[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 150 (Thursday, August 4, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47133-47139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19676]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2011-0045; MO 92210-0-0008-B2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding and
12-Month Determination on a Petition To Revise Critical Habitat for the
Leatherback Sea Turtle
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding and notice of 12-month
determination.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our
90-day finding and 12-month determination on how to proceed in response
to a petition to revise critical habitat for the leatherback sea turtle
(Dermochelys coriacea) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (Act). The petition asks the Service and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) (Services) to revise the existing critical
habitat designation for the leatherback sea turtle by adding the
coastline and offshore waters of the Northeast Ecological Corridor of
Puerto Rico to the critical habitat designation. Our 90-day finding is
that the petition, in conjunction with the information readily
available in our files, presents substantial scientific information
indicating that the requested revision may be warranted. Our 12-month
determination is that we intend to proceed with processing the petition
by assessing critical habitat during the future planned status review
for the leatherback sea turtle.
DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on August 4,
2011.
ADDRESSES: This finding is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS-R4-ES-2011-0045. Information
and supporting documentation that we received and used in preparing
this finding is available for public inspection by appointment, during
normal business hours at the North Florida Ecological Services Office,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 200,
Jacksonville, FL 32256 and at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office, Road 301, Km. 5.1,
Boquer[oacute]n, Puerto Rico 00622. Please submit any new information,
materials, comments, or questions concerning this finding to the above
mailing address or the contact as listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Hankla, Field Supervisor, North
Florida Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Attn: Leatherback CH Review; by mail at 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 200,
Jacksonville, FL 32256; by telephone (904-731-3336); by facsimile (904-
731-3045); or by e-mail at northflorida@fws.gov. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(D) of the Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) requires that we make a finding on whether a petition to
revise critical habitat for a species presents substantial scientific
information indicating that the revision may be warranted. In
determining whether substantial information exists, we take into
account several factors, including information submitted with, and
referenced in, the petition and all other information readily available
in our files. Our listing regulations at 50 CFR 424.14(c)(2) further
require that, in making a finding on a petition to revise critical
habitat, we consider whether the petition contains information
indicating that areas petitioned to be added to critical habitat
contain the physical and biological features essential to, and that may
require special management to provide for, the conservation of the
species; or information indicating that areas currently designated as
critical habitat do not contain resources essential to, or do not
require special management to provide for, the conservation of the
species involved.
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. 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. If we find that a petition presents substantial information
indicating that the revision may be warranted, we are required to
determine how we intend to proceed with the requested revision within
12 months after receiving the petition and promptly publish notice of
such intention in the Federal Register.
Critical habitat is defined under section 3(5)(A) of the Act as:
[[Page 47134]]
(i) The specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the
species, at the time it is listed in accordance with the Act, on which
are found those physical or biological features
(I) Essential to the conservation of the species and
(II) Which may require special management considerations or
protection; and
(ii) Specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the
species at the time it is listed, upon a determination that such areas
are essential for the conservation of the species.
Our implementing regulations at 50 CFR 424.12 describe our criteria
for designating critical habitat. We are to consider physical and
biological features essential to the conservation of the species. Those
features include, but are not limited to: (1) Space for individual and
population growth, and normal behavior; (2) Food, water, air, light,
minerals, or other nutritional or physiological requirements; (3) Cover
or shelter; (4) Sites for breeding, reproduction, or rearing of
offspring; and (5) Habitats that are protected from disturbance or are
representative of the historic geographical and ecological distribution
of a species. Essential physical and biological features may include,
but are not limited to, nesting grounds, feeding sites, water quality,
geological formations, tides, and specific soil types. Our implementing
regulations at 50 CFR 424.02 define ``special management considerations
or protection'' as any methods or procedures useful in protecting
physical and biological features of the environment for the
conservation of the species.
Section 4(b)(2) of the Act requires us to designate and make
revisions to critical habitat for listed species on the basis of the
best scientific data available and after taking into consideration the
economic impact, the impact on national security, and any other
relevant impact, of specifying any particular area as critical habitat.
The Secretary may exclude any particular area from critical habitat if
he determines that the benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benefits
of specifying such area as part of the critical habitat. Unless, he
determines that the failure to designate such area as critical habitat,
will result in the extinction of the species concerned.
Previous Federal Actions
In 1970, the leatherback sea turtle was listed as endangered (35 FR
8491; June 2, 1970) in accordance with the Endangered Species
Conservation Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-135; 83 Stat. 275), a precursor to
the Act. The Service designated critical habitat for the leatherback
sea turtle on March 23, 1978 (43 FR 12050), in the U.S. Virgin Islands
to include: ``A strip of land 0.2 miles wide (from mean high tide
inland) at Sandy Point Beach on the western end of the island of St.
