Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Determinations of Prudency and Proposed Designations of Critical Habitat for Plant Species From the Island of Molokai, Hawaii

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose critical habitat for 46 of the 51 listed plant species known historically from the island of Molokai that are listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Critical habitat is not proposed for 4 species as they no longer occur on the island of Molokai, and we are unable to identify any habitat essential to their conservation on the island of Molokai. Critical habitat is not proposed for one species of loulu palm, Pritchardia munroi, for which we determined, in a previous proposal, that critical habitat designation is not prudent because it would likely increase the threats from vandalism or collection of this species on Molokai. We propose critical habitat designations for 46 species within 10 critical habitat units totaling approximately 17,614 hectares (ha) (43,532 acres (ac)) on the island of Molokai. If this proposal is made final, section 7 of the Act requires Federal agencies to ensure that actions they carry out, fund, or authorize do not destroy or adversely modify critical habitat to the extent that the action appreciably diminishes the value of the critical habitat for the survival and recovery of the species. Section 4 of the Act requires us to consider economic and other relevant impacts of specifying any particular area as critical habitat. We solicit data and comments from the public on all aspects of this proposal, including data on the economic and other impacts of the designations. We may revise or further refine this rule, including critical habitat boundaries, prior to final designation based on habitat and plant surveys, public comment on the revised proposed critical habitat rule, and new scientific and commercial information.