[Federal Register: March 17, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 50)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 11342-11344]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17mr09-15]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[FWS-R1-ES-2008-0096; MO 922105083-B2]
RIN 1018-AW34
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Plant
Lepidium papilliferum (Slickspot Peppergrass) as Endangered
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period and notice of
document availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of new information relevant to our consideration of the
status of
[[Page 11343]]
Lepidium papilliferum (slickspot peppergrass), proposed for listing as
endangered, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
We, therefore, announce the reopening of the comment period on the
proposed listing and invite interested members of the public to submit
comments on this new information as it applies to the status and
proposed listing of L. papilliferum. Information previously submitted
for this proposed listing need not be resubmitted, as all information
already received regarding this proposed listing will be incorporated
into the public record and fully considered in our evaluation.
DATES: To allow adequate time for consideration of your comments, all
information should be submitted to us by April 16, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: Docket FWS-R1-ES-2008-0096; Division of Policy and Directives
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all comments on
http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Public Comments section
below for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffery L. Foss, State Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office, by mail
at 1387 S. Vinnell Way, Room 368, Boise, ID 83709; by telephone at 208-
378-5243; by facsimile at 208/378-5262; or by electronic mail at:
fw1srbocomment@fws.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
For a detailed description of Federal actions concerning Lepidium
papilliferum, please refer to the September 19, 2008, Notice Reopening
the Comment Period on the Proposed Rule to List Lepidium papilliferum
as Endangered (73 FR 54345) and the January 12, 2007, Withdrawal Notice
published in the Federal Register (72 FR 1621). A summary of the most
recent Federal actions concerning the species is provided here.
The notice that published on January 12, 2007 (72 FR 1621), served
to withdraw our July 15, 2002, proposed rule (67 FR 46441) to list
Lepidium papilliferum as endangered under the Act. The withdrawal of
the proposed rule was based on our conclusion that, while the best
available information indicated that certain threat factors were
degrading the species' sagebrush-steppe matrix habitat, there was
little evidence that these threats were negatively affecting the
abundance of L. papilliferum, which inhabits slickspot microsites
within the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. In addition, we concluded that
annual abundance of the plant was strongly correlated with spring
precipitation, and therefore the high degree of variability observed in
plant abundance over time was to be expected. Information on the
plant's overall population trend was inconsistent, as it appeared to be
decreasing in recent years in a subset of the species' range, but
appeared to be increasing over those same years on a rangewide scale as
expected in response to increased rainfall. Finding no consistent
evidence of a rangewide negative population trend for the species, we
concluded that L. papilliferum did not meet the definition of a
threatened or endangered species under the Act.
On June 4, 2008, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho
vacated the Service's January 2007 withdrawal notice and remanded the
decision to the Service for further consideration consistent with the
Court's opinion (Western Watersheds Project v. Jeffery Foss et al.,
Case No. 07-161-E-MHW). In response to the Court's decision, the
Service notified the public on September 19, 2008, of the reinstatement
of the July 15, 2002, proposed rule to list Lepidium papilliferum as
endangered and opened a public comment period for 30 days through
October 20, 2008. We received a total of seven comments during that
comment period.
Since the closure of the last comment period, new information has
become available that is relevant to our evaluation of the proposed
listing of Lepidium papilliferum. To ensure that our review of the
species' status is complete and based on the best available scientific
and commercial information, we are soliciting comments on this new
information as it relates to the status and proposed listing of L.
papilliferum. We have also specifically requested peer review of this
new information and its relevance to the status of L. papilliferum from
experts familiar with the species or its habitat; these reviews will
also be accepted during this comment period.
New Information Available for Review
Information received, developed, or analyzed since the last comment
period ended on October 20, 2008, is available for review by accessing
the Web site http://www.regulations.gov (Docket ID FWS-R1-ES-2008-0096)
or by contacting the State Supervisor (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT above). This information includes, but is not limited to, the
following documents:
(1) Analysis of Slickspot Peppergrass (Lepidium papilliferum)
Population Trends on Orchard Training Area and Rangewide Implications
(Sullivan and Nations 2009);
(2) Lepidium papilliferum (Slickspot peppergrass) Evaluation of
Trends 2004-2007 (Unnasch 2008);
(3) Analysis of Lepidium papilliferum monitoring data collected on
the Inside Desert (Owyhee Plateau) (2000-2002) (Wells and Popovich
2009);
(4) GIS Analysis for the 2009 Status Review of Slickspot
Peppergrass (Lepidium papilliferum) (Stoner 2009).
The public comments received during the most recent public comment
period, which closed on October 20, 2008, are also accessible for
viewing at http://www.regulations.gov (Docket ID FWS-R1-ES-2008-0096),
or by contacting the State Supervisor (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT above).
Public Comments
We will base any final action resulting from the proposed rule on
the best scientific and commercial data available and intend to be as
accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, we request comments
or suggestions on the proposed rule from the public, other concerned
governmental agencies, the scientific community, industry, and any
other interested parties.
We ask for comments concerning the new information contained in the
analyses of Lepidium papilliferum population trends on the Orchard
Training Area in southwest Idaho (Sullivan and Nations 2009), on the
rangewide Habitat Integrity and Population (HIP) monitoring (Unnasch
2008), a recent analysis of L. papilliferum data collected on the
Inside Desert (Owyhee Plateau) from 2000 to 2002 (Wells and Popovich
2009), and GIS analysis of Lepidium papilliferum (Stoner 2009). In
particular, comments are sought regarding the relevance of the new
information to the proposed listing status of L. papilliferum, as it
pertains to the following:
[[Page 11344]]
(1) Biological, commercial trade, or other relevant data concerning
threats (or lack thereof) to Lepidium papilliferum;
(2) Additional information concerning the range, distribution, and
population size of Lepidium papilliferum, including the locations of
any additional populations of the species;
(3) Any information on the biological or ecological requirements of
Lepidium papilliferum;
(4) Current or planned activities in the areas occupied by Lepidium
papilliferum and their possible impacts on the species.
If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments and materials
concerning this new information by one of the methods listed in the
ADDRESSES section.
If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including your personal identifying information--
will be posted on the Web site. If your submission is made via a
hardcopy that includes personal identifying information, you may
request at the top of your document that we withhold this information
from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on http://
www.regulations.gov.
All comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation used, will be available for public inspection on http://
www.regulations.gov, or by appointment during normal business hours at
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
At this time, we are soliciting new information on the status of
Lepidium papilliferum. We will base our determination as to whether
listing is warranted on a review of the best scientific and commercial
information available, including all such information received as a
result of this notice.
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are staff of the Idaho Fish and
Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 4, 2009.
Elizabeth H. Stevens,
Acting Deputy Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E9-5697 Filed 3-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P