Croix beginning at the southwest cape to the south and running 1.2
miles northwest and then northeast along the western and northern
shoreline, and from the southwest cape 0.7 miles east along the
southern shoreline.'' This critical habitat designation appears in our
regulations at 50 CFR 17.95(c). NMFS designated critical habitat for
the leatherback sea turtle on March 23, 1979 (44 FR 17710), in the U.S.
Virgin Islands to include: ``The waters adjacent to Sandy Point, St.
Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, up to and inclusive of the waters from the
hundred fathom curve shoreward to the level of mean high tide with
boundaries at 17[deg]42'12'' North and 64[deg]50'00'' West.'' This
critical habitat designation appears in the NMFS regulations at 50 CFR
226.207. In 1984, the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge was
established; the refuge completely encompasses the stretch of beach
that was designated as critical habitat in 1978.
On October 2, 2007, NMFS received a petition from the Center for
Biological Diversity, Oceana, and Turtle Island Restoration Network to
revise the leatherback sea turtle critical habitat designation. The
petitioners sought to revise the critical habitat designation to
include the area NMFS was already managing under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to reduce
leatherback sea turtle interactions in the California-Oregon drift
gillnet fishery targeting swordfish and thresher shark. This area
encompasses roughly 200,000 square miles (321,870 square kilometers
(km)) of the Exclusive Economic Zone from 45 degrees North latitude
about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Washington-Oregon border
southward to Point Sur and along a diagonal line due west of Point
Conception, CA, and west to 129 degrees West longitude.
On December 28, 2007, NMFS published a 90-day finding that the
petition presented substantial scientific information indicating that
the petitioned action may be warranted and initiated a review of the
critical habitat of the species to determine whether the petitioned
action was warranted (72 FR 73745). On January 5, 2010, NMFS proposed
regulations to designate specific areas within the Pacific Ocean as
critical habitat (75 FR 319). The areas proposed for designation
encompass approximately 70,600 square miles (182,854 square km) of
marine habitat. Specific areas proposed for designation include two
adjacent areas covering 46,100 square miles (119,400 square km)
stretching along the California coast from Point Arena to Point
Vincente and an area covering 24,500 square miles (63,455 square km)
stretching from Cape Flattery, WA, to the Umpqua River (Winchester
Bay), OR, east of a line approximating the 6,562-ft (2,000-meter) depth
contour. A final determination has not yet been published by NMFS.
Petition History
On February 22, 2010, the Service and NMFS received a petition
dated February 22, 2010, from Craig Segall of the Sierra Club,
requesting that we revise critical habitat for the leatherback sea
turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) to include nesting beaches and offshore
marine habitats in Puerto Rico pursuant to the Act and the
Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Section 553 of the APA states that,
``Each agency shall give an interested person the right to petition for
the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule'' (5 U.S.C. 553(e)).
The petition clearly identified itself as such and included the
requisite identification information for the petitioner, as required by
50 CFR 424.14(a). The petition asserted that the beaches of the
Northeast Ecological Corridor (NEC) of Puerto Rico (which would fall
under the jurisdiction of the Service) are ``centrally important to the
U.S. Caribbean leatherback population, and should be designated as
critical habitat.'' The petition also maintained that the near-shore
coastal waters off those beaches (which would fall under the
jurisdiction of NMFS) ``provide room for turtles to mate and to access
the beaches, and for hatchlings and adults to leave the beaches.'' It
likewise asserted that the coastal zone within the NEC is particularly
vulnerable to developmental pressure and to the growing impacts of
climate change, and so warrants protection as critical habitat.
The petition also requested that the agencies revise the recovery
plan for the leatherback sea turtle at the earliest possible time, and
that the agencies issue no Atlantic leatherback-related incidental take
permits (save for permits supporting pure conservation research), issue
no Atlantic leatherback-related habitat conservation plan, issue no
Atlantic leatherback-related biological opinion, and take no other
final agency action that could affect the Atlantic population of the
leatherback sea turtle
[[Page 47135]]
or its habitat, until the petition to revise critical habitat was ruled
on and without taking climate change fully into account. However, none
of these additional requests are petitionable under the Act and,
therefore, they are not addressed in this 90-day finding and 12-month
determination.
Under the Act, the Service and NMFS each have respective areas of
jurisdiction over sea turtles, as clarified by the 1977 Memorandum of
Understanding Defining the Roles of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and the National Marine Fisheries Service in Joint Administration of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as to Marine Turtles. The Service
has jurisdiction over sea turtles and their associated habitats when
they are on land, while NMFS has jurisdiction over sea turtles and
their associated habitats in the marine environment. Thus, if Federal
agencies are involved in activities that may affect sea turtles
involved in nesting behavior, or may affect their nests or their
nesting habitats, those Federal agencies are required to consult with
the Service under section 7 of the Act to ensure that their activities
are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the sea
turtles. If a Federal action may affect sea turtles while they are in
the marine environment, the Federal agency involved must engage in a
section 7 consultation with NMFS, to ensure that the action is not
likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the sea turtles.
