[Federal Register: September 14, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 177)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 55686-55689]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14se10-8]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2010-0068; 92220-1113-0000-B3]
RIN 1018-AX28
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Technical
Corrections for Three Midwest Region Plant Species
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the revised
taxonomy of Lesquerella filiformis (Missouri bladderpod), Sedum
integrifolium ssp. leedyi (Leedy's roseroot), and Mimulus glabratus
var. michiganensis (Michigan monkey-flower) under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are revising the List of
Endangered and Threatened Plants to reflect the current scientifically
accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of these species. We revise the
scientific names of these species as follows: Physaria filiformis
(=Lesquerella f.), Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. leedyi (=Sedum
integrifolium ssp. l.), and Mimulus michiganensis (=M. glabratus var.
michiganensis), respectively.
DATES: This rule is effective December 13, 2010, without further
action, unless significant adverse comment is received by October 14,
2010. If significant adverse comment is received, we will publish a
timely withdrawal of the rule in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-R3-
ES-2010-0068.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: FWS-R3-ES-2010-0068; Division of Policy and Directives
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
See Public Comments in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more
information about submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carlita Payne, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Midwest Regional Office,
Division of Endangered Species, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, MN
55111-4056; telephone 612-713-5350. Individuals who are hearing
impaired or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-
877-8337 for TTY (telephone typewriter or teletypewriter) assistance 24
hours a day, 7 days a week.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of Direct Final Rule and Final Action
The purpose of this direct final rule is to notify the public that
we are revising the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants to reflect
the scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of three plant
species listed under section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
These changes to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants (50 CFR
17.12(h)) reflect the most recently accepted scientific names in
accordance with 50 CFR 17.12(b).
We are publishing this rule without a prior proposal because this
is a noncontroversial action that does not alter the regulatory
protections afforded to these species, and therefore, in the best
interest of the public, should be undertaken in as timely a manner as
possible. This rule will be effective, as published in this document,
on the effective date specified in the DATES section, unless we receive
significant adverse comments on or before the comment due date
specified in the DATES section of this document. Significant adverse
comments are comments that provide strong justifications as to why this
rule should not be adopted or why it should be changed.
If we receive significant adverse comments, we will publish a
document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before the
effective date, and we will engage in the normal rulemaking process to
promulgate these changes to 50 CFR 17.12.
Elsewhere in today's issue of the Federal Register, we have
published a notice to initiate 5-year reviews that includes Physaria
filiformis among six other Midwest species. We will give the same
consideration to comments in regard to the taxonomy of Missouri
bladderpod submitted in response to either this direct final rule or
our notice to initiate 5-year reviews; you do not need to submit
separate comments pertaining to this issue for both documents.
Public Comments
You may submit your comments and materials regarding this direct
final rule by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section.
Please include sufficient information with your comments that allows us
to verify any scientific or commercial information you include. We will
not consider comments sent by e-mail or fax, or to an address not
listed in the ADDRESSES section.
We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal information in your comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in
your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing this direct final rule, will be
available for public inspection on the Internet at http://
www.regulations.gov or by appointment, during normal business hours at
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Regional Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Please note that comments posted to
http://www.regulations.gov are not immediately viewable. When you
submit a comment, the system receives it immediately. However, the
comment will not be publicly viewable until we post it, which might not
occur until several days after submission. Information regarding this
rule is available in alternative formats upon request (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). For information pertaining to specific species,
please contact the following Ecological Services Field Offices:
[[Page 55687]]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Person,
Species Phone, E-mail Contact Address
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Physaria filiformis Charlie Scott, Field Columbia Missouri
(=Lesquerella f.). Supervisor, or Paul Field Office, U.S.
McKenzie, Fish and Wildlife
Endangered Species Service, 101 Park
Coordinator; (573) DeVille Drive,
234-2132, extension Suite A, Columbia,
107, paul-- MO 65203-0057.
mckenzie@fws.gov.
Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. Tony Sullins, Field Twin Cities Field
leedyi (=Sedum Supervisor, or Phil Office, U.S. Fish
integrifolium ssp. l.). Delphey, Endangered and Wildlife
Species Service, 1401
Coordinator; (612) American Boulevard
725-3548, phil-- E., Bloomington, MN
delphey@fws.gov. 55425-1665.
