[Federal Register: April 26, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 79)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 21568-21571]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ap10-16]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2010-0026]
[MO 92210-0-0008-B2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on
a Petition to List the Harlequin Butterfly as Endangered
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of petition finding and initiation of status review.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
90-day finding on a petition to list the harlequin butterfly (Atlantea
tulita), a butterfly endemic to Puerto Rico, as endangered under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and to designate critical
habitat. Based on our review, we find that the petition presents
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that
listing the harlequin butterfly may be warranted. Therefore, with the
publication of this notice, we are initiating a review of the status of
the species to determine if listing the harlequin butterfly is
warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are
requesting scientific and commercial data and other information
regarding this species. Based on the status review, we will issue a 12-
month finding on the petition, which will address whether the
petitioned action is warranted, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of
the Act.
DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request
that you send us your information on or before June 25, 2010. Please
note that if you are using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see
ADDRESSES section, below) the deadline for submitting an electronic
comment is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on this date.
After June 25, 2010, you must submit information directly to the
Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below).
Please note that we might not be able to address or incorporate
information that we receive after the above requested date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In
the box that reads ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter the Docket number for
this finding, which is FWS-R4-ES-2010-0026. Check the box that reads
``Open for Comment/Submission,'' and then click the Search button. You
should then see an icon that reads ``Submit a Comment.'' Please ensure
that you have found the correct rulemaking before submitting your
comment.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: FWS-R4-ES-2010-0026; Division of Policy and Directives
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will post all information received on http://
www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Request for Information
section below for more details).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edwin Muniz, Field Supervisor,
Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office, P.O. Box 491, Boqueron, PR
00622; by telephone (787) 851-7297; or by facsimile (787) 851-7440. If
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Information
When we make a finding that a petition presents substantial
information indicating that listing a species may be warranted, we are
required to promptly review the status of the species (status review).
For the status review to be complete and based on the best available
scientific and commercial information, we request information on the
harlequin butterfly from governmental agencies, Native American Tribes,
the scientific community, industry, or any other interested parties. We
seek information on:
(1) The species' biology, range, and population trends, including:
(a) Habitat requirements for feeding, breeding, and sheltering;
(b) Genetics and taxonomy;
(c) Historical and current range, including distribution patterns;
(d) Historical and current population levels, and current and
projected trends; and
(e) Past and ongoing conservation measures for the species or its
habitat or both.
(2) The factors that are the basis for making a listing
determination for a species under section 4(a) of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), which
are:
(a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or
curtailment of its habitat or range;
[[Page 21569]]
(b) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes;
(c) Disease or predation;
(d) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or
(e) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued
existence.
(3) The potential effects of climate change on this species and its
habitat.
If, after the status review, we determine that listing the
harlequin butterfly is warranted, we will propose critical habitat (see
definition in section 3(5)(A) of the Act), under section 4 of the Act,
to the maximum extent prudent and determinable at the time we propose
to list the species. Therefore, within the geographical range currently
occupied by the harlequin butterfly, we request data and information
on:
(1) What may constitute ``physical or biological features essential
to the conservation of the species,''
(2) Where these features are currently found, and
(3) Whether any of these features may require special management
considerations or protection.
In addition, we request data and information on ``specific areas
outside the geographical area occupied by the species'' that are
``essential to the conservation of the species.'' Please provide
specific comments and information as to what, if any, critical habitat
you think we should propose for designation if the species is proposed
for listing, and why such habitat meets the requirements of section 4
of the Act.
Please include sufficient information with your submission (such as
scientific journal articles or other publications) to allow us to
verify any scientific or commercial information you include.
Submissions merely stating support for or opposition to the action
under consideration without providing supporting information, although
noted, will not be considered in making a determination. Section
4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs that determinations as to whether any
species is a threatened or endangered species must be made ``solely on
the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available.''
You may submit your information concerning this status review by
one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. If you submit
information via http:// www.regulations.gov, your entire submission--
including any personal identifying information--will be posted on the
website. If you submit a hardcopy that includes personal identifying
information, you may request at the top of your document that we
withhold this personal identifying information from public review.