Similarly, if critical habitat has been designated, and Federal actions
may affect such habitat, a section 7 consultation under the Act would
be required to ensure that the Federal action is not likely to destroy
or adversely modify the critical habitat. If the critical habitat has
been designated on land, the consultation would be with the Service; if
the critical habitat has been designated in the marine environment, the
consultation would be with NMFS.
On April 1, 2010, the Service sent a letter to the petitioner
acknowledging receipt of the petition. On April 28, 2010, the Service
received an e-mail from the Sierra Club transmitting a letter from 36
nonprofit organizations and conservation interests outlining the
importance of the NEC of Puerto Rico and recommending that it be
designated as critical habitat for the endangered leatherback sea
turtle. On June 2, 2010, the Sierra Club sent a Notice of Intent To Sue
over the alleged failure of the Service and NMFS to make a 90-day
finding.
On July 16, 2010, NMFS published in the Federal Register its 90-day
finding on the portion of the petition that falls under its
jurisdiction and determined that the petition did not present
substantial scientific information indicating that the petitioned
action may be warranted (75 FR 41436). On November 2, 2010, the Sierra
Club submitted to NMFS a second petition that included additional data
supporting the requested action. In response to the second petition,
NMFS made a 90-day finding that the petition presented substantial
information indicating that the petitioned revision of designated
critical habitat for leatherback sea turtles may be warranted (May 5,
2011; 76 FR 25660).
On February 23, 2011, the Sierra Club sent a Notice of Intent To
Sue over the alleged failure of the Service and NMFS to make both the
90-day and 12-month findings. On March 18, 2011, we sent a letter to
the Sierra Club acknowledging receipt of the February 23, 2011, Notice
of Intent To Sue. On May 27, 2011, the Sierra Club filed a complaint
over the alleged failure of the Service to respond to the petition
dated February 22, 2010, to revise critical habitat. This finding
addresses the portion of the petition under the Service's jurisdiction.
This 90-day finding and 12-month determination is responsive only
to aspects of the petition that fall under the Service's jurisdiction,
the terrestrial portion of the area as identified in the petition as
``The coastline of the Northeast Ecological Corridor of Puerto Rico,
running from Luquillo, Puerto Rico, to Fajardo, Puerto Rico, including
the beaches known as San Miguel, Paulinas, and Convento, and extending
at least .025 mile (132 feet) inland from the mean high tide line.''
Species Information
Worldwide Distribution
Leatherback sea turtles have the widest distribution of sea
turtles, nesting on beaches in the tropics and subtropics and foraging
into higher-latitude subpolar waters. In the Pacific, they extend from
the waters of British Columbia (McAlpine et al. 2004, entire) and the
Gulf of Alaska (Hodge and Wing 2000, entire) to the waters of Chile and
South Island (New Zealand), and nesting occurs in both the eastern and
western Pacific (M[aacute]rquez M. 1990, pp. 54-55; Gill 1997, entire;
Brito M. 1998, entire). They also occur throughout the Indian Ocean
(Hamann et al. 2006, entire). In the Atlantic, they are found as far
north as the waters of the North Sea, Barents Sea, Newfoundland, and
Labrador (Threlfall 1978, p. 287; Goff and Lien 1988, entire;
M[aacute]rquez M. 1990, pp. 54-55; James et al. 2005, entire) and as
far south as Argentina and the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
(M[aacute]rquez M. 1990, pp. 54-55; Hughes et al. 1998, entire; Luschi
et al. 2003, entire; Luschi et al. 2006, pp. 53-54), and nesting occurs
in both the eastern and western Atlantic. Although leatherback sea
turtles occur in Mediterranean waters, no nesting is known to take
place in this region (Casale et al. 2003, pp. 136-138).
Historical descriptions of leatherback sea turtles are rarely found
in the accounts of early sailors, and the size of their population
before the mid-20th century is speculative (NMFS and Service 2007, p.
26). Even for large nesting assemblages like French Guiana and
Suriname, nesting records prior to the 1950s are lacking (Rivalan et
al. 2006, p. 2). By the 1960s, several nesting sites were being
discovered in the western Atlantic, in Pacific Mexico, and in Malaysia.
Soon after, other populations in Pacific Costa Rica and Mexico were
identified. Today, nesting beaches are known in all major ocean basins
with catastrophic declines observed in the eastern Pacific (Spotila et
al. 2000, entire) and Malaysia (Chan and Liew 1996, pp. 196-197).
