[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31726-31728]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12455]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2020-N041; FXES11130400000C2-201-FF04E00000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery
Plan for White Fringeless Orchid
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability for public review and comment of the draft recovery plan
for the Platanthera integrilabia (white fringeless orchid), a plant
listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. We request
review and comment on the draft recovery plan
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from local, State, and Federal agencies, Tribes, nongovernmental
organizations, and the public.
DATES: We must receive comments by August 16, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining documents: You may obtain or request a copy by any
of the following methods:
Internet: http://www.fws.gov/cookeville/;
Telephone: Geoff Call, 931-525-4983; or
Submitting comments: If you wish to comment, you may submit your
comments by the following method:
Email: geoff_call@fws.gov. Please include ``White
Fringeless Orchid Draft Recovery Plan Comments'' in the subject line.
For additional information about submitting comments, see Public
Comments below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Geoff Call, geoff_call@fws.gov, 931-
525-4983. Individuals who are hearing or speech impaired may call the
Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce the availability for public review and comment of
the draft recovery plan for the Platanthera integrilabia (white
fringeless orchid), a plant listed as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The draft recovery plan
includes specific recovery objectives and criteria we have identified
to better assist us in determining when the protections of the ESA are
no longer necessary. We request review and comment on this draft
recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, nongovernmental
organizations, and the public.
Background
White fringeless orchid is a perennial herb of the Orchidaceae
family (orchid family). The species is restricted to 48 populations in
6 southeastern states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South
Carolina, and Tennessee. White fringeless orchid habitat has
historically been described as partially shaded areas with sandy and
acidic soils in wet areas like seeps, bogs, or swamps; however, the
species also occurs in areas that differ in light and moisture
availability.
The ESA states that a species may be listed as endangered or
threatened based on one or more of the five factors outlined in section
4(a)(1). The white fringeless orchid is threatened primarily by
destruction and modification of habitat (Listing Factor A) resulting in
excessive shading, soil disturbance, altered hydrology, and
proliferation of invasive plant species; collecting for recreational or
commercial purposes (Listing Factor B); herbivory (Listing Factor C);
and small population sizes and dependence on specific pollinators and
fungi to complete its life cycle (Listing Factor E). Existing
regulatory mechanisms have not reduced or removed the threats posed to
the species from these factors (Listing Factor D). As a result of these
threats, white fringeless orchid was listed as threatened under the ESA
on September 13, 2016 (81 FR 62826).
Recovery Plan
Section 4(f)(1) of the ESA requires the development of recovery
plans for listed species, unless such a plan would not promote the
conservation of a particular species. The purpose of a recovery plan is
to provide an effective and feasible roadmap for a species' recovery,
with the goal of improving its status and managing its threats to the
point where the protections of the ESA are no longer needed. The ESA
requires that, to the maximum extent practicable, recovery plans
incorporate the following:
Objective, measurable criteria which, when met, would
result in a determination that the species is no longer threatened or
endangered;
Site-specific management actions necessary to achieve the
plan's goal for conservation and survival of the species; and
Estimates of the time required and costs to implement
recovery plans.
Recovery plans provide important guidance to the Service, States,
other partners, and the general public on methods for minimizing
threats to listed species and objectives against which to measure the
progress towards recovery. A recovery plan identifies, organizes, and
prioritizes recovery actions and is an important guide that ensures
sound scientific decision-making throughout the recovery plan, which
can take decades.
Section 4(f)(4) of the ESA requires us to provide public notice and
an opportunity for public review and comment during recovery plan
development. We will consider all information presented during a public
comment period prior to approval of each new or revised recovery plan.
We and other Federal agencies will take these comments into
consideration in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
The draft recovery plan for the white fringeless orchid describes
actions necessary for the recovery of the species, establishes criteria
for its delisting, and estimates the time and cost for implementing
specific measures needed to recover the species. The ultimate goal of
this draft recovery plan is to ensure the long-term viability of the
white fringeless orchid in the wild to the point that it can be removed
from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants in title 50
of the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 17.12).
Recovery Criteria
The draft recovery plan proposes that the white fringeless orchid
will be considered for delisting when:
1. Monitoring over a 10-year period demonstrates stable or
increasing population growth rates for at least 26 protected
populations with resilience levels of moderate to very high (as
described in the Species Status Assessment). To ensure adequate
representation and redundancy, these populations must be distributed
among Environmental Protection Agency Level III Ecoregions as shown in
the following table (addresses Factors A and E):
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Resilience level
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Level III ecoregion High or very Total
Moderate high
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Blue Ridge...................................................... 2 1 3
Piedmont........................................................ 2 2 4
Ridge and Valley................................................ .............. 1 1
Southeastern Plains............................................. 1 1 2
Southwestern Appalachians *..................................... 10 6 16
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* At least two of the resilient populations in the Southwestern Appalachians should be located in Georgia or
Alabama to ensure representation in the southern portion of the ecoregion.
[[Page 31728]]
2. Written management agreements have been reached with partners/
landowners that allow for sustained monitoring and management of white
fringeless orchid populations that demonstrate moderate to very high
resilience (addresses Factor A).
3. The species could be considered for delisting if 40 populations
with resilience levels of moderate to very high (as described in the
SSA), protected or unprotected, are distributed among the EPA Level III
Ecoregions where the species occurs. At least half of these populations
must have resilience levels of high or very high (addresses Factor A
and E).
Request for Public Comments
We request written comments on the draft recovery plan. We will
consider all comments we receive by the date specified in DATES prior
to final approval of the plan.
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
The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Leopoldo Miranda-Castro,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-12455 Filed 6-14-21; 8:45 am]
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