Responding to a court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a proposal to designate critical habitat for the Otay tarplant (Deinandra conjugens) on approximately 6,630 acres of Federal, state, county and private land in San Diego County, California.
Critical habitat identifies geographic areas that are essential to the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and that may require special management considerations or protection. However, a designation does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other special conservation area conservation area
A conservation area or wildlife management area is a type of national wildlife refuge that consists primarily or entirely of conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements support private landowner efforts to protect important habitat for fish and wildlife. There are 15 conservation areas and nine wildlife management areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Learn more about conservation area . It does not allow government or public access to private lands and does not close areas to all access or use. Rather, its impact is that Federal agencies must consult with the Service on activities they undertake, authorize, fund, or permit that may affect critical habitat.
The Service is proposing critical habitat for the Otay tarplant in three separate units that encompass the entire geographic range of the plant:
Unit 1 includes approximately 3,865 acres north of Upper Otay Reservoir. A portion of this unit is on the Services San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. Lands within the alignment of Highway 125 south are not proposed as critical habitat.
Unit 2 includes about 515 acres and covers the western portion of the tarplants range. This unit contains lands that are proposed as preserve areas under the City of Chula Vistas Draft Subarea Plan for the County of San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program.
Unit 3 includes about 2,250 acres of land east of Highway 805 and north of the International Boundary between the United States and Mexico. A portion of land in this unit is managed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and some of the land is proposed as preserve area under the City of Chula Vistas Draft Subarea Plan.
Critical habitat is not being proposed for land within the boundaries of approved and implemented habitat conservation plans that provide coverage for the Otay tarplant. Lands within the San Diego Gas and Electric HCP, the County of San Diegos Subarea Plan, and City of San Diegos Subarea Plan are excluded from todays proposal.
The Otay tarplant was listed as threatened, under the Endangered Species Act, on October 13, 1998. At that time, more than 70 percent of the plants estimated historic range had already been lost to development and agriculture.
Today, only 22 populations of the Otay tarplant are known to exist in southwestern San Diego County. The Service is working with Federal, state, and local agencies and private landowners throughout the Otay tarplants range to develop and implement conservation plans for the species and its habitat.
The Otay tarplant, a member of the sunflower family, grows from 2 to 10 inches in height and produces small clusters of yellow flower heads, with deep green or gray-green leaves covered with soft, shaggy hairs. The tarplant is found only in areas that contain certain kinds of soils and habitats. Specifically, the plant is associated with clay soils and subsoils, and is found in grassland, open coastal sage scrub and maritime succulent scrub habitats between 80 and 1,000 feet in elevation.Otay tarplants rely on flies, bees, small mammals and birds for pollination and to spread seeds. Each of the proposed critical habitat units support populations of the tarplant and contain one or more of the primary constituent elements necessary for its life cycle needs.
When mapping the proposed critical habitat units, the Service attempted to avoid lands that are already developed, used for intensive agriculture, or that do not contain the primary constituent elements to support the plant, however, we were unable to exclude all such areas. Roads, buildings, agricultural fields and other features and structures within each unit are not considered essential to the conservation of the species and activities confined to those areas would not require consultation with the Service, unless they affect the species or its adjacent critical habitat.
At the time the plant was listed under the Act, the Service concluded that designating critical habitat would not be prudent because it occurred primarily on private land with little Federal involvement. On July 15, 1999, the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in California for, in part, the Services failure to designate critical habitat for Otay tarplant. In December 2000, the plaintiffs and Court agreed to a stipulated settlement agreement requiring us to re-evaluate the prudency determination for Otay tarplant and submit, if prudent, a proposed critical habitat determination by May 30, 2001.
The Service re-evaluated its initial finding and we have determined that it is prudent to propose critical habitat for the tarplant. There are three substantial populations of the tarplant on Federal land which would require consultation with the Service for activities which may affect the plant. Additionally, the proposed designation of critical habitat may provide educational benefits to the public by identifying areas that are essential to the conservation of the species and which are likely to be the focus of recovery efforts.
Native plants are important for their ecological, economic and aesthetic values. Plants produce the oxygen we breathe and play an important role in development of crops that resist disease, insects and drought. At least 25 percent of prescription drugs contain ingredients derived from plant compounds, including medicine used to treat cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, as well as that used to assist organ transplants. The decline of plant species is an indicator of the health of the environment.
A complete description of our proposal to designate critical habitat for the Otay tarplant was published in the Federal Register on June 13, 2001. We are soliciting data and comments on all aspects of this proposal, including data on economic or other impacts of the designation. Comments should be submitted in writing to Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730 Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, California 92008. Comments may also be sent by electronic mail to fw1cfwo_deco@fws.gov">. Please submit comments in ASCII file format and avoid the use of special characters and encryption. Please include "Attn: RIN 1018-AH00," your name and return address in the e-mail message. If you do not receive a confirmation from the system that your e-mail message was received, contact the Service directly by calling the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office at 760-431-9440.
All comments and materials received by 5:00 p.m. on August 13, 2001 will be considered in any final determination. Requests for a public hearing must be received by July 30, 2001. Comments and materials received, as well as supporting documentation used in the preparation of this proposed rule, will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office.