In the eastern Pacific, important nesting beaches occur in Mexico
and Costa Rica, with scattered nesting along the Central American coast
(M[aacute]rquez M. 1990, pp. 54-55). Nesting is very rare in the Gulf
of California, Mexico (Seminoff and Dutton 2007, p. 139). In the
western Pacific, the main nesting beaches occur in the Solomon Islands,
Papua, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea (Limpus 2002, p. 44; Dutton et
al. 2007, pp. 49-50). Minor nesting occurs in Vanuatu (Petro et al.
2007, entire), Fiji (Rupeni et al. 2002, p. 122), and southeastern
Australia (Dobbs 2002, p. 81; Hamann et al. 2006, p. 20); and it is
very rare in the North Pacific (Eckert 1993, p. 73). In the Indian
Ocean, major nesting beaches occur in South Africa, Sri Lanka, and
Andaman and Nicobar islands, with smaller populations in Mozambique,
Java, and Malaysia (Hamann et al. 2006, p. 8).
In the eastern Atlantic, a globally significant nesting population
is concentrated in Gabon, Africa, with widely dispersed but fairly
regular nesting between Mauritania in the north and Angola in the south
(Fretey et al. 2007, entire). Important nesting areas in the western
Atlantic Ocean occur in Florida (USA); St. Croix, VI; Puerto Rico;
Costa Rica; Panam[aacute]; Colombia; Trinidad and Tobago; Guyana;
Suriname; French Guiana; and southern Brazil (M[aacute]rquez M. 1990,
pp. 54-55; Spotila et al. 1996, pp. 212-213; Br[auml]utigam and Eckert
2006, p. 8). Other minor nesting beaches are scattered throughout the
Caribbean, Brazil, and
[[Page 47136]]
Venezuela (Mast 2005-2006, pp. 18-19; Hern[aacute]ndez et al. 2007, p.
81).
For additional information on the biology, status, and habitat
needs of the leatherback sea turtle, refer to the Leatherback Sea
Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) 5-Year Review (NMFS and Service 2007,
entire); the Recovery Plan for Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys
coriacea) in the U.S. Caribbean, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico (NMFS and
Service 1992, entire); and the Recovery Plan for U.S. Pacific
Populations of the Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) (NMFS and
Service 1998, entire), available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
Evaluation of Information for the 90-Day Finding
In making this finding, we relied on information provided by the
petitioners, sources cited by the petitioners, and information readily
available in the Service's files. We evaluated the information in
accordance with 50 CFR 24.14(c). Our process for making this 90-day
finding under section 4(b)(3)(D) of the Act and 50 CFR 424.14(c) of our
regulations is limited to a determination of whether the information in
the petition meets the ``substantial scientific information''
threshold. In making a finding, we consider whether the petition
provides the following in accordance with 50 CFR 424.14(c)(2):
(i) Information indicating that areas petitioned to be added to
critical habitat contain physical or biological features essential to,
and that may require special management to provide for, the
conservation of the species involved; or
(ii) Information indicating that areas currently designated as
critical habitat do not contain resources essential to, or do not
require special management to provide for, the conservation of the
species involved.
The Service's evaluation of this information is presented below. We
have organized the petition's claims into four categories relative to
50 CFR 424.14(c)(2)(i) as described above:.
(1) Petition claims the leatherback sea turtle nesting sites in
Puerto Rico represent the second most significant nesting activity in
the United States, and that the beaches of the Northeast Ecological
Corridor are the most important leatherback sea turtle nesting sites on
the main island of Puerto Rico.
The petition claims ``[t]he United States contains at least three
significant leatherback nesting areas: Sandy Point on St. Croix in the
U.S. Virgin Islands, which hosted 1,008 nests in 2001, Brava and Resaca
Beaches on Puerto Rico's island of Culebra, and the beaches around
Fajardo and Luquillo in the Northeast Ecological Corridor of Puerto
Rico. The Puerto Rican beaches cumulatively hosted a minimum of 469-882
nests each year between 2000 and 2005.'' The petition cites a Puerto
Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER)
management plan that describes the Corridor's beaches as '' `one of the
most important leatherback nesting areas in Puerto Rico and in the
jurisdiction of the United States,' noting that from 1993 to 2007,
3,188 nests have been recorded, for an average of 213 nests annually.''
The petition asserts that revision of leatherback sea turtle critical
habitat to include the beaches of the NEC of Puerto Rico is necessary
to protect leatherback sea turtles. The petition states that the NEC,
including its coastal waters, is ``a centrally important space for
`individual and population growth,' because it is also a site for
`breeding, reproduction, [and] rearing of offspring.' '' It asserts
that ``[a]s two decades of data demonstrate, it is a `nesting ground'
or `reproduction [site]' which includes the sandy beaches and open
access to the ocean that constitute the `soil type' and `physical
constituent elements' that leatherbacks need to survive.''
