[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 88 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24883-24884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09763]
[[Page 24883]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2020-N107; FXES11130000-190-FF08E00000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery
Plan for Mount Charleston Blue Butterfly
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of the draft recovery plan for the Mount Charleston Blue
Butterfly (Icaricia [Plebejus] shasta charlestonensis), an endangered
butterfly species, for public review and comment. We request review and
comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal
agencies; nongovernmental organizations; and the public.
DATES: We must receive any comments on the draft recovery plan on or
before July 9, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain a copy of the recovery
plan from our website at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html. Alternatively, you may contact the Southern Nevada
Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4701 North
Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130 (telephone 702-515-5230).
Comment submission: If you wish to comment on the draft recovery
plan, you may submit your comments in writing by any one of the
following methods:
U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, at the above address;
Email: Glen_Knowles@fws.gov.
For additional information about submitting comments, see the
Request for Public Comments and Public Availability of Comments
sections below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glen Knowles, Field Supervisor, at
Glen_Knowles@fws.gov or telephone 702-515-5230.
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
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (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 necessary under the criteria
specified 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.
Pursuant to section 4(f) of the Act, a recovery plan must, to the
maximum extent practicable, include (1) a description of site-specific
management actions as may be necessary to achieve the plan's goals for
the conservation and survival of the species; (2) objective, measurable
criteria which, when met, would support a determination under section
4(a)(1) that the species should be removed from the List of Endangered
and Threatened Species; and (3) estimates of the time and costs
required to carry out those measures needed to achieve the plan's goal
and to achieve intermediate steps toward that goal.
The U.S. Fish had Wildlife Service (USFWS) has revised its approach
to recovery planning; the revised process is called Recovery Planning
and Implementation (RPI). The RPI process is intended to reduce the
time needed to develop and implement recovery plans, increase recovery
plan relevancy over a longer timeframe, and add flexibility to recovery
plans so they can be adjusted to new information or circumstances.
Under RPI, a recovery plan will include statutorily required elements
(objective, measurable criteria; site-specific management actions; and
estimates of time and costs), along with a concise introduction and our
strategy for how we plan to achieve species recovery. The RPI recovery
plan is supported by a separate Species Status Assessment, or in cases
such as this one, a species biological report that provides the
background information and threat assessment, which are key to recovery
plan development. The essential component to flexible implementation
under RPI is producing a separate working document called the Recovery
Implementation Strategy (implementation strategy). The implementation
strategy steps down from the more general description of actions
described in the recovery plan to detail the specific, near-term
activities needed to implement the recovery plan. The implementation
strategy will be adaptable by being able to incorporate new information
without having to concurrently revise the recovery plan, unless changes
to statutory elements are required.
Mount Charleston blue butterfly was federally listed as endangered
under the Act in 2013 (USFWS 2013). USFWS designated critical habitat
for the species in 2015 (USFWS 2015). Mount Charleston blue butterfly
is endemic to the Spring Mountains in southern Nevada. Evidence of
decreasing range and population size and the presence of ongoing
threats to Mount Charleston blue butterfly resulted in its listing as
endangered. The majority of the historic range and all currently
occupied locations of the Mount Charleston blue butterfly are on lands
managed by the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, Humboldt-
Toiyabe National Forest, United States Department of Agriculture Forest
Service (Forest Service). Therefore, close coordination and cooperation
will need to occur between the USFWS and Forest Service for recovery to
be successful. Here we describe a draft recovery plan for the
conservation and survival of the Mount Charleston blue butterfly.
Threats facing the Mount Charleston blue butterfly increase the
risk of extinction of the subspecies, given its few occurrences in a
small area. The largest threats to Mount Charleston blue butterfly are
the loss and degradation of habitat due to changes in natural fire
regimes and succession, the implementation of recreational development
projects and fuels reduction projects, and the increases in nonnative
plants. These threats are likely to be exacerbated by the impact of
climate change, which is anticipated to increase drought and extreme
precipitation events.
Recovery Strategy
The purpose of a 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 that enable us to gauge whether
downlisting or delisting the species may be warranted. Furthermore,
recovery plans help guide our recovery efforts by describing actions we
consider necessary for each species' conservation and by estimating
time and costs for implementing needed recovery measures.
The primary threats to be addressed through this recovery strategy
are the loss and degradation of habitat due to changes in natural fire
regimes and succession, the implementation of recreational development
projects and fuels reduction projects, feral horses, and the increases
in nonnative plants. Habitat for Mount Charleston blue butterfly may be
increased through properly sited and implemented management actions to
favor optimal habitat quantity, quality, and patch arrangement. Where
appropriate, habitat
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that once existed may be restored; habitat that currently exists should
be protected and may be enhanced or augmented; and, where conditions
are suitable, new habitat may be created. After an evaluation is
completed, population growth and connectivity may be assisted with
translocation, if necessary, to ensure conservation and expedite
recovery of the Mount Charleston blue butterfly. Evaluations,
monitoring, and research will be implemented to inform decisions
towards the recovery goal.
To downlist to threatened status and ultimately delist the Mount
Charleston blue butterfly will require active and ongoing protection of
existing populations and occupied habitat, and discovered or
established new habitat. Additional habitat and locations that can be
categorized as known occupied are critical to ensure Mount Charleston
blue butterfly life history processes, population growth, and
connectivity will occur, thereby ensuring the genetic diversity of the
species, sufficiently large populations to withstand stochastic events,
and a sufficiently large number of populations to provide a safety
margin to withstand catastrophic events.
Request for Public Comments
We request written comments on the draft recovery plan described in
this notice. All comments received by the date specified in DATES will
be considered in development of a final recovery plan for Mount
Charleston blue butterfly. You may submit written comments and
information by mail or email to the Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife
Office at the above address (see ADDRESSES).
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email 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.
Authority
We developed this recovery plan and publish this notice under the
authority of section 4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Paul Souza,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2021-09763 Filed 5-7-21; 8:45 am]
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