The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed the designation of 11,032 acres as critical habitat for Monterey spineflower (Corizanthe pungens var. pungens) in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. The plant is currently listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Publication of the proposal in the Dec. 14, 2006, Federal Register opens a 60-day comment period.
About 85 percent of the total critical habitat acreage for the Monterey spineflower is on Federal land at the former Fort Ord Army Base near the city of Monterey. The remaining acreage is on city, county, State and private lands.
Monterey spineflower is an annual plant in the buckwheat family. Individuals form a low-growing grayish or reddish mound. Each plant can reach 20 inches or more in diameter. It is found on dry, sandy soils in coastal dunes and scrub, on grassland, maritime chaparral, and oak woodland habitats that are influenced by the mild, coastal climate. Populations have declined because of urbanization, agriculture, recreation, and competition from non-native species.
The plant was added to the federal list of threatened and endangered species in February 1994. At that time, the Service found that critical habitat was not determinable. In response to a lawsuit, the Service designated 18,829 acres of critical habitat in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties for the Monterey spineflower in May 2002. In March 2005, the Homebuilders Association of Northern California filed a complaint against the Service, and in March 2006, a settlement was reached to re-evaluate critical habitat for the Monterey spineflower and four other coastal plants. The existing critical habitat remains in place until the current critical habitat process has been completed and new critical habitat designated.
A recovery plan for the Monterey spineflower, six other coastal plants, and the Myrtle's silverspot butterfly was published by the Service in September 1998.
Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until Feb. 12, 2007. The Service encourages public input on specific elements of the proposal to help ensure that the final critical habitat designation is as accurate as possible. The Service is particularly interested in comments on potential economic impacts, the number and distribution of the plant, and identifying habitat areas that contribute to conservation of the species. The Service will issue a draft economic analysis of the proposed critical habitat for public review early in 2007.
Comments on the proposal may be submitted in writing to: Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office; 2493 Portola Road, Suite B; Ventura, Calif. 93003, or may be submitted via e-mail to: fw8mosp@fws.gov">. They may also be faxed to: 805/644-3958.
Native plants are important for their ecological, economic, and aesthetic values. They 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 to treat cancer, heart disease, juvenile leukemia, and malaria, and to assist in organ transplants. Plants are also used to develop natural pesticides.
Critical habitat identifies geographic areas containing features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and that may require special management considerations or protection.
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 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 Fish and Wildlife Management 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.
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