The Service assessed information provided by the petitioner and
available in our files. The Service agrees with the petitioner that
Sandy Point in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Brava and Resaca Beaches on
Puerto Rico's Island of Culebra and the Northeast Ecological Corridor
on the main island of Puerto Rico are important nesting areas for
leatherback sea turtles in the United States. However, important
leatherback sea turtle nesting habitat also occurs in Florida, as well
as elsewhere in Puerto Rico on the Island of Vieques and in the Maunabo
area on the main island. A summary of key leatherback nesting beaches
in the United States is provided below.
In Florida, the majority of leatherback sea turtle nesting occurs
along the Southeast Atlantic coastline in Brevard through Broward
Counties. These counties encompass approximately 206 miles (332 km) of
sandy coastline fronting the Atlantic Ocean (Clark 1993, p. 17). Within
these counties, approximately 89 miles (143 km) have been identified as
conservation lands (NMFS and Service 2008, pp. V-36-V-39). Conservation
lands are defined as public ownership (Federal, State, or local
government) and privately owned lands (e.g., nonprofit conservation
foundations) that are generally managed in a way to benefit sea turtle
conservation (NMFS and Service 2008, p. V-33). Therefore, beaches
identified as conservation lands in Brevard through Broward Counties
represent approximately 43 percent of all oceanfront beaches in these
counties.
The Florida Statewide Nesting Beach Survey (SNBS) program
documented an increase in leatherback sea turtle nesting numbers from
98 nests in 1989 to between 453 and 1,747 nests per season in the
2000s, with the highest number of nests recorded in 2009 (Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission SNBS data). Although the SNBS
program provides information on distribution and total abundance of sea
turtle nesting statewide, it cannot be used to assess trends because of
variable survey effort. Therefore, leatherback nesting trends are best
assessed using standardized nest counts made at Index Nesting Beach
Survey (INBS) sites surveyed with constant effort over time (1989-
2010). Under the INBS program, approximately 30 percent of Florida's
SNBS beach length is surveyed. The INBS nest counts represent
approximately 34 percent of known leatherback nesting in Florida. An
analysis of the INBS data has shown an exponential increase in
leatherback sea turtle nesting in Florida since 1989. From 1989 through
2010, the annual number of leatherback sea turtle nests at the core set
of index beaches ranged from 27 to 615 (Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission INBS data). Using the numbers of nests recorded
from 1979 through 2009, Stewart et al. (in press) estimated a
population growth of approximately 10.2 percent per year.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, leatherback sea turtle nesting has been
reported on the islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John.
However, the most significant leatherback sea turtle nesting activity
occurs on Sandy Point, St. Croix (NMFS and Service 1992, p. 2).
Leatherback sea turtle nesting on Sandy Point was first brought to the
attention of biologists in the mid-1970s (Boulon et al. 1996, p. 141),
and flipper tagging of nesting turtles began in 1977 (Dutton et al.
2005, p. 186). Since 1982, the Sandy Point beach has been consistently
monitored each nesting season. In 1984, the Sandy Point National
Wildlife Refuge was established and encompassed the Sandy Point beach.
Between 1982 and 2010, the number of nests recorded on Sandy Point
ranged from a low of 82 in 1986 to a high of 1,008 in 2001 (Garner and
Garner 2010, pp. 18-20). Dutton et al. (2005, p. 189) estimated a
population growth of approximately 13 percent per year from 1994
through 2001 for this nesting population. Using the number of observed
females at Sandy Point from 1986 to 2004, the Turtle Expert Working
[[Page 47137]]
Group (2007, pp. 48-49) estimated a population growth of approximately
10 percent per year.
In Puerto Rico, the main nesting areas are at Fajardo (NEC) and
Maunabo on the main island, and on the islands of Culebra and Vieques.
Between 1993 and 2010, the number of nests recorded in the NEC in the
Fajardo area ranged from a low of 51 in 1995 to a high of 456 in 2009
(C. Diez, PRDNER, unpublished data). In the Maunabo area, the number of
nests recorded between 2001 and 2010 ranged from a low of 53 in 2002 to
a high of 260 in 2009 (C. Diez, PRDNER, unpublished data). On the
island of Culebra, the number of nests recorded between 1993 and 2010
ranged from a low of 41 in 1996 to a high of 395 in 1997 (C. Diez,
PRDNER, unpublished data). Approximately two-thirds of Vieques Island
was occupied by the U.S. Navy beginning in the early 1940s and was used
by the U.S. Department of Defense for military practices until 2002,
when most of the U.S. Navy lands on Vieques Island were transferred to
the Department of the Interior to form part of the Service's National
Wildlife Refuge System.
