Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Emergency Rule to List the Pacific Pocket Mouse as Endangered

Samenvatting

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) exercises its emergency authority to determine the Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus) to be an endangered species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Prior to 1993, this species had not been observed in over 20 years. The Pacific pocket mouse was rediscovered on the Dana Point Headlands, Orange County, California, during July 1993. No more than 39 individuals are known to exist despite relatively intensive, recent surveys in all of the remaining, undisturbed locales where the species historically occurred. The only known existing Pacific pocket mouse population is imminently threatened by a land development project and depredation by feral and/or domestic cats. Because of the need to make Federal funding, protection, and other measures immediately available to protect this species and its habitat, the Service finds that an emergency rule action is justified. This emergency rule provides Federal protection pursuant to the Act for this species for a period of 240 days. A proposed rule to list the Pacific pocket mouse as endangered is published concurrently with this emergency rule in thi