator, Parks. modification of critical habitat by any at the above address (telephone 602/ [FR Doc. 98±34412 Filed 12±23±98; 3:59 pm] activity funded, authorized, or carried 640±2720 ext. 240; facsimile 602/640± BILLING CODE 4310±55±C out by any Federal agency. Section 4 of the Act requires us to consider 2730). economic and other impacts of SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR specifying any particular area as critical habitat. We solicit data and comments Background Fish and Wildlife Service from the public on all aspects of this Lilaeopsis schaffneriana ssp. recurva proposal, including data on the 50 CFR Part 17 (referred to as Lilaeopsis in this economic and other impacts of the proposed rule), the Huachuca water RIN 1018±AF37 designation. We may revise this umbel, is a plant found in cienegas proposal to incorporate or address new (desert marshes), streams and springs in Endangered and Threatened Wildlife information received during the southern Arizona and northern Sonora, and Plants; Proposed Determination of comment period. Mexico, typically in mid-elevation Critical Habitat for the Huachuca Water DATES: We will accept comments until wetland communities often surrounded Umbel, a Plant March 1, 1999. We will hold a public by relatively arid environments. These AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, hearing on this proposed rule; we will communities are usually associated Interior. publish the date and location of this with perennial springs and stream hearing in the Federal Register and ACTION: Proposed rule. headwaters, have permanently or local newspapers at least 15 days prior seasonally saturated highly organic SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and to the hearing. soils, and have a low probability of Wildlife Service (Service), propose ADDRESSES: Send comments and flooding or scouring (Hendrickson and designation of critical habitat pursuant materials to the Field Supervisor, Minckley 1984). Cienegas support to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Arizona Ecological Services Field diverse assemblages of animals and as amended (Act), for Lilaeopsis Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, plants, including many species of schaffneriana ssp. recurva, the 2321 West Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, limited distribution, such as Lilaeopsis Huachuca water umbel, a plant. Phoenix, Arizona, 85021±4951. (Hendrickson and Minckley 1984, Lowe Proposed critical habitat includes a total Comments and materials received will 1985, Ohmart and Anderson 1982, of 83.9 kilometers (52.1 miles) of be available for public inspection, by Minckley and Brown 1982). Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules 71839 Cienegas, perennial streams, and mode. An additional dispersal precluded by other higher-priority rivers in the desert southwest are opportunity occurs as a result of the listing activities. Beginning with our extremely rare. The Arizona Game and dislodging of clumps of plants which combined plant and animal notice of Fish Department (1993) recently then may reroot at different sites along review published in the Federal estimated that riparian vegetation streams. Register on February 28, 1996 (61 FR associated with perennial streams Lilaeopsis schaffneriana spp. recurva 7596), we discontinued the designation comprises about 0.4 percent of the total was first described by A.W. Hill based of multiple categories of candidates and land area of Arizona, with present on the type specimen collected near only taxa meeting the definition of riparian areas being remnants of what Tucson in 1881 (Hill 1926). Hill applied former category 1 candidates are now once existed. The State of Arizona the name Lilaeopsis recurva to the recognized as candidates for listing (1990) estimated that up to 90 percent specimen, and the name prevailed until purposes. of the riparian habitat along Arizona's Affolter (1985) revised the genus. On June 3, 1993, we received a major desert watercourses has been lost, Affolter applied the name L. petition, dated May 31, 1993, from a degraded, or altered in historical times. schaffneriana ssp. recurva to plants coalition of conservation organizations Lilaeopsis occupies small portions of found west of the continental divide. (Suckling et al. 1993) to list Lilaeopsis these rare habitats. and two other species as endangered Previous Federal Action Lilaeopsis is an herbaceous, species pursuant to the Act. On semiaquatic to occasionally fully We included Lilaeopsis schaffneriana December 14, 1993, we published a aquatic perennial plant with slender, ssp. recurva, then under the name L. notice of 90-day finding that the petition erect leaves that grow from creeping recurva, as a category 2 candidate in our presented substantial information rhizomes. The leaves are cylindrical, November 28, 1983 (45 FR 82480), and