[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37141-37142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15975]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2011-N108; 20124-1113-0000-C2]
Notice of Availability for Comment: Draft Recovery Plan, First
Revision; Mexican Spotted Owl
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability
of our draft recovery plan, first revision, for the Mexican Spotted Owl
(Strix occidentalis lucida) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (Act). This species occurs in the states of Arizona,
Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah, south through the Sierra Madre
Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental in Mexico. We request review and
comment on our plan from local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes;
and the public. We will also accept any new information on the status
of the Mexican spotted owl throughout its range to assist in finalizing
the revised recovery plan.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive written comments on or
before August 23, 2011. However, we will accept information about any
species at any time.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to review the draft recovery plan, you may
obtain a copy by visiting our Web site at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans. Alternatively, you may contact the Arizona
Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2321 West
Royal Palm Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85021-4951 (602) 242-0210, phone). If
you wish to comment on the plan, you may submit your comments in
writing by any one of the following methods:
U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, at the above address;
Hand-delivery: Arizona Ecological Services Office at the
above address;
Fax: (602) 242-2513; or
E-mail: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Arizona/ (type
``Mexican spotted owl'' in the document title search field).
For additional information about submitting comments, see the
``Request for Public Comments'' section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, at
the above address, phone number, or e-mail.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants to the
point where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their
ecosystems is a primary goal of our endangered species program and the
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Recovery means improvement of the status
of listed species to the point at which listing is no longer
appropriate under the criteria set out in section 4(a)(1) of the Act.
The Act requires the development of recovery plans for listed species,
unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular
species.
Species' History
We listed the Mexican spotted owl as a threatened species under the
Act on March 16, 1993 (58 FR 14248). We designated critical habitat on
August 31, 2004 (69 FR 53182).
We originally completed and announced a recovery plan for the
Mexican spotted owl on October 16, 1995. However, updates on status
information and experience in implementing the original recovery plan
led to our determination that revision is warranted.
The Mexican spotted owl species nests and roosts in forested areas
exhibiting multilayered, uneven-aged tree structure, and in steep,
rocky canyonlands. Forested habitats used by the owl vary throughout
its range and by activity (nesting, roosting, foraging, dispersal/
migration). However, the forest types believed most important to
Mexican spotted owls are mixed conifer, pine-oak, and riparian
habitats.
Threats to the owl's population in the United States have
transitioned from commercial-based timber harvest at the time of
listing, to the risk of stand-replacing wildfire. The revised recovery
plan recommends protection of currently occupied home ranges, plus
development of replacement nesting/roosting habitat over time. The plan
recognizes the need to manage these forest landscapes to minimize the
effects of large, stand-replacing wildfires, believed to be the
greatest current threat to the species.
Recovery Plan Goals
The objective of an agency recovery plan is to provide a framework
for the recovery of a species so that protection under the Act is no
longer necessary. A recovery plan includes scientific information about
the species and provides criteria and actions necessary for us to be
able to reclassify the species to threatened status or remove it from
the Federal List of Endangered and
[[Page 37142]]
Threatened Wildlife and Plants (List). Recovery plans help guide our
recovery efforts by describing actions we consider necessary for the
species' conservation, and by estimating time and costs for
implementing needed recovery measures. To achieve its goals, this draft
recovery plan identifies the following objectives:
Support the Mexican spotted owl throughout its range in
perpetuity.
Maintain habitat conditions necessary to provide roosting
and nesting habitat for the Mexican spotted owl through time.
The draft revised recovery plan contains recovery criteria based on
maintaining and increasing population numbers and habitat quality and
quantity. The revised recovery plan focuses on protecting populations,
managing threats, maintaining habitat, monitoring progress, and
building partnerships to facilitate recovery.
As the subspecies meets recovery criteria, we will review the
subspecies' status and consider removal from the List.
Request for Public Comments
Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide public notice and an
opportunity for public review and comment during recovery plan
development. It is also our policy to request peer review of recovery
plans (July 1, 1994; 59 FR 34270). In an appendix to the approved
recovery plan, we will summarize and respond to the issues raised by
the public and peer reviewers. Substantive comments may or may not
result in changes to the recovery plan; comments regarding recovery
plan implementation will be forwarded as appropriate to Federal or
other entities so that they can be taken into account during the course
of implementing recovery actions. Responses to individual commenters
will not be provided, but we will provide a summary of how we addressed
substantive comments in an appendix to the approved recovery plan.
We invite written comments on the draft revised recovery plan. This
plan has undergone significant revision since the original plan,
incorporating the most recent scientific research specific to the
Mexican spotted owl and input from the Recovery Team. In particular, we
are interested in information regarding the current threats to the
species and the costs associated with implementing the recommended
recovery actions.
Before we approve the plan, we will consider all comments we
receive by the date specified in DATES above. Methods of submitting
comments are in the ADDRESSES section above.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying 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 will be available, by
appointment, for public inspection during normal business hours at our
office (see ADDRESSES).
Authority
We developed our draft recovery plan under the authority of section
4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f). We publish this notice under
section 4(f) Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.).
Dated: June 6, 2011.
Joy Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-15975 Filed 6-23-11; 8:45 am]
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