[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10830-10831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04138]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2013-N214; 80221-1113-0000-C2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Recovery
Plan for Tidal Marsh Ecosystems of Northern and Central California
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION:
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Notice of document availability.
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of the final recovery plan for three endangered plants,
Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum (Suisun thistle), Chloropyron
molle ssp. molle (soft bird's-beak), and Suaeda californica (California
sea-blite), and two endangered animals, California clapper rail (Rallus
longirostris obsoletus) and salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys
raviventris). The recovery plan includes recovery objectives and
criteria, and specific actions necessary to achieve downlisting and
delisting from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the recovery plan from our Web site
at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html.
Alternatively, you may contact the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-2605,
Sacramento, CA 95825 (telephone 916-414-6700).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Norris, Field Supervisor, at
the above street address or telephone number (see ADDRESSES).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Recovery of 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 our endangered species program and the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). Recovery means improvement of the status of listed species to
the point at which listing is no longer appropriate under the criteria
specified in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. The Act requires the
development of recovery plans for listed species, unless such a plan
would not promote the conservation of a particular species.
The three plants, Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum, Chloropyron
molle ssp. molle, and Suaeda californica, along with both animals,
California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse, inhabit tidal
marsh ecosystems in central California. We listed C. hydrophilum var.
hydrophilum and C. molle ssp. molle on November 20, 1997 (62 FR 61916),
and S. californica on December 15, 1994 (59 FR 64613). C. molle ssp.
molle is the currently accepted scientific name for this species,
although the species was originally listed under the scientific name
Cordylanthus mollis ssp. mollis and remains listed that way in the List
of Endangered and Threatened Plants at 50 CFR 17.12(h). However, we
will soon issue a proposed rule to update the taxonomy for this species
on the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants, so throughout the rest
of this document we refer to this species with the scientific name C.
molle ssp. molle.
We listed the California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse
on October 13, 1970 (35 FR 16047). A recovery plan for the California
clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse was published on November 16,
1984 (USFWS 1984, pp. 1-141). However, since a substantial amount of
additional information is now available, it is appropriate to revise
the plan to incorporate this new information, and to add the more
recently listed plant species into the recovery program. Further, the
plan has been expanded to include a comprehensive restoration and
management component of the tidal marsh ecosystems of the area.
In addition to the five entities above, the Tidal Marsh Ecosystems
of Northern and Central California recovery plan includes information
related to Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum (salt marsh bird's-
beak), which we listed as endangered on September 28, 1978 (43 FR
44810). C. maritimum ssp. maritimum is the
[[Page 10831]]
currently accepted scientific name for this species, although the
species was originally listed under the scientific name Cordylanthus
maritimus ssp. maritimus and remains listed that way in the List of
Endangered and Threatened Plants at 50 CFR 17.12(h). However, we will
soon issue a proposed rule to update the taxonomy for this species on
the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants, so throughout the rest of
this document we refer to this species with the scientific name C.
maritimum ssp. maritimum. The northern range limit of C. maritimum ssp.
maritimum is in Morro Bay; however, Morro Bay was omitted from the Salt
Marsh Bird's-Beak Recovery Plan (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1985a)
because the taxonomic interpretation at the time classified this
population in another subspecies that is not federally listed. Current
taxonomic interpretation considers the Morro Bay population as C.
maritimum ssp. maritimum. Therefore, we include recovery goals for this
northern population.
Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide an opportunity for
public review and comment prior to finalization of recovery plans,
including revisions to such plans. We made the draft of this revised
recovery plan available for public comment from February 10, 2010 to
June 10, 2010 (75 FR 6696). We considered all information we received
during the public comment period and revised the recovery plan
accordingly.
Species Information
Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum
Cirsium hydrophilum var. hydrophilum was once widespread in Suisun
Marsh, but, due to habitat loss, in the last two decades has been found
in only four localities: Grizzly Island, Peytonia Slough, Rush Ranch,
and Hill Slough. These populations have been in decline since the 1990s
and 2000s.
