Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Swale Paintbrush

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the swale paintbrush (Castilleja ornata), a flowering plant species from New Mexico within the United States and the states of Chihuahua and Durango in Mexico, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This determination also serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to list the swale paintbrush. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the species is warranted. If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add this species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants and extend the Act's protections to the species. We find that designating critical habitat for the swale paintbrush is not prudent at this time.