Monitoring of sea turtle nesting beaches on Vieques Island has been
challenging due to access restrictions imposed during military
operations and the presence of unexploded ordnance throughout most of
the areas formerly used for military training by the U.S. Navy. On
beaches managed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on the island of
Vieques, PRDNER recorded annually 14-61 leatherback nests between 1991
and 2000; 145 nests in 2002; 24 in 2003; and 37 in 2005 (C. Diez,
PRDNER, unpublished data). The number of leatherback sea turtle nests
recorded on Vieques Island beaches managed by the Service were as
follows:
32 in 2001;
163 in 2002;
13 in 2003;
28 in 2004;
88 in 2005;
92 in 2006;
93 in 2007;
52 in 2008;
155 in 2009; and
132 in 2010.
Nesting data for 2006 and 2010 include nests found on beaches off
Service lands (8 and 6 nests, respectively). Since several beaches on
Vieques' eastern portion are not regularly monitored for sea turtle
nesting activity due to logistical difficulties and presence of
unexploded ordnance, the average yearly number of sea turtle nests on
Vieques Island is likely to be greater. Using the numbers of nests
recorded in Puerto Rico between 1984 and 2005, the Turtle Expert
Working Group (2007, p. 47) estimated a population growth of
approximately 10 percent per year.
Fajardo (NEC) and Maunabo are the primary leatherback sea turtle
nesting areas on the main island of Puerto Rico. The NEC of Puerto
Rico, running from Luquillo to Fajardo, PR, includes approximately
3,200 ``cuerdas'' (3,108 acres or 1,259 hectares) within the properties
referred to as San Miguel I and II, Las Paulinas, El Convento Norte,
and Seven Seas. Three of these properties (Las Paulinas, El Convento
Norte, and Seven Seas) are owned by the Puerto Rico Industrial
Development Company (PRIDCO) and the National Parks Company (NPC),
while the remaining properties are privately owned.
Beaches within the NEC comprise approximately 5.43 miles (8.74 km)
of sandy beaches that support leatherback nesting. Maunabo is located
on the southeastern coast and has approximately 3.93 miles (6.32 km) of
sandy beaches suitable for leatherback sea turtle nesting. Although
beaches in Maunabo are public domain, uplands adjacent to these beaches
are privately owned with the potential for future development. On the
island of Culebra, the majority of leatherback sea turtle nesting
occurs on Brava and Resaca beaches. Brava Beach is approximately 0.78
mile (1.25 km) in length, while Resaca Beach is 0.62 mile (1.00 km) in
length. All of the land surrounding Resaca Beach and part of the land
surrounding Brava Beach is owned by the Service as part of the Culebra
National Wildlife Refuge. Therefore, Resaca Beach is relatively
protected from development.
Although at present there is no development on the private land
near Brava Beach, there is the potential for future development. On the
island of Vieques, leatherback sea turtles nest on both the southern
and northern beaches on the eastern portion of the island within the
Vieques National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge encompasses approximately
18.09 miles (29.11 km) of sandy beaches that may support leatherback
sea turtle nesting. These beaches are protected from development.
Although other important leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches
occur in the United States besides those identified in the petition,
the Service believes the information submitted by the petitioner about
the importance of the NEC to leatherback sea turtle nesting in the
United States is substantial for this claim.
(2) Petition claims that leatherback sea turtles in the Atlantic
Ocean have declined and could experience a similar decline as those in
the Pacific Ocean if their habitat is not protected.
The petition cites a number of studies about the population decline
of leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean, and concludes that
leatherback sea turtles in the Atlantic Ocean could experience a
similar decline if their habitat is not protected. The petition also
states that conditions in the Atlantic and Caribbean are relatively
more stable than those in the Pacific, but that some declines in
nesting have been documented or are believed likely to have occurred
based on estimates on nesting declines for other sea turtle species.
However, the petition did not cite or provide information about the
status of leatherback sea turtle populations in the Atlantic Ocean.
In 2007, the Turtle Expert Working Group published An Assessment of
the Leatherback Turtle Population in the Atlantic Ocean and estimated a
population size of 34,000-94,000 adult leatherback sea turtles in the
North Atlantic (Turtle Expert Working Group 2007, p. 59). An increasing
or stable population trend was seen in all regions of the Atlantic
except West Africa for which no long-term data were available (Turtle
Expert Working Group 2007, pp. 48-51). The nesting trend for the North
Caribbean population, which includes Puerto Rico, was characterized as
increasing. Furthermore, a near record number of leatherback nests
(1,330 nests) was laid on Florida index beaches in 2010. Leatherback
nest counts have been increasing exponentially in Florida (http://myfwc.com/research/wildlife/sea-turtles/nesting/beach-survey-totals-1989-2010/).
The petition does not provide information to support the claim that
leatherback sea turtle populations have substantially declined in the
Atlantic since the 1978 critical habitat designation in St. Croix, VI.
Thus, the Service does not believe the petition or information in our
files presents substantial information to support this claim. The
Service also does not believe the petition or information available in
our files presents substantial information to support the claim that
the leatherback sea turtles in the Atlantic Ocean are likely to
experience declines similar to those in the Pacific if critical habitat
is not revised to include the beaches of the NEC. Therefore, the
Service finds that the petition does not present substantial
information for this claim.
