Endangered and threatened species: Recovery plans— Bighorn sheep,

[Federal Register: December 29, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 249)]

[Notices]

[Page 73057-73058]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr29de99-126]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Bighorn Sheep in the Peninsular Ranges for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the availability for public review of a draft recovery plan for the bighorn sheep in the Peninsular Ranges of southern California. The Peninsular bighorn sheep represents a distinct vertebrate population that is restricted to east facing, lower elevation slopes typically

[[Page 73058]]

below 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) of the Peninsular Ranges in the Sonoran Desert life zone. The population addressed in this recovery plan extends from the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountain ranges in Riverside County south through numerous smaller mountain ranges in Imperial and San Diego Counties to the United States and Mexico international border. The Service solicits review and comment from local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public on this draft recovery plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or before February 14, 2000 to receive consideration by the Service.

ADDRESSES: The draft recovery plan is available for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the Service's Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 2730 Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, California, 92008. Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan may obtain a copy by contacting the Field Supervisor (attention Pete Sorensen) at the above address or by calling (760) 431-9440. Comments and materials should be submitted to the above address and are available on request for public inspection by appointment, during normal business hours at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete Sorenson or Andy Yuen at the above Carlsbad address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

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 Service's endangered species program. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for conservation of the species, establish criteria for the recovery levels for downlisting and delisting species, and estimate time and cost for implementing the recovery measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 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, as amended in 1988, requires that public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be provided during recovery plan development. The Service will consider all information presented during a public comment period prior to approval of each new or revised recovery plan. The Service and other Federal agencies will also take these comments into account in the course of implementing approved recovery plans. Individual responses to comments will not be provided.

Bighorn sheep have been documented in the Peninsular Ranges since the 1700's (Bolton 1930). An examination of past records and current data suggest that the distribution of bighorn sheep has been altered during the past 25 years. There is no documentation of newly formed ewe groups, and in portions of the range, formerly occupied habitat is now unoccupied. Documented population declines of Peninsular bighorn sheep ranged from stable low numbers in ewe groups to 28 percent declines in other groups. Though cause and effect relationships for these population declines have not been well documented among ewe groups, cumulative and synergistic effects of disease, high predation rates, low population recruitment rates, habitat loss, modification, and fragmentation, and human-related disturbance are likely, contributing factors.

The objective of this recovery plan is to secure habitat and alleviate threats to the overall Peninsular bighorn sheep population so that population levels will increase to the point that this species may be downlisted to threatened status, and ultimately delisted.

Recovery of the bighorn sheep in the Peninsular Ranges is contingent upon (1) providing large tracts of habitat that provide a diversity of resources needed to offset seasonal, annual, and longer term cycles of environmental variability and scarcity, (2) establishing habitat continuity between subpopulations to allow long term shifts in distribution, (3) maintaining healthy population levels that are resilient to potential disease outbreaks and high levels of predation, and (4) educating the public on human-related activities that affect habitat use patterns of Peninsular bighorn sheep.

The draft plan was developed by a recovery team composed of representatives of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Fish and Game, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Bighorn Institute, University of California at Davis and White Mountain Research Station, and the Zoological Society of San Diego. Short-term recovery objectives proposed are to: (a) Maintain 25 or more ewes in 9 regions of the Peninsular ranges during 1 bighorn sheep generation, and (b) establish regulatory mechanisms and land management commitments to provide for long-term protection of Peninsular bighorn sheep. Proposed recovery actions include protecting essential habitat, improving habitat management capabilities, and conducting monitoring and research necessary for effective management. The long-term objective is to manage conserved lands to provide for permanent protection needed for continued population viability of bighorn sheep in the Peninsular Ranges. Delisting of the Peninsular bighorn sheep will be achieved when: (1) Greater than or equal to 25 ewes are present in the 9 specified regions of the Peninsular Ranges during 2 bighorn sheep generations, without augmentation, (2) the range-wide population averages 750 individuals in a stable or increasing population, and (3) essential habitat, as described in the recovery plan, is permanently protected through regulatory mechanisms and land management commitments.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan described. All comments received by the date specified above will be considered prior to approval of this plan.

Authority

The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: December 9, 1999. Thomas Dwyer, Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 99-32577Filed12-28-99; 8:45 am]

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