Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing Eriastrum hooveri (Hoover's woolly-star) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Species

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have determined that Eriastrum hooveri (Hoover's woolly-star) is no longer a threatened species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. This determination is based on the discovery of new populations and implementation of recovery actions that contributed substantially towards meeting delisting criteria outlined in the ``Recovery Plan For Upland Species of the San Joaquin Valley, California'' (Recovery Plan) (USFWS 1998). Beginning in 1990, recovery efforts for this species succeeded in locating additional populations, discovering through research that Eriastrum hooveri is more resilient and less vulnerable to disturbance activities than previously known, and achieving protection through cooperation with Federal, State, and private entities on more than 114,400 hectares (286,000 acres) of E. hooveri habitat. The management practices of, and commitments by, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), on whose land a substantial number of the new populations have been found, will afford adequate protection to the species upon delisting. Following delisting, BLM will designate E. hooveri as a ``sensitive species'' pursuant to BLM Manual 6840 and California State Manual Supplement H-6840.06, to provide for continued protection and monitoring of the species on BLM lands. The post-delisting monitoring, required under section 4 of the Act, will be facilitated by BLM's implementation of their Caliente Resource Management Plan (RMP) (BLM 1996). Under the RMP and separate agreements, BLM will monitor the species and monitor residual threats at representative sites within four E. hooveri metapopulations.