[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35819-35821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14464]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R6-ES-2019-N156; FXES11140600000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery
Plan for Mosquito Range Mