Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California Tiger Salamander as Endangered

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), exercise our authority to emergency list the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense), as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Currently, only seven known breeding sites of the Sonoma County population remain. In the past two years, four breeding sites have been destroyed or have suffered severe degradation. Plans to construct a residential development will result in the loss of one of the seven remaining breeding sites and severely impact and further isolate another two of the remaining breeding sites. Because these losses constitute an emergency posing a significant and imminent risk to the well-being of the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander, we find that emergency listing is necessary. This emergency rule provides Federal protection pursuant to the Act for a period of 240 days. A proposed rule to list the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander as endangered is published concurrently with this emergency rule in this same issue of the Federal Register in the Proposed Rule Section.