Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Delisting of the Berberis (=Mahonia) sonnei (Truckee barberry)

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) have determined that it is appropriate to delist or remove Berberis (=Mahonia) sonnei (Truckee barberry) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. This determination is based on a thorough review of all available data, which indicate that this plant is not a discrete taxonomic entity and does not meet the definition of a species (which includes subspecies and varieties of plants) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Berberis sonnei has been synonymized with B. repens, a common and wide- ranging taxon with a distribution from California northward to British Columbia and Alberta, and eastward to the Great Plains. This rule eliminates Federal protection for Berberis sonnei under the Act.