Notice of Availability of the Recovery Plan for the Endangered Catesbaea melanocarpa, 48579-48580 [05-16372]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 159 / Thursday, August 18, 2005 / Notices
there are fewer than 10 non-Federal
respondents.
Author
The primary author of this proposed
rule is Timothy Merritt (see ADDRESSES
section).
Authority
The authority for this action is the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.).
Dated: July 5, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 05–16275 Filed 8–17–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of the Recovery
Plan for the Endangered Catesbaea
melanocarpa
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife
Service, announce the availability of the
final recovery plan for Catesbaea
melanocarpa (no common name). This
endangered plant species is a small
spiny shrub of the family Rubiacea. It is
extremely rare and is known from
Puerto Rico, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin
Islands, Barbuda, Antigua, and
Guadeloupe. The recovery plan includes
specific recovery goal/objectives and
criteria to be met to delist Catesbaea
melanocarpa under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended.
ADDRESSES: Copies of this recovery plan
are available on the Internet at https://
endangered.fws.gov/recovery/
index.html#plans or by request from the
Caribbean Field Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 491,
´
Boqueron, Puerto Rico 00622 (telephone
787/851–7297).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marelisa Rivera at the above address
(telephone 787/851–7297, ext. 231).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Catesbaea melanocarpa belongs to a
genus that consists of ten or more
species of spiny shrubs. Catesbaea
melanocarpa is extremely rare and is
known from Puerto Rico, St. Croix in
the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), Barbuda,
Antigua, and Guadeloupe. In the U.S.
Caribbean, it is known from only one
individual in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico,
and approximately 100 individuals in
VerDate jul<14>2003
12:20 Aug 17, 2005
Jkt 205001
one location in St. Croix, USVI. Little
information is available regarding the
status of the species in Barbuda,
Antigua, and Guadalupe. The two
currently known locations in Puerto
Rico and the USVI are privately-owned,
and are subject to development pressure
for residential and tourism projects. The
risk of extinction is high because so few
individuals of Catesbaea melanocarpa
are known to occur in limited areas.
Additionally, the species is threatened
by catastrophic natural events, such as
hurricanes, as well as human induced
fires. Catesbaea melanocarpa was listed
as endangered under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (Act) on March 17,
1999 (64 FR 13116).
Restoring an endangered or
threatened animal or plant to the point
where it is again a secure, selfsustaining member of its ecosystem is a
primary goal of our endangered species
program. To help guide the recovery
effort, we prepare recovery plans for
most listed species. Recovery plans
describe actions considered necessary
for conservation of the species, establish
criteria for downlisting or delisting
them, and estimate time and cost for
implementing recovery measures.
The Act requires the development of
recovery plans for listed species unless
such a plan would not promote the
conservation of a particular species.
Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to
provide public notice and an
opportunity for public review and
comment during recovery plan
development. A notice of availability of
the technical agency draft recovery plan
for Catesbaea melanocarpa was
published in the Federal Register on
September 27, 2004 (69 FR 57712). A
60-day comment period was opened
with the notice, closing on November
26, 2004. We received comments from
two interested parties and from two
experts on Catesbaea melanocarpa who
served as peer reviewers of the recovery
plan. On April 19, 2005, we published
in the Federal Register a notice of
reopening the comment period for the
agency draft recovery plan to solicit
comments on revised ‘‘Recovery Goal’’
and ‘‘Recovery Criteria’’ sections (70 FR
20396). A 30-day comment period was
opened with the notice, closing on May
19, 2005. We received comments from
two interested parties. Comments and
information submitted were considered
in the preparation of this final plan and,
where appropriate, incorporated.
Recovery Plan
The objective of this recovery plan is
to provide a framework for the recovery
of Catesbaea melanocarpa so that
PO 00000
Frm 00065
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
48579
protection under the Act is no longer
necessary. As recovery criteria are met,
the status of the species will be
reviewed, and it will be considered for
reclassification to threatened status or
for removal from the Federal List of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants (50 CFR part 17).
The information on the current
number of individuals throughout the
species’ range, and the knowledge of
biology, habitat requirements, and
genetic information is limited. However,
the Service has developed downlisting
and delisting criteria for Catesbaea
melanocarpa. These criteria are
intended to provide long-term
sustainability of the endangered
Catesbaea melanocarpa. Long term
sustainability requires adequate
reproduction for replacement of losses
due to natural mortality factors
(including disease and stochastic
events), sufficient genetic robustness to
avoid inbreeding depression and allow
adaptation, sufficient habitat for long
term population maintenance, and
elimination or control of threats.
