Thursday, May 22, 2003 Part II Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Five Plant Species From the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii; Final Rule VerDate Jan<31>2003 15:36 May 21, 2003 Jkt 200001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\22MYR2.SGM 22MYR2 28054 Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 99 / Thursday, May 22, 2003 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Sesbania tomentosa. A total of during normal business hours at U.S. approximately 493 hectares (1,219 Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Fish and Wildlife Service acres) of land on Nihoa, Necker, and Islands Office, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Laysan Islands fall within the Room 3–122, P.O. Box 50088, Honolulu, 50 CFR Part 17 boundaries of the seven critical habitat HI 96850–0001. RIN 1018–AH09 units designated for the five species. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul This critical habitat designation requires Henson, Field Supervisor, Pacific Endangered and Threatened Wildlife the Service to consult under section 7 of Islands Office at the above address and Plants; Designation of Critical the Act with regard to actions carried (telephone 808/541–3441; facsimile Habitat for Five Plant Species From the out, funded, or authorized by a Federal 808/541–3470). Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii agency. Section 4 of the Act requires us SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: to consider economic and other relevant AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, impacts when specifying any particular Background Interior. area as critical habitat. We solicited data In the List of Endangered and ACTION: Final rule. and comments from the public on all Threatened Plants (50 CFR 17.12(h)), aspects of the proposed rule, including SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and there are six plant species that, at the data on economic and other impacts of Wildlife Service (Service), designate time of listing, were reported from the the designation. critical habitat pursuant to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Endangered Species Act of 1973, as DATES: This rule becomes effective on Amaranthus brownii, Pritchardia amended (Act), for five of six plant June 23, 2003. remota, and Schiedea verticillata are species known historically from the ADDRESSES: Comments and materials endemic to the NWHI, while Cenchrus Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The received, as well as supporting agrimonioides, Mariscus pennatiformis, five species are Amaranthus brownii, documentation, used in the preparation and Sesbania tomentosa are reported Mariscus pennatiformis, Pritchardia of this final rule will be available for from several other Hawaiian islands in remota, Schiedea verticillata, and public inspection, by appointment, addition to the NWHI (see Table 1). TABLE 1.—SUMMARY OF ISLAND DISTRIBUTION OF SIX SPECIES FROM THE NWHI Island distribution Species NWHI, Kahoolawe, Kauai Oahu Molokai Lanai Maui Hawaii Niihau Amaranthus brownii (no common name) ........ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ Nihoa (C) Cenchrus agrimonioides (kamanomano) ........ ................ C ................ H C R Kure (H*), Laysan (H), Midway (H) Mariscus pennatiformis (no common name) .. H H ................ ................ C R Laysan (C) Pritchardia remota (loulu) ................................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ Nihoa (C), Laysan(**) Schiedea verticillata (no common name) ....... ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ Nihoa (C) Sesbania tomentosa (ohai) ............................. C CCHCCNiihau (H), Kahoolawe (C), Necker (C), Nihoa (C) Key: C (Current)—occurrence last observed within the past 30 years. H (Historical)—occurrence not seen for more than 30 years. R (Reported)—reported from undocumented observations. * Cenchrus agrimonioides var. laysanensis was last observed 23 years ago. ** It has been suggested that Pritchardia remota was the species of Pritchardia once extant on Laysan; however, this is not known for certain. NWHI include Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, and Laysan, Necker, Nihoa islands. Although we considered designating The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, Pearl critical habitat on the NWHI for each of The NWHI are a chain of islands that and Hermes Atoll, Midway Atoll, and the six plant species, for the reasons extend along a linear path for Kure Atoll (Figure 1). They are remnants described below, the final designation approximately 1,600 kilometers (km) of once larger islands that have slowly includes critical habitat for five of six (1,000 miles (mi)) in a northwestern eroded and subsided and that exist plant species. Species that also occur on direction from Nihoa Island to Kure today as small land masses or coral other islands may have critical habitat Atoll and include the following: Nihoa atolls covering the remnants of volcanic designated on other islands in previous Island, Necker Island, French Frigate islands (Department of Geography 1998; or subsequent rulemakings. Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Maro Reef, Service 1998). VerDate Jan<31>2003 15:36 May 21, 2003 Jkt 200001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\22MYR2.SGM 22MYR2 Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 99 / Thursday, May 22, 2003 / Rules and Regulations 28055 Nihoa rises approximately 274 meters Island was altered considerably in the 1986). This failed as a profitable (m) (900 feet (ft)) above sea level and past and today suffers from enormous business, and no attempt was made to has an area of approximately 69 hectares nonnative species problems (Elizabeth control the number of rabbits on the (ha) (171 acres (ac)). Its steep Flint, Service, pers. comm., 2000). island. The rabbits were finally topography and crater shape reveal its One of the six listed plants was eradicated from Laysan Island in the volcanic origin. Necker Island, less than historically known from Kure Atoll early 1920s, although not before the 92 m (300 ft) in elevation and 19 ha (46 (Cenchrus agrimonioides var. vegetation had been thoroughly ac) in area, consists of thin-layered, laysanensis), two were known from devastated. Since then, the vegetation of weathered lava flows. La Perouse Laysan (C. agrimonioides var. Laysan has recovered to a remarkable Pinnacles at French Frigate Shoals and laysanensis and Mariscus pennatiformis degree, although some species, like the ssp. bryanii), one from Midway (C. Gardner Pinnacles are the last exposed native palms (Pritchardia sp.) (lolou), agrimonioides var. laysanensis), four volcanic remnants in the archipelago. are no longer naturally extant on the French Frigate Shoals is a crescent- from Nihoa (Amaranthus brownii, Pritchardia remota, Schiedea island (Tomich 1986; E. Flint, pers. shaped atoll nearly 29 km (18 mi) comm., 2000). across. More than a dozen small sandy verticillata, and Sesbania tomentosa), islands dot the fringes of this atoll. Maro and one from Necker (Sesbania Midway Atoll was discovered and Reef is a largely submerged area marked tomentosa) (see Table 1 above). named Middlebrook Islands in 1859 by Nihoa (209 km (140 mi) from Niihau) by breakers and a few pieces of coral Captain Nick Brooks. The atoll was and Necker (an additional 290 km (180 that intermittently protrude above the taken into possession by the United mi) northwest of Nihoa) are the islands waterline. Laysan Island is States in 1867, and in 1903, President in the northwestern group that are Theodore Roosevelt placed the atoll approximately 405 ha (1,002 ac) in size closest to the main Hawaiian Islands. and fringed by a reef. In the center of the under the control of the U.S. Navy. In Both are small, residual fragments of 1935, Pan American World Airways set island is a 52 ha (129 ac) hypersaline volcanoes that formed approximately lagoon. Lisianski Island is 147 ha (364 up an airbase for the weekly Trans- 7.2 and 10.3 million years ago, Pacific Flying Clipper Seaplane service. ac) in size and bounded to the north by respectively (Service 1986). Although an extensive reef system. The central In 1941, the Japanese attacked Midway both of these islands were uninhabited Atoll on their return from the attack on lagoon once found on this island has at the time of their modern discovery in Pearl Harbor. In 1942, the United States filled with sand. Pearl and Hermes Reef, the late eighteenth century, there is an defeated the Japanese Fleet north of the an inundated atoll, includes nearly extensive heiau (indigenous place of 40,469 ha (100,000 ac) of submerged worship or shrine) complex on Necker, atoll, turning the tide of World War II reef and seven small sandy islets and agricultural terraces and other in the Pacific. In 1988, the atoll was totaling less than 34 ha (85 ac). Midway Hawaiian archaeological features can be added to the National Wildlife Refuge Atoll is approximately 8 km (5 mi) in found on Nihoa (Cleghorn 1984; (NWR) system, and in 1996, the diameter and includes three islands: Department of Geography 1998; Service jurisdiction of Midway Atoll was Sand, Eastern, and Spit. Both Sand and 1986). transferred from the U.S. Navy to the Eastern Islands have been highly altered In 1892, a guano mining business Department of the Interior (Service by man. Kure Atoll is the northernmost began operation on Laysan and 2000). Despite this evidence of human exposed land in the Hawaiian flourished until 1904. During this