Mimulus michiganensis (=M. Acting Field East Lansing Field
glabratus var. Supervisor, or Office, U.S. Fish
michiganensis). Tameka Dandridge, and Wildlife
Biologist; (517) Service, 2651
351-8315, tameka-- Coolidge Road,
dandridge@fws.gov. Suite 101, East
Lansing, MI 48823-
5902.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
Section 17.12(b) of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) requires us to use the most recently accepted scientific name of
any plant species that we have determined to be an endangered or
threatened species. Using the best available scientific information,
this direct final rule documents taxonomic changes of the scientific
names to three entries on the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants
(50 CFR 17.12(h)). The basis for the taxonomic changes is supported by
published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We revise the scientific
names of these species under section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) as follows: Physaria filiformis (=Lesquerella f.) (Missouri
bladderpod), Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. leedyi (=Sedum integrifolium
ssp. l.) (Leedy's roseroot), and Mimulus michiganensis (=M. glabratus
var. michiganensis) (Michigan monkey-flower). We make these changes to
the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants (50 CFR 17.12(h)) to
reflect the most recently accepted scientific names in accordance with
50 CFR 17.12(b).
Taxonomic Classification
Physaria filiformis
The scientific name change of Physaria filiformis (Rollins) O'Kane
& Al-Shehbaz (Missouri bladderpod) from Lesquerella filiformis Rollins
(Rollins 1956, pp. 201-202; Rollins 1993, p. 618) is supported by Al-
Shehbaz and O'Kane's (2002, pp. 319-320) extensive molecular,
ecological, morphological, and distributional data. Al-Shehbaz and
O'Kane (2002, p. 321) concluded that the genus Lesquerella should be
united with the earlier-published genus Physaria, initially discussed
in Gray (1848, pp. 161-162). Although Rollins (1939, pp. 393-398; 1993,
pp. 588-589, pp. 696-697) supported the separation of the two genera
because Physaria has didymous fruits with deep sinuses between the
valves distally, and often proximally as well, he also noted strong
similarities in the floral patterns, growth, and trichome morphology
between Lesquerella and Physaria (Al-Shehbaz and O'Kane 2002, p. 319).
The genera are also characterized by their colpate pollen grains, which
is a distinguishable synapomorphic trait from the rest of the family
(Al-Shehbaz and O'Kane 2002, p. 320). The new combination is Physaria
filiformis (Rollins) O'Kane & Al-Shehbaz (Al-Shehbaz and O'Kane 2002,
p. 323). Only North American species' nomenclatural adjustments were
included in Al-Shehbaz and O'Kane's publication (2002, p. 321). This
taxonomic change is included in our most recent 5-year review for the
species (USFWS 2008, p. 2), as well as the reclassification of this
plant from endangered to threatened status on October 15, 2003 (68 FR
59337). This species will continue to be listed as threatened.
Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. leedyi
The scientific name change of Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. leedyi
(Leedy's roseroot) from Sedum integrifolium ssp. leedyi is supported by
extensive morphological and genetic studies. Carl Linnaeus described
the genus Rhodiola in 1753, recognizing it as distinct from the genus
Sedum (Moran 2000, p. 137; Ohba 2003, p. 210), but many twentieth
century authors regarded the genus as a synonym of Sedum L. (Ohba 1980,
pp. 356-358). However, recent evidence, including chloroplast and
nuclear DNA data, support the original recognition of Sedum and
Rhodiola as distinct genera (Ohba 1980, pp. 356-358; Van Ham and `T
Hart 1998, p. 127; Ohba 2003, p. 210; Mayuzumi and Ohba 2004, p. 588).
R. T. Clausen (1975, p. 474), following the mid-twentieth century
trend, treated Rhodiola as a subgenus of Sedum, but the Flora of North
America has more recently returned to the original recognition of
Rhodiola as a distinct genus (Moran 2009, p. 164) that includes Leedy's
roseroot. The new combination is Rhodiola integrifolia Rafinesque ssp.
leedyi (Rosendahl & J. W. Moore) H. Ohba (Ohba 2003, p. 218). The
species was listed as threatened on April 22, 1992 (57 FR 14649) and
will continue to be listed as threatened.
Mimulus michiganensis
The scientific name change of Mimulus michiganensis from Mimulus
glabratus var. michiganensis is supported by Posto and Prather's (2003,
pp. 172-173) extensive evolutionary and genetic studies. At the time of
its listing (55 FR 25596; June 21, 1990), Mimulus glabratus var.
michiganensis (Michigan monkey-flower) was ranked as a variety. Posto
and Prather's (2003, pp. 172-178) study supports the elevation of the
taxon in rank to species Mimulus michiganensis, and, therefore, the new
combination was established and accepted in the scientific community.