Downlisting of the species from
endangered to threatened status will be
considered when: (1) The habitat known
to support the two extant populations
˜
(St. Croix and Penones de Melones) is
enhanced and protected through
landowner conservation agreements or
easements; (2) extant populations are
enhanced through the planting of
additional propagated individuals to
augment the number of adult
individuals to at least 250; (3) at least
one population within each of the
following previously occupied habitat is
´
found and/or established: Guanica
´
Commonwealth Forest (PR), Susua
Commonwealth Forest (PR), Barbuda,
Antigua, and Guadalupe; and (4)
research is conducted on key biological
and genetic issues, including effective
propagation techniques, and number of
individuals within a population and
number of populations needed for the
establishment of self-sustaining
populations and a viable overall
population.
Catesbaea melanocarpa will be
considered for delisting when: (1) A
number of viable populations (to be
determined following the appropriate
studies) are protected by long term
conservation strategies; (2) viable
populations (the number of which
should be determined following the
appropriate studies) are established in
previously unoccupied but suitable
habitat at Sandy Point National Wildlife
Refuge (USVI), Cabo Rojo National
Wildlife Refuge (PR), La Tinaja in Sierra
Bermeja (Laguna Cartagena National
Wildlife Refuge, PR), and any other
E:\FR\FM\18AUN1.SGM
18AUN1
48580
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 159 / Thursday, August 18, 2005 / Notices
identified suitable conservation area
within the dry forest zone; and (3) the
numbers of populations, their sizes,
genetic makeup and distribution needed
to ensure self-sustainability are
determined and achieved.
In an effort to meet the recovery
criteria, the following recovery actions
were identified. The Recovery Plan
breaks these actions down further into
specific tasks.
1. Protect existing populations (St.
Croix and Cabo Rojo) from current and
future threats and/or limiting factors
through landowner agreements and
other conservation mechanisms.
2. Determine the distribution and
population status of Catesbaea
melanocarpa throughout its present and
historic range, including Barbuda,
Antigua, and Guadalupe.
3. Evaluate techniques and develop a
plant propagation program for
Catesbaea melanocarpa.
4. Enhance existing populations and
establish new self-sustaining
populations (number of which should
be determined by viability analysis)
within protected areas by introducing
additional individuals developed
through propagation. Introduction sites
may include, but are not limited to, the
´
´
Guanica Commonwealth Forest, Susua
Commonwealth Forest, Sandy Point
National Wildlife Refuge, and Cabo Rojo
National Wildlife Refuge.
5. Conduct additional scientific
research on Catesbaea melanocarpa.
6. Facilitate the recovery of Catesbaea
melanocarpa through public awareness
and education.
7. Provide technical assistance to
Barbuda, Antigua, and Guadalupe for
the development of conservation
measures for the species.
8. Refine recovery criteria.
Authority
The authority for this action is section
4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Dated: July 11, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 05–16372 Filed 8–17–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[Docket No. CO–01–134–1220–241A]
McInnis Canyons National
Conservation Area Advisory Council
Meeting
AGENCY:
Bureau of Land Management
Interior.
VerDate jul<14>2003
12:20 Aug 17, 2005
Jkt 205001
ACTION:
Notice of meetings.
SUMMARY: The McInnis Canyons
National Conservation Area (MCNCA)
Advisory Council will hold its next
meeting of 2005 on September 7, 2005.
The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. and
will be held at the Fruita City Office
Building, 325 East Aspen Avenue,
Fruita, CO. An additional meeting will
be held on December 7, 2005 at the
Mesa County Administration Building;
544 Rood Avenue, Grand Junction, CO.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
September 7, 2005.
ADDRESSES: For further information or
to provide written comments, please
contact the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), 2815 H Road, Grand Junction,
Colorado 81506; (970) 244-3000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
McInnis Canyons National Conservation
Area was established on October 24,
2000 when the Colorado Canyons
National Conservation Area was
established on October 24, 2000 when
the Colorado Canyons National
Conservation Area and Black Ridge
Wilderness Act of 2000 (the Act) was
signed by the President. The Act
required that the Advisory Council be
established to provide advice in the
preparation and implementation of the
CCNCA Resource Management Plan.
The name was congressionally changed
at the end of 2004 from Colorado
Canyons National Conservation Area to
McInnis Canyons National Conservation
Area (MCNCA).