indicating that listing of Lilaeopsis may hollow with no pith, and have septa September 27, 1985 (50 FR 39526), plant be warranted, and requested public (thin partitions) at regular intervals. The notices of review. Category 2 candidates comments and biological data on the yellow-green or bright green leaves are were defined as those taxa for which we status of the species (58 FR 65325). generally 1±3 millimeters (mm) (0.04± had data indicating that listing was On April 3, 1995, we published a 0.12 inches (in.)) in diameter and often possibly appropriate but for which we proposal (60 FR 16836) to list Lilaeopsis 3±5 centimeters (cm) (1±2 in.) tall, but lacked substantial information on and two other species as endangered, can reach up to 20 cm (8 in.) tall under vulnerability and threats to support and again requested public comments favorable conditions. Three to 10 very proposed listing rules. In our February and biological data on their status. After small flowers are borne on an umbel 21, 1990 (55 FR 6184), and September consideration of comments and that is always shorter than the leaves. 30, 1993 (58 FR 51144), notices, we information received during the The fruits are globose, 1.5±2 mm (0.06± included Lilaeopsis as a category 1 comment period, we listed Lilaeopsis as 0.08 in.) in diameter, and usually candidate. Category 1 candidates were endangered on January 6, 1997. slightly longer than wide (Affolter defined as those taxa for which we had Section 4(a)(3) of the Act requires 1985). The species reproduces sexually sufficient information on biological that, to the maximum extent prudent through flowering and asexually from vulnerability and threats to support and determinable, we designate critical rhizomes (root-like stems); the latter proposed listing rules but for which habitat at the time we determine a probably being the primary reproductive issuance of proposals to list were species to be endangered or threatened. 71840 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules At the time of listing, we determined order to comply with the above- (Al Anderson, Grey Hawk Ranch, in litt. that any potential benefits of critical mentioned court order. 1995). habitat beyond that of listing, when Density of Lilaeopsis plants and size Habitat Characteristics weighed against the negative impacts of of populations fluctuate in response to disclosing site-specific localities, did The physical and biological habitat both flood cycles and site not yield an overall benefit to the features essential to the conservation of characteristics. Some sites, such as species, and, therefore, that designation Lilaeopsis include a riparian plant Black Draw, have a few sparsely of critical habitat was not prudent. community that is stable over time and distributed clones, possibly due to the On October 31, 1997, Southwest relatively free of nonnative species, a dense shade of the even-aged overstory Center for Biological Diversity filed a stream channel that is stable and subject of trees and deeply entrenched channel. lawsuit in Federal District Court in to periodic flooding, refugial sites (sites The Sonoita Creek population occupies Arizona against the Department of safe from catastrophic flooding), and a 14.5 percent of a 500.5 square-meter (sq- Interior for failure to designate critical permanently wetted substrate (soil) for m) (5,385 square-foot (sq-ft)) patch of habitat for the cactus ferruginous growth and reproduction of the plant. habitat (Gori et al. 1990). Some pygmy-owl (Glaucidium brasilianum Lilaeopsis has an opportunistic populations are as small as 1±2 sq-m cactorum) and Lilaeopsis (Southwest strategy that ensures its survival in (11±22 sq-ft). The Scotia Canyon Center for Biological Diversity v. Bruce healthy riverine systems, cienegas, and population, by contrast, has dense mats Babbitt, Secretary of the Department of springs. In upper watersheds that of leaves. Scotia Canyon contains one of the Interior; CIV 97±704 TUC ACM). On generally do not experience scouring the larger Lilaeopsis populations, October 7, 1998, Alfredo C. Marquez, floods, Lilaeopsis occurs in microsites occupying about 57 percent of the Senior U.S. District Judge, issued an (small isolated sites) where competition 1,450-m (4,756-ft) perennial reach (Gori order stating that ``There being no between different plant species is low. et al. 1990; Jim Abbott, Coronado evidence that designation of critical At these sites, Lilaeopsis occurs on National Forest, in litt. 1994). habitat for the pygmy-owl and water wetted soils interspersed with other While the extent of occupied habitat umbel is not prudent, the Secretary plants at low density, along the can be estimated, the number of shall, without further delay, decide periphery of the wetted channel, or in individuals in each population is whether or not to designate critical small openings in the understory.