However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will
post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov.
Information and supporting documentation that we received and used
in preparing this finding is available for you to review at http://
www.regulations.gov, or you may make an appointment during normal
business hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caribbean
Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)(A)) requires
that we make a finding on whether a petition to list, delist, or
reclassify a species presents substantial scientific or commercial
information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. We
are to base this finding on information provided in the petition,
supporting information submitted with the petition, and information
otherwise available in our files. To the maximum extent practicable, we
are to make this finding within 90 days of our receipt of the petition
and publish our notice of the finding promptly in the Federal Register.
Our standard for substantial scientific or commercial information
within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with regard to a 90-day
petition finding is ``that amount of information that would lead a
reasonable person to believe that the measure proposed in the petition
may be warranted'' (50 CFR 424.14(b)). If we find that substantial
scientific or commercial information was presented, we are required to
promptly conduct a species status review, which we subsequently
summarize in our 12-month finding.
Petition History
On February 25, 2009, we received a petition dated February 24,
2009, from Mr. Javier Biaggi-Caballero requesting that we list the
harlequin butterfly as endangered and designate critical habitat under
the Act. The petition clearly identified itself as such and included
the requisite identification information for the petitioner, as
required in 50 CFR 424.14(a). In an April 9, 2009, letter to the
petitioner, we responded that we had received the petition. We stated
that we would make a finding, to the maximum extent practicable within
90 days, as to whether or not the petition presented substantial
information. We have been unable to respond to the petition until now.
In that letter, we also stated that if this initial finding
concludes that the petition presents substantial information indicating
that the requested action may be warranted, we must commence a review
of the status of the species concerned. Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act
gives us one year from the date we received the petition to determine
whether the petitioned action is not warranted, warranted, or warranted
but precluded; we must promptly publish notice of our finding in the
Federal Register. At the conclusion of our status review, we will
prepare and publish our 12-month finding on the petition to list the
harlequin butterfly as endangered and, if warranted, designate critical
habitat under the Act.
Previous Federal Actions
There have been no previous Federal actions concerning this
species.
Species Information
The harlequin butterfly is endemic to the island of Puerto Rico and
is one of the four species endemic to the Greater Antillean genus
Atlantea (Biaggi-Caraballo 2009, p. 1). The species was described by
German lepidopterist Dr. Herman Dewitz in 1877, from specimens
collected by Dr. Leopold Krug in the municipality of Quebradillas,
Puerto Rico.
The harlequin butterfly has a wing span of about 2-2.5 inches (in)
(6 centimeters (cm)) wide. Both female and male harlequin butterflies
are similar in color patterns and size. This butterfly is brownish
black at the dorsal area with deep orange markings and confused black
markings at the half basal anterior wing. The posterior wing has a wide
black border enclosing a set of reddish-bronze sub-marginal points. The
ventral side of the anterior wing is similar to the dorsal anterior
wing, and the posterior is black with orange basal spots and a complete
postdiscal beige band with a band of reddish spots distally and sub-
marginal white half-moons. The costa, the most anterior (leading) edge
of a wing, in males is gray and wide. Females are multivoltine
ovopositors (produce several broods in a single season) (Biaggi-
Caraballo 2009, p. 2).
The harlequin butterfly has only been observed utilizing the
prickly bush (Oplonia spinosa) as its host plant (plant used for laying
eggs and serves as a food source for the development of larvae). The
chrysalis (the hard-shelled pupa of a butterfly) is also attached to
dried twigs of the host plant (Biaggi-Caraballo 2009, p. 3). The adult
butterflies feed from the nectars of the flowers available nearby but
have not
[[Page 21570]]
been observed feeding from the prickly bush.
Currently, the harlequin butterfly is only known from one small
colony in the municipality of Quebradillas, at the northern karst
region of Puerto Rico (Biaggi-Caraballo 2009, p. 4). This colony is
located in the Terranova-San Jose Ward, in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico.