The MCNCA Advisory Council will
meet on Wednesday, September 7, 2005
at the Fruita City Office Building, 325
East Aspen Avenue, Fruita, CO. The
agenda topics for this meeting are:
(1) Status of pending Advisory
Council nominations.
(2) Update on Friends of McInnis
Canyons NCA.
(3) Update on NCA Implementation
Plan.
(4) Cooperative management of Loma
Boat Launch. (Field trip to site
included.)
(5) Public comment period
(6) Agenda for next meeting
Beginning September of 2005, the
MCNCA Advisory Council meetings
will be held quarterly on the first
Wednesday of every third month. The
dates for these meetings are September
7, 2005; and December 7, 2005.
Meetings for 2006 will be determined at
the December meeting. Topics of
discussion for future meetings will
include completion of an
implementation/business plan,
refinement of a monitoring strategy,
partnerships, interpretation, adaptive
PO 00000
Frm 00066
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
management, socioeconomic, and other
issues as appropriate.
All meeting will be open to the public
and will include a time set aside for
public comment. Interested persons may
make oral statements at the meetings or
submit written statements at any
meeting. Per-person time limits for oral
statements may be set to allow all
interested persons an opportunity to
speak.
Summary minutes of all Council
meetings will be maintained at the
Bureau of Land Management Office in
Grand Junction, Colorado. They are
available for public inspection and
reproduction during regular business
hours within thirty (30) days following
the meeting.
Dated: August 5, 2005.
Paul H. Peck,
Manager, McInnis Canyons National
Conservation Area.
[FR Doc. 05–16356 Filed 8–17–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JB–M
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[NV–055–5853–EU]
Notice of Realty Action: Competitive
Sale of Public Lands in Clark County,
NV; Termination of Recreation and
Public Purposes Classification and
Segregation; Withdrawal of the
Formerly Classified Lands by the
Southern Nevada Public Land
Management Act
Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of realty action.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) proposes to sell by
public auction 86 parcels of Federal
public land, aggregating approximately
3,197.00 acres, more or less, in the Las
Vegas Valley, Nevada. The sale will be
under the authority of the Southern
Nevada Public Land Management Act of
1998 (112 Stat. 2343), as amended by
Title IV of the Clark County
Conservation of Public Land and
Natural Resources Act of 2002 (116 Stat.
1994) (SNPLMA). The SNPLMA sale
will be subject to the applicable
provisions of Sections 203 and 209 of
the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) (43
U.S.C. 1713 and 1719), and BLM land
sale and mineral conveyance regulations
at 43 CFR parts 2710 and 2720. The sale
will be conducted in Las Vegas, Nevada,
on November 16, 2005, using
competitive bidding procedures under
the regulations, at not less than the
E:\FR\FM\18AUN1.SGM
18AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 159 (Thursday, August 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48579-48580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16372]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of the Recovery Plan for the Endangered
Catesbaea melanocarpa
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability
of the final recovery plan for Catesbaea melanocarpa (no common name).
This endangered plant species is a small spiny shrub of the family
Rubiacea. It is extremely rare and is known from Puerto Rico, St. Croix
in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbuda, Antigua, and Guadeloupe. The
recovery plan includes specific recovery goal/objectives and criteria
to be met to delist Catesbaea melanocarpa under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended.
ADDRESSES: Copies of this recovery plan are available on the Internet
at https://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/#plans or by request
from the Caribbean Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O.
Box 491, Boquer[oacute]n, Puerto Rico 00622 (telephone 787/851-7297).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marelisa Rivera at the above address
(telephone 787/851-7297, ext. 231).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Catesbaea melanocarpa belongs to a genus that consists of ten or
more species of spiny shrubs. Catesbaea melanocarpa is extremely rare
and is known from Puerto Rico, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands
(USVI), Barbuda, Antigua, and Guadeloupe. In the U.S. Caribbean, it is
known from only one individual in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, and
approximately 100 individuals in one location in St. Croix, USVI.
Little information is available regarding the status of the species in
Barbuda, Antigua, and Guadalupe. The two currently known locations in
Puerto Rico and the USVI are privately-owned, and are subject to
development pressure for residential and tourism projects. The risk of
extinction is high because so few individuals of Catesbaea melanocarpa
are known to occur in limited areas. Additionally, the species is
threatened by catastrophic natural events, such as hurricanes, as well
as human induced fires. Catesbaea melanocarpa was listed as endangered
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) (Act) on March 17, 1999 (64 FR 13116).
Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is
a primary goal of our endangered species program. To help guide the
recovery effort, we prepare recovery plans for most listed species.
Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for conservation
of the species, establish criteria for downlisting or delisting them,
and estimate time and cost for implementing recovery measures.
The Act requires the development of recovery plans for listed
species unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a
particular species. Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment during
recovery plan development. A notice of availability of the technical
agency draft recovery plan for Catesbaea melanocarpa was published in
the Federal Register on September 27, 2004 (69 FR 57712). A 60-day
comment period was opened with the notice, closing on November 26,
2004. We received comments from two interested parties and from two
experts on Catesbaea melanocarpa who served as peer reviewers of the
recovery plan. On April 19, 2005, we published in the Federal Register
a notice of reopening the comment period for the agency draft recovery
plan to solicit comments on revised ``Recovery Goal'' and ``Recovery
Criteria'' sections (70 FR 20396). A 30-day comment period was opened
with the notice, closing on May 19, 2005. We received comments from two
interested parties. Comments and information submitted were considered
in the preparation of this final plan and, where appropriate,
incorporated.
Recovery Plan
The objective of this recovery plan is to provide a framework for
the recovery of Catesbaea melanocarpa so that protection under the Act
is no longer necessary. As recovery criteria are met, the status of the
species will be reviewed, and it will be considered for
reclassification to threatened status or for removal from the Federal
List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (50 CFR part 17).
The information on the current number of individuals throughout the
species' range, and the knowledge of biology, habitat requirements, and
genetic information is limited. However, the Service has developed
downlisting and delisting criteria for Catesbaea melanocarpa. These
criteria are intended to provide long-term sustainability of the
endangered Catesbaea melanocarpa. Long term sustainability requires
adequate reproduction for replacement of losses due to natural
mortality factors (including disease and stochastic events), sufficient
genetic robustness to avoid inbreeding depression and allow adaptation,
sufficient habitat for long term population maintenance, and
elimination or control of threats.
Downlisting of the species from endangered to threatened status
will be considered when: (1) The habitat known to support the two
extant populations (St. Croix and Pe[ntilde]ones de Melones) is
enhanced and protected through landowner conservation agreements or
easements; (2) extant populations are enhanced through the planting of
additional propagated individuals to augment the number of adult
individuals to at least 250; (3) at least one population within each of
the following previously occupied habitat is found and/or established:
Gu[aacute]nica Commonwealth Forest (PR), Sus[uacute]a Commonwealth
Forest (PR), Barbuda, Antigua, and Guadalupe; and (4) research is
conducted on key biological and genetic issues, including effective
propagation techniques, and number of individuals within a population
and number of populations needed for the establishment of self-
sustaining populations and a viable overall population.
Catesbaea melanocarpa will be considered for delisting when: (1) A
number of viable populations (to be determined following the
appropriate studies) are protected by long term conservation
strategies; (2) viable populations (the number of which should be
determined following the appropriate studies) are established in
previously unoccupied but suitable habitat at Sandy Point National
Wildlife Refuge (USVI), Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge (PR), La
Tinaja in Sierra Bermeja (Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge,
PR), and any other
[[Page 48580]]
identified suitable conservation area within the dry forest zone; and
(3) the numbers of populations, their sizes, genetic makeup and
distribution needed to ensure self-sustainability are determined and
achieved.
In an effort to meet the recovery criteria, the following recovery
actions were identified. The Recovery Plan breaks these actions down
further into specific tasks.
1. Protect existing populations (St. Croix and Cabo Rojo) from
current and future threats and/or limiting factors through landowner
agreements and other conservation mechanisms.
2. Determine the distribution and population status of Catesbaea
melanocarpa throughout its present and historic range, including
Barbuda, Antigua, and Guadalupe.
3. Evaluate techniques and develop a plant propagation program for
Catesbaea melanocarpa.
4. Enhance existing populations and establish new self-sustaining
populations (number of which should be determined by viability
analysis) within protected areas by introducing additional individuals
developed through propagation. Introduction sites may include, but are
not limited to, the Gu[aacute]nica Commonwealth Forest, Sus[uacute]a
Commonwealth Forest, Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, and Cabo
Rojo National Wildlife Refuge.
5. Conduct additional scientific research on Catesbaea melanocarpa.
6. Facilitate the recovery of Catesbaea melanocarpa through public
awareness and education.
7. Provide technical assistance to Barbuda, Antigua, and Guadalupe
for the development of conservation measures for the species.
8. Refine recovery criteria.
Authority
The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C.
1533(f).
Dated: July 11, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 05-16372 Filed 8-17-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
