ETWP; Proposed Rule to Determine Five Plants and a Lizard from Monterey County, California, as Endangered or Threatened

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes endangered status pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for four plants and a reptile: Astragalus tener var. titi (coastal dunes milk-vetch), Piperia yadonii (Yadon's piperia), Potentilla hickmanii (Hickmann's potentilla), Trifolium trichocalyx (Monterey clover) and the black legless lizard (Anniella pulchra nigra); and threatened status for Cupressus goveniana ssp. goveniana (Gowen cypress). The six taxa are found primarily along the coast of northern Monterey County, California. The five plant taxa and the lizard are threatened by one or more of the following: alteration, destruction, and fragmentation of habitat resulting from urban and golf course development; recreational activities; highway widening; military activities; competition with non-native species; and alteration of natural fire cycles. All taxa are also threatened with stochastic extinction due to the small numbers of populations or individuals. This proposed rule, if made final, would extend the Act's protection to these taxa.