Pennell (1935 in USFWS 1997, p. 1) originally described the taxon as a
subspecies of M. glabratus, and Fassett (1939 in USFWS 1997, p. 1)
subsequently gave the taxon varietal status. Past researchers noted
morphological overlap with other taxa, particularly the more common,
wide-ranging James' monkey-flower (M. glabratus var. jamesii) (Crispin
1981 in USFWS 1997, p. 1; Bliss 1983 in USFWS 1997, p. 1; Bliss 1986 in
USFWS 1997, p. 1), but floral character studies of closely related taxa
supported maintaining variety michiganensis as a distinct taxonomic
entity (Bliss 1983 in USFWS 1997, p. 1; Bliss 1986 in USFWS 1997, p. 1;
Minc 1989 in USFWS 1997, p. 1).
However, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) data (Posto and
Prather 2003, pp. 176-177) revealed the following: M. michiganensis is
genetically distinct from other members of the Mimulus complex; it has
low genetic similarity to M. glabratus var. jamesii (a species
implicated in its origin); and groups of M. michiganensis individuals
separate from all other individuals in the Unweighted Pair Group Method
with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) phenogram. In addition, M. michiganensis
is not interfertile with
[[Page 55688]]
any other member of the M. glabratus complex, and it maintains its
morphological distinctiveness where it is found sympatric with other M.
glabratus (Posto and Prather 2003, p. 177). For these reasons, Posto
and Prather (2003, p. 172) report the elevation of the taxon in rank
from variety to species, and they found no evidence to support earlier
hypotheses or a role of M. guttatus in the origin of M. michiganensis
through hybridization with M. glabratus var. jamesii or through direct
ancestry via an aneuploidy event. The species will continue to be
listed as endangered.
Required Determinations
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This rule does not contain any new collections of information that
require approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.). This rule will not impose recordkeeping or reporting
requirements on State or local governments, individuals, businesses, or
organizations. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
National Environmental Policy Act
We have determined that we do not need to prepare Environmental
Assessments, or Environmental Impact Statements, as defined under the
authority of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), in connection with regulations adopted under section
4(a) of the Endangered Species Act. We published a notice outlining our
reasons for this determination in the Federal Register on October 25,
1983 (43 FR 49244).
Clarity of the Rule
We are required by Executive Orders 12866 and 12988 and by the
Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 1998, to write all rules in plain
language. This means that each rule we publish must:
(a) Be logically organized;
(b) Use the active voice to address readers directly;
(c) Use clear language rather than jargon;
(d) Be divided into short sections and sentences; and
(e) Use lists and tables wherever possible.
If you feel that we have not met these requirements, send us
comments by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. To help
us to revise this rule, your comments should be as specific as
possible. For example, you should tell us the numbers of the sections
or paragraphs that are unclearly written, which sections or sentences
are too long, the sections where you feel lists or tables would be
useful, etc.
References Cited
A complete list of the referenced materials is available upon
request from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Regional Office
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Regulation Promulgation
0
For the reasons given in the preamble, we amend part 17, subchapter B
of chapter I, title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth
below:
PART 17--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C.
4201-4245; Public Law 99-625; 100 Stat. 3500; unless otherwise
noted.
Sec. 17.12 [Amended]
0
2. Amend the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants in Sec. 17.12(h)
by:
0
a. Removing the entries under FLOWERING PLANTS for ``Lesquerella
filiformis'', ``Mimulus glabratus var. michiganensis'', and ``Sedum
integrifolium ssp. leedyi''; and
0
b. Adding in alphabetic order under FLOWERING PLANTS entries for
``Mimulus michiganensis (=M. glabratus var. michiganensis)'',
``Physaria filiformis (=Lesquerella f.)'', and ``Rhodiola integrifolia
ssp. leedyi (=Sedum integrifolium ssp. l.)'' to read as follows:
Sec. 17.12 Endangered and threatened plants.
* * * * *
(h) * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species
-------------------------------------------------------- Historic range Family Status When listed Critical Special
Scientific name Common name habitat rules
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Mimulus michiganensis (=Mimulus Michigan monkey- U.S.A. (MI)........ Scrophulariaceae... E 392, NA NA
glabratus var. michiganensis). flower. 780
* * * * * * *
Physaria filiformis (=Lesquerella Missouri bladderpod. U.S.A. (AR, MO).... Brassicaceae....... T 253, 739, NA NA
f.). 780
* * * * * * *
Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. leedyi Leedy's roseroot.... U.S.A. (MN, NY).... Crassulaceae....... T 460, NA NA
(=Sedum integrifolium ssp. l.). 780
* * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 55689]]
Dated: August 19, 2010.
Wendi Weber,
Acting Deputy Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-22810 Filed 9-13-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P