The species has been observed in a forest associated with the coastal
cliffs of the area. Based on the information provided by the
petitioner, census tracts yield no more than 50 adults on a given date
(Biaggi-Caraballo 2009, p. 5). Larva counts are estimated to be around
10-100 per census day, and the presence of more than one generation
confirms its multivoltine nature. From July to December, the larva
population is lower than the rest of the year.
Carrion-Cabrera (2003, p. 40) states that the dispersion of the
species is limited by the monophagus habit of the larvae (only utilizes
the prickly bush). Additionally, the butterfly flies slowly and is weak
and fragile; the species is considered sedentary (not able to move or
disperse in a given environment) (Carrion-Cabrera 2003, p. 51).
Evaluation of Information for this Finding
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) and its implementing
regulations at 50 CFR 424 set forth procedures for adding species to,
or removing a species from, the Federal Lists of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife and Plants. A species may be determined to be an
endangered or threatened species due to one or more of the five factors
described in section 4(a)(1) of the Act:
(A) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or
curtailment of its habitat or range;
(B) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes;
(C) Disease or predation;
(D) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or
(E) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued
existence.
In making this 90-day finding, we evaluated whether information
regarding threats to the harlequin butterfly, as presented in the
petition and other information available in our files, is substantial,
thereby indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. Our
evaluation of this information is presented below.
A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment
of Habitat or Range
Information Provided in the Petition
The petitioner asserts that development pressure and the
construction of a residential development in the habitat of the
harlequin butterfly is the main threat to the species. The petitioner
also states that the habitat of the species has been modified by past
developments of the city of Quebradillas, reducing the butterfly
habitat to a tract north of State Road PR-2, and that future
developments have been approved in the same area. Furthermore, these
developments are endangering the prickly bush, the only host plant of
the harlequin butterfly. The petitioner asserts that the construction
of residential projects within the suitable habitat for the species
will substantially affect the distribution and abundance of the
harlequin butterfly as well as its habitat throughout its range.
Evaluation of Information Provided in the Petition and Available in
Service Files
Information in our files supports the petitioner's contention that
the current habitat of the harlequin butterfly is currently threatened
by the construction of residential and tourist development projects.
According to the petitioner, the only area where the species currently
occurs is in Terranova-San Jose Ward (Biaggi-Caraballo 2009, p. 4).
This area is classified as a Zone of Tourist Interest (ZTI) in the land
use maps of the Puerto Rico Planning Board for the municipality of
Quebradillas. In the last 3 years, the Service has provided comments
and technical assistance to local agencies on at least three proposed
development projects within the Terranova and San Jose Wards; two
projects, proposed within Terranova Ward, affected approximately 40.0
acres (ac) (16 hectares (ha)), and another project, proposed within San
Jose Ward, affected approximately 13.0 ac (5 ha). These projects are
located within the area identified as suitable habitat for the species
in the petition.
Based on the information provided in the petition and available in
our files, we conclude that the petitioner has presented substantial
information to indicate that the present or threatened destruction or
modification of habitat or range may present a significant threat to
status of this species and its habitat.
B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or
Educational Purposes
Neither the petition nor information in our files presents
information indicating that overutilization of the harlequin butterfly
for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes is a
threat. Therefore, we find that the petition does not present
substantial information to indicate that the overutilization for
commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes may
present a threat to the harlequin butterfly. However, we intend to
assess this factor more thoroughly during the status review for the
species.
C. Disease or Predation
Neither the petition nor information in our files presents
information indicating that disease or predation is a threat to the
harlequin butterfly. Therefore, we find that the petition does not
present substantial information to indicate that disease or predation
may present a threat to the harlequin butterfly. However, we intend to
assess this factor more thoroughly during the status review for the
species.
D. Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
Information Provided in the Petition
The petitioner claims that although the Department of Natural and
Environmental Resources (DNER) for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
included this species in the Commonwealth list of endangered species,
development projects are still being approved within the habitat of the
species. The petitioner also states that DNER, under the advice of the
petitioner and researchers, began designation of critical habitat for
the species under Puerto Rican law. The petitioner believes that
without listing and designation of critical habitat under the Act, the
continued existence of the harlequin butterfly is imminently
threatened.
