The public now has until October 14 to comment on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's draft recovery plan for the threatened native plant, the Pecos sunflower. The showy plant is found in the desert wetlands of New Mexico and west Texas.
The recovery plan is available on the internet at "COLOR: blue; http://ifw2es.fws.gov/Mexico. To obtain a paper copy of the draft, contact the New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office at 800-299-0196 or write to them at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2105 Osuna NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87113. Comments should be mailed to the address above, sent via facsimile to 505-346-2542 or by electronic mail to R2FWE_AL@FWS.gov">.
Recovery plans identify specific, voluntary actions that will help recover the plant so it may be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species. Objectives and criteria for delisting a species are spelled out. In addition, the plant's status and current management practices are noted. After all comments are considered and changes made, the Service will issue a final recovery plan that will be used by federal agencies and others who voluntarily undertake recovery actions.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-22.
; -FWS ?
