[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 188 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50212-50213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24089]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Availability of Draft Recovery Plan for the Molokai Plant Cluster
for Review and Comment
agency: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
action: Notice of document availability.
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summary: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the
availability for public review of a draft Molokai Plant Cluster
Recovery Plan. There are 16 taxa of plants included in this plan.
Fourteen of the 16 taxa are known to be extant only on the island of
Molokai, Hawaii; one species also is found on the islands of Hawaii and
Oahu, the other is also on the island of Lanai.
dates: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or
before November 27, 1995.
addresses: Copies of the draft recovery plan are available for
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the
following locations: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands
Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, room 6307, P.O. Box 50167, Honolulu,
Hawaii 96850 (phone 808/541-2749); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Regional Office, Ecological Services, 911 N.E. 11th Ave., Eastside
Federal Complex, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181 (phone 503/231-6131); and
Molokai Public Library, 15 Ala Malama Street, Kaunakakai, Hawaii 96748
(phone 808/553-5483). Requests for copies of the draft recovery plan
and written comments and materials regarding this plan should be
addressed to Brooks Harper, Field Supervisor, Ecological Services, at
the above Honolulu address.
for further information contact: Craig Rowland, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, at the above Honolulu address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Restoring endangered or threatened animals and plants to the point
where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their
ecosystems is a primary goal of the Service's endangered species
program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is working to
prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native to the
United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for
the conservation of the species, establish criteria for the recovery
levels for downlisting or delisting them, and estimate time and cost
for implementing the recovery measures needed.
The Endangered Species Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
(Act), requires the development of recovery plans for listed species
unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular
species. Section 4(f) of the Act as amended in 1988 requires that
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be
provided during recovery plan development. The Service will consider
all information presented during the public comment period prior to
approval of each new or revised Recovery Plan. Substantive technical
comments will result in changes to the plans. Substantive comments
regarding recovery plan implementation may not necessarily result in
changes to the recovery plan, but will be forwarded to appropriate
Federal or other entities so that they can take these comments into
account during the course of implementing recovery actions.
Individualized responses to comments will not be provided.
The 16 taxa being considered in this recovery plan are: Bidens
wiebkei (ko'oko'olau), Brighamia rockii (pua 'ala), Canavalia
molokaiensis ('awikiwiki), Clermontia oblongifolia ssp. brevipes ('oha
wai), Cyanea mannii (haha), Cyanea procera (haha), Hedyotis mannii
(pilo), Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus (koki'o ke'oke'o),
Melicope reflexa (alani), Phyllostegia mannii (no common name (NCN)),
Pritchardia munroi (loulu), Schiedea lydgatei (NCN), Silene alexandri
(NCN), Silene lanceolata (NCN), Stenogyne bifida (NCN), and
Tetramolopium rockii (NCN).
Tetramolopium rockii is listed as threatened, while the remaining
15 taxa are listed as endangered. Fourteen of the 16 taxa are known to
be extant only on the island of Molokai, Hawaii; one species also is
found on the islands of Oahua and Hawaii, the other is also on Lanai.
The 16 plant taxa and their habitats have been variously affected and
are threatened by 1 or more of the following: habitat degradation and/
or predation by wild, feral, or domestic animals (axis deer, goats,
pigs, sheep, and cattle); competition for space, light, water, and
nutrients by naturalized, alien vegetation; habitat loss from fires;
predation by rats; human recreational activities; and military training
exercises. Because of the depauperate number of extant individuals and
their severely restricted distributions, populations of these taxa are
subject to an increased likelihood of extinction from stochastic
events.
Fifteen of these taxa are known from East Molokai and one is also
known from West Molokai. The 16 taxa included in this plan grow in a
variety of vegetation communities (grassland, shrubland, and forests),
elevational zones (coastal to montane), and moisture regimes (dry to
wet).
The objective of this plan is to provide a framework for the
recovery of these 16 taxa so that their protection by the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) is no longer necessary. Immediate actions necessary
for the prevention of extinction of these taxa include fencing for
exclusion of ungulates, alien plant control, protection from fire,
population and plant community monitoring and management, ex situ
propagation, and augmentation of populations, as appropriate. Long-term
activities necessary for the perpetuation of these taxa in their
natural habitats additionally include baseline and long-term research,
public education, maintenance of fenced areas, long-term monitoring and
management of populations and communities, and re-establishment of
populations within the historic ranges of some taxa. Further research
regarding current range, reproduction and reproductive status,
pollinators, life history, limiting factors, habitat requirements, and
minimum viable population sizes is needed to facilitate appropriate
management decisions regarding the long-term perpetuation of each of
these taxa.
Public Comments Solicited
The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan
described. All comments received by the date specified above will be
considered prior to approval of these plans.
Authority
The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
[[Page 50213]]
Dated: September 20, 1995.
Michael J. Spear,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 95-24089 Filed 9-27-95; 8:45 am]
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