(3) Petition claims that the evidence supporting designation of the
Northeast
[[Page 47138]]
Ecological Corridor as critical habitat is stronger than the evidence
used by the Service to designate critical habitat for Sandy Point, St.
Croix, VI.
The petition cites the 1978 critical habitat designation of the
nesting beaches of Sandy Point, St. Croix, as a rationale for likewise
designating the beaches of the NEC of Puerto Rico as critical habitat.
The petition indicates that the current level of leatherback sea turtle
nesting within the NEC is greater than the level of nesting that was
observed at Sandy Point in 1977, which was used as justification for
its designation as critical habitat.
At the time of the 1978 critical habitat designation, Sandy Point
in the U.S. Virgin Islands was the only known beach under U.S.
jurisdiction used extensively for nesting by leatherback sea turtles.
Its designation as critical habitat was ``taken to insure the integrity
of the only major nesting beach used by leatherbacks in the United
States or its territories'' (43 FR 43688; September 26, 1978). Since
that time, as described in the Species Information section above,
additional beaches have been identified in the United States as
important for leatherback sea turtle nesting, including beaches in
Puerto Rico and Florida. Therefore, the rationale used for the Sandy
Point critical habitat designation is not applicable for the NEC.
Therefore, the Service finds that the petition does not present
substantial information for this claim.
(4) Petition claims that threats on the nesting beach are
substantial and that global climate change is exacerbating the
situation.
The petition claims threats to leatherback sea turtle nesting
beaches, exacerbated by global climate change, further justify the need
for designation of the NEC as critical habitat. The Service agrees
there are substantial threats affecting leatherback sea turtle nesting
habitat in the U.S. Atlantic. Leatherback nesting habitat is affected
by development, including the construction of buildings, beach
armoring, renourishment, and sand mining (Crain et al. 1995, entire;
Lutcavage et al. 1997, pp. 388-391; Witherington 1999, pp. 180-181).
These factors may directly, through loss of beach habitat, or
indirectly, through changing thermal profiles and increasing erosion,
serve to decrease the amount of nesting area available to nesting
females, and may evoke a change in the natural behaviors of adults and
hatchlings (Ackerman 1997, pp. 102-103; Mosier 1998, pp. 42-47;
Witherington et al. 2003, pp. 7-10). In addition, coastal development
is usually accompanied by artificial lighting. The presence of lights
on or adjacent to nesting beaches alters the behavior of nesting adults
and is often fatal to emerging hatchlings as they are attracted to
light sources and drawn away from the water (McFarlane 1963, p. 153;
Philibosian 1976, p. 824; Ehrhart and Witherington 1987, pp. 66-67;
Witherington and Bjorndal 1991, pp. 146-147; Witherington 1992, pp. 36-
38; Villanueva-Mayor et al. 2003, entire).
In 1990, a major part of the NEC was included as part of the
coastal barrier system under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA),
as requested by the Puerto Rico Planning Board (PRPB). The CBRA
encourages the conservation of hurricane-prone, biologically rich
coastal barriers by restricting Federal expenditures that encourage
development, such as federally subsidized flood insurance (16 U.S.C.
3501-3510). In 1996, the PRPB rezoned the lands within the NEC as a
tourist-residential development zone, allowing for recreational and
tourism development of the area. Although the NEC had been designated
as a Natural Reserve by the former Puerto Rico Governor in 2007, the
new administration repealed the designation in October 2009. Thus,
lands within the NEC continue under private and Commonwealth (PRIDCO,
NPC) ownership, and are subject to potential future development. The
NEC remains a unit within the CBRA system.
Between 2007 and 2008, the Service awarded more than $4,000,000 for
the acquisition of over 400 acres in the San Miguel area, and continues
to support acquisition in the area to ensure long-term conservation of
these lands, particularly for leatherback sea turtle nesting. However,
development pressures exist, and there are no lighting codes or
regulations in Puerto Rico. Therefore, development could threaten
leatherback nesting within the NEC.
As indicated in the petition, another factor that may affect
leatherback sea turtle nesting habitat is climate change. Impacts from
climate change, especially due to global warming, are likely to become
more apparent in future years (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change 2007, pp. 12-17). The global mean temperature has risen 0.76
degrees Celsius over the last 150 years, and the linear trend over the
last 50 years is nearly twice that for the last 100 years
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007, p. 5). One of the most
certain consequences of climate change is sea level rise (Titus and
Narayanan 1995, pp. 123-132), which will result in increased erosion
rates along nesting beaches.
