Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Four Plants and Threatened Status for One Plant From the Central Sierran Foothills of California

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) determines endangered status pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) for four plants--Calystegia stebbinsii (Stebbins' morning-glory), Ceanothus roderickii (Pine Hill ceanothus), Fremontodendron californicum ssp. decumbens (Pine Hill flannelbush), and Galium californicum ssp. sierrae (El Dorado bedstraw). The Service also determines threatened status for Senecio layneae (Layne's butterweed). These species all occur on gabbroic or serpentine-derived soils in the central Sierran foothills of California within chaparral or oak woodland communities. Urbanization and the ensuing habitat fragmentation, road construction and maintenance, herbicide spraying, change in fire frequency, off-road vehicle use, unauthorized dumping, horse overgrazing, competition from invasive alien vegetation, and mining imperil these five species. This rule implements Federal protection and recovery provisions afforded by the Act for these five plants.