[Federal Register: September 27, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 186)]
[Notices]
[Page 57712-57713]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27se04-70]
[[Page 57712]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of a Technical Agency Draft Recovery Plan
for the Endangered Catesbaea melanocarpa for Review and Comment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability and public comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability
of the technical agency draft recovery plan for Catesbaea melanocarpa
(no common name). Catesbaea melanocarpa is extremely rare and is known
from Puerto Rico, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), Barbuda,
Antigua, and Guadeloupe. The technical agency draft recovery plan
includes interim recovery objectives and criteria to be met in order to
downlist Catesbaea melanocarpa to threatened under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Given the limited information on
the current number of individuals throughout the species range and the
limited knowledge on biology, habitat requirements and genetic
information, we recognize the need to generate scientific information
to better address the threats and limiting factors to this species and
to develop specific recovery criteria. Therefore, the interim goal of
this recovery plan is to protect and enhance existing populations to
the point that downlisting to threatened is warranted. We are
soliciting review and comment on this technical agency draft recovery
plan from local, State, Territorial, and Federal agencies, and the
public.
DATES: In order to be considered, we must receive comments on the
technical agency draft recovery plan on or before November 26, 2004.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to review this technical agency draft recovery
plan, you may obtain a copy by contacting the Boquer[oacute]n Field
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 491, Boquer[oacute]n,
Puerto Rico 00622 (telephone 787-851-7297), or by visiting our recovery
plan Web site at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans.
If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by one of the
following methods:
1. You may submit written comments and materials to the Field
Supervisor, at the above address.
2. You may hand-deliver written comments to our Boqueron Field
Office, at the above address, or fax your comments to (787) 851-7440.
Comments and materials received are available for public inspection
on request, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marelisa Rivera at the above address
(Telephone 787-851-7297, ext. 231).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
We listed Catesbaea melanocarpa as endangered on March 17, 1999,
under the Act (64 FR 13116). Catesbaea melanocarpa is a small spiny
shrub of the family Rubiacea. It belongs to a genus which consists of
ten or more species of spiny shrubs. It is a branching shrub which may
reach approximately 9.8 feet (ft) (3.0 meters (m)) in height. Spines
are borne at every internode (space between nodes) and are from 0.39 to
0.78 inches (in) (1.00 to 2.00 centimeters (cm)) long. Leaves are
small, from 0.19 to 1.0 in (5.00 to 25.00 millimeters (mm)) long, and
0.07 to 0.58 in (2.00 to 15.00 mm) wide, often opposite. The flowers
are white, solitary or paired, and almost lacking a stalk in the axils.
The petals are united in the form of a funnel and measure from 0.31 to
0.39 in (8.00 to 10.00 mm) long. The fruit is black, spherical, and
0.19 to 0.23 in (5.00 to 6.00 mm) in diameter. The two-celled fruit
contains five to seven seeds in each cell.
Catesbaea melanocarpa is extremely rare. 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. All
known individuals in Puerto Rico and the USVI occur on privately-owned
lands. The species is also found on the islands of Barbuda, Antigua,
and Guadeloupe; however, little is known of their status on these
islands.
Because so few individuals of Catesbaea melanocarpa are known to
occur in limited areas, the risk of extinction is extremely high. Both
known locations are privately-owned and subject to pressure for
development. The location in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, is currently
proposed for a high density residential/tourist development. In St.
Croix, the population is subject to impacts from intense grazing
activities and the land is also subject to pressure for a golf course
development. Catastrophic natural events, such as hurricanes, may
dramatically affect forest species composition and structure, felling
large trees and creating numerous canopy gaps. The population in St.
Croix lost individuals following the passing of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
Deforestation for residential and tourist development may also pose
imminent threats to the survival of the species. Fire may also be a
threat to the known population on the island of St. Croix. Fire is not
a natural component of subtropical dry forest in Puerto Rico and Virgin
Islands. Species found in this type of forest are not fire adapted.
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 the endangered species program. To help guide this
recovery effort, we are preparing recovery plans for most listed
species. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for
conservation of the species, establish criteria for downlisting or
delisting, 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 a
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment during
recovery plan development. We will consider all information presented
during a public comment period prior to approval of each new or revised
recovery plan. We and other Federal agencies will take these comments
into account in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
Given the limited information on the current number of individuals
throughout the species range and the limited knowledge on biology,
habitat requirements and genetic information, we recognize the need to
generate scientific information to better address the threats and
limiting factors to this species and to develop specific recovery
criteria. Therefore, the interim goal of this recovery plan is to
protect and enhance existing populations to the point that downlisting
to threatened is warranted. In order to achieve our interim recovery
goal, we believe it will be necessary to protect and enhance habitat
known to support existing populations through landowner conservation
agreements or easements, enhance existing populations, establish new
self-sustaining populations within known range of the species, and
conduct research on key biological and genetic issues, including
effective propagation techniques, necessary to define recovery
criteria. As these interim recovery criteria are met, the status of the
species will be reviewed and it will be considered for downlisting to
threatened on the Federal List of Endangered and
[[Page 57713]]
Threatened Wildlife and Plants (50 CFR part 17).
Public Comments Solicited
We solicit written comments on the recovery plan described. We will
consider all comments received by the date specified above prior to
final approval of the draft recovery plan.
Our practice is to make all comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home addresses from the record, which we will honor to the extent
allowable by law. In some circumstances, we would withhold also from
the rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If
you wish for us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state
this prominently at the beginning of your comments. However, we will
not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
Authority: The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Dated: August 2, 2004.
Sam D. Hamilton,
Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 04-21565 Filed 9-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P