On some undeveloped beaches, shoreline migration will have limited
effects on the suitability of nesting habitat. Bruun (1962, pp. 123-
126) hypothesized that during sea level rise, a typical beach profile
will maintain its configuration but will be translated landward and
upward. However, along developed coastlines, and especially in areas
where erosion control structures have been constructed to limit
shoreline movement, rising sea levels are likely to cause severe
effects on nesting females and their eggs (Hawkes et al. 2009, p. 139;
Poloczanska et al. 2009, pp. 164, 174). Erosion control structures can
result in the permanent loss of dry nesting beach or deter nesting
females from reaching suitable nesting sites (National Research Council
1990, p. 77). Nesting females may deposit eggs seaward of the erosion
control structures potentially subjecting them to repeated tidal
inundation.
For additional information on threats affecting leatherback sea
turtle nesting beaches, refer to the Leatherback Sea Turtle
(Dermochelys coriacea) 5-Year Review (NMFS and Service 2007, pp. 32-
34); the Recovery Plan for Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)
in the U.S. Caribbean, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico (NMFS and Service
1992, pp. 9-14); and the Recovery Plan for U.S. Pacific Populations of
the Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) (NMFS and Service 1998,
pp. 21-23), available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
The Service agrees with the petition that threats to leatherback
sea turtle nesting habitat are substantial. We find the information
submitted by the petitioner related to this claim to be substantial
information for this claim.
90-Day Finding
Based on the above information and information readily available in
our files, and pursuant to criteria specified in 50 CFR 424.14(b), we
find the petition presents substantial scientific information
indicating that revision of the critical habitat designation for the
leatherback sea turtle may be warranted.
12-Month Determination
Pursuant to the provisions of the Act regarding revision of
critical habitat and petitions for revision, we find that revisions to
critical habitat for the leatherback sea turtle under the Act should be
made. As described in the How the Service Intends to Proceed section
below, we intend to fully assess critical habitat during the future
planned status review for the leatherback sea turtle.
[[Page 47139]]
The Service intends that any revisions to critical habitat for the
leatherback sea turtle be as accurate as possible. To ensure that the
status review is comprehensive, the Service will request scientific and
commercial data and other information regarding the leatherback sea
turtle from all concerned governmental agencies, the scientific
community, industry, or any other interested party concerning this
finding when we initiate the review.
Until the Service is able to revise the critical habitat
designation for the leatherback sea turtle, the currently designated
critical habitat, as well as areas that support leatherback sea turtles
but are outside of the current critical habitat designation, will
continue to be subject to conservation actions implemented under
section 7(a)(1) of the Act. Federal agency actions are subject to the
regulatory protections afforded by section 7(a)(2), which requires
Federal agencies, including the Service, to ensure that actions they
fund, authorize, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the
continued existence of any listed species or result in the destruction
or adverse modification of critical habitat.
How the Service Intends To Proceed
One of the recommendations contained in the 5-year reviews for
listed sea turtle species, completed in 2007, was that the Service and
NMFS conduct an analysis and review for each listed sea turtle (except
the Kemp's ridley sea turtle) to determine the application of the
distinct population segment policy. After completing the reviews, the
Service and NMFS made a decision to conduct the recommended sea turtle
status reviews in the following order: (1) Loggerhead sea turtle, (2)
Green sea turtle, (3) Olive ridley sea turtle, (4) Leatherback sea
turtle, and (5) Hawksbill sea turtle.
The loggerhead status review was selected to be conducted first
because the species is listed as threatened worldwide, and there were
substantial concerns about the status of some nesting populations. The
green and olive ridley turtles were selected to be the second and third
status reviews conducted because they have multiple vertebrate
populations listed under the Act, some listed as threatened and some as
endangered, and an assessment is needed to determine if these
populations qualify as individual distinct population segments (DPSs)
or are part of larger DPSs. The leatherback and hawksbill sea turtles
were selected as the last two status reviews to be conducted because
both species are listed as endangered worldwide and receive the fullest
protection under the Act; therefore, the need for status reviews for
these two species was deemed not to be as urgent as for the other
species.
Once a status review is completed for each species, a rulemaking
process would be conducted, if appropriate, to revise the species'
status, list a DPS of the species, or designate or revise critical
habitat if prudent and determinable. The status review for the
loggerhead sea turtle has been completed (Conant et al., 2009) and
rulemaking is in progress (75 FR 12598; March 16, 2010); status reviews
for the other species have not been initiated because they have been
precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered
and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. It is our intention to assess
leatherback sea turtle critical habitat as part of the future planned
status review for the leatherback sea turtle.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited is available on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov and upon request from the North Florida
Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Author
The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, North Florida Ecological Services
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) and the Caribbean
Ecological Services Field Office (P.O. Box 491, Boquer[oacute]n, PR
00622; telephone 787-851-7297).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: July 26, 2011.
Eileen Sobeck,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2011-19676 Filed 8-3-11; 8:45 am]
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