Chloropyron molle ssp. molle
Chloropyron molle ssp. molle, though threatened by past habitat
loss, retains populations in the tidal marshes of Napa-Sonoma, Point
Pinole, Carquinez Straits, Suisun Marsh area, and northern Contra Costa
County. These populations are composed of many shifting colonies or
subpopulations, with great variability in population size and
distribution.
Suaeda californica
Suaeda californica occurred historically in high tidal marsh in
portions of San Francisco Bay, where it became nearly extinct because
of habitat loss. Due to several reintroductions between 1999 and 2008,
it is currently known from three sites in the San Francisco Bay and
scattered locations along the shoreline of Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo
County.
California Clapper Rail
The historic range of California clapper rails may have extended
from tidal marshes of Humboldt Bay to Morro Bay; however, the species
now occurs only within the tidal and brackish marshes around San
Francisco Bay where it is restricted to less than 10 percent of its
former geographic range. Population numbers reached an all-time
historical low of about 500 birds in 1991, then rebounded somewhat.
Results of an estuary-wide survey estimated a minimum average
population between 2005 and 2008 of 1,425 rails (Liu et al. 2009);
however, population numbers declined during that period at a per-year
rate of 20 percent, as habitat was lost bay-wide, and are currently
lower.
Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
The two subspecies of salt marsh harvest mouse are restricted to
the tidal and brackish marshes of San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and
Suisun Bay areas. The southern subspecies inhabits central and south
San Francisco Bay, and has suffered severe habitat loss and
fragmentation. Less than 10 percent of its historic habitat acreage
remains, and nearly all is deficient in its structural suitability. The
northern subspecies, living in the marshes of San Pablo and Suisun
bays, has also sustained extensive habitat loss and degradation, but
less so than the southern subspecies.
These species 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 historical and current habitat loss and
fragmentation due to urban development, agriculture, and diking related
to duck hunting; altered hydrology and salinity; nonnative invasive
species; disturbance; contamination; risk of extinction due to small
population size; and the most central threat, sea level rise due to
climate change.
Recovery Plan Goals
The purpose of a recovery plan is to provide a framework for the
recovery of species so that protection under the Act is no longer
necessary. A recovery plan includes scientific information about the
species and provides criteria that enable us to gauge whether
downlisting or delisting the species is warranted. Furthermore,
recovery plans help guide our recovery efforts by describing actions we
consider necessary for each species' conservation and by estimating
time and costs for implementing needed recovery measures.
The ultimate goal of this recovery plan is to recover all focal
listed species so that they can be delisted. The interim goal is to
improve the status of the focal listed species to the point that they
can be reclassified from endangered to threatened status. For
Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum, the goal is to support recovery
as described in the Salt Marsh Bird's-Beak Recovery Plan (U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service 1985a).
The recovery plan contains the following five ecosystem-level
strategies for recovery, which we believe will promote a healthy,
stable ecosystem for populations of these species:
1. Acquire existing, historic, and restorable tidal marsh habitat
to promote the recovery of listed species and the long-term
conservation of species of concern and other tidal marsh species;
2. Manage, restore, and monitor tidal marsh habitat to promote the
recovery of listed species and the long-term conservation of species of
concern and other tidal marsh species;
3. Conduct rangewide species status surveys/monitoring and status
reviews for listed species and species of concern;
4. Conduct research necessary for the recovery of listed species
and the long-term conservation of species of concern; and
5. Improve coordination, participation, and outreach activities to
achieve recovery of listed species and long-term conservation of
species of concern.
As these species meet reclassification and recovery criteria, we
will review each species' status and consider each species for
reclassification or removal from the Federal Lists of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife and Plants.
Authority
We developed our recovery plan under the authority of section 4(f)
of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f). We publish this notice under section
4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.).
Dated: February 20, 2014.
Alexandra Pitts,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-04138 Filed 2-25-14; 8:45 am]
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