Evaluation of Information Provided in the Petition and Available in
Service Files
According to information in our files, the DNER designated the
species as Critically Endangered under Commonwealth Law 241 and
Regulation 6766 in July 2007 (DNER 2007, 42pp). According to Article 2
of Regulation 6766, the designation as Critically Endangered prohibits
any person to take the species, with the term `take' including harm,
possess, transport, destroy, import or export individuals, nests, eggs
or juveniles, without
[[Page 21571]]
previous authorization from the Secretary of DNER. At the present time,
the DNER has not designated critical habitat for the species under
Regulation 6766. Therefore, the level of protection to the species'
habitat is uncertain.
Based on the information provided in the petition and available in
our files, we conclude that the petitioner has presented substantial
information to indicate that existing regulatory mechanisms may be
inadequate to protect the habitat of the harlequin butterfly.
E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting the Species' Continued
Existence
Information Provided in the Petition
The petitioner asserts that the species is vulnerable to extinction
due to low population numbers, restricted distribution (only one small
colony), and monophagous habits, coupled with habitat alteration or
loss. The petitioner also asserts that the species' habitat is
threatened by fires associated with an illegal garbage dump on road PR-
4485.
Carrion-Cabrera (2003, p. 60) conducted a species' survey of the
harlequin butterfly, and observed only 235 individuals in 16 months of
surveys (2 sample days per month), with a maximum of 50 individuals in
a sample day (mean = 9 individuals per sample day). The petitioner
asserts that with a low population and limited geographical area,
coupled with habitat loss and pressure for development, the species may
not be able to reach the minimum population mass to sustain a
population in the wild and, therefore, is extremely vulnerable to
extinction (Biaggi-Caballero 2009, p. 6).
Evaluation of Information Provided in the Petition and Available in
Service Files
Information in our files also suggests that the range of the
harlequin butterfly is restricted to 10 small patches of habitat in the
municipality of Quebradillas (Monzon-Carmona 2007, pp. 83-84). Small
population size and range, compounded by threats to its habitat as
discussed under Factor A, could threaten this species. In addition, we
have no information in our files regarding the petitioner's claim that
the species' habitat is threatened by fires associated with an illegal
garbage dump on road PR-4485. Based on the information presented in the
petition and available in our files, we find that the petition presents
substantial information indicating that other natural or manmade
factors in combination with other probable threats to the species
habitat may pose a significant risk of extinction for the harlequin
butterfly.
Finding
On the basis of our evaluation of the information presented under
section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act, we have determined that the petition
presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating
that listing the harlequin butterfly throughout its entire range may be
warranted. This finding is based on information provided under Factor A
(present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of the
species' habitat or range), Factor D (the inadequacy of existing
regulatory mechanisms), and Factor E (other natural or manmade factors
affecting the species' continued existence). Because we have found that
the petition presents substantial information indicating the harlequin
butterfly may be at risk of extinction now or in the foreseeable future
and therefore listing under the Act may be warranted, we are initiating
a status review to determine whether listing the harlequin butterfly
under the Act is warranted.
The ``substantial information'' standard for a 90-day finding
differs from the Act's ``best scientific and commercial data'' standard
that applies to a status review to determine whether a petitioned
action is warranted. A 90-day finding does not constitute a status
review under the Act. In a 12-month finding, we will determine whether
a petitioned action is warranted after we have completed a thorough
status review of the species, which is conducted following a
substantial 90-day finding. Because the Act's standards for 90-day and
12-month findings are different, as described above, a substantial 90-
day finding does not mean that the 12-month finding will result in a
warranted finding.
The petitioner requested that we designate critical habitat for
this species. If we determine in our 12-month finding that listing the
harlequin butterfly is warranted, we will address the designation of
critical habitat at the time of the proposed rulemaking. The proposed
rulemaking may be published concurrently with the 12-month finding or
at a later date.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited is available on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.govand upon request from the Caribbean
Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the
Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: April 13, 2010
Rowan W. Gould
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
[FR Doc. 2010-9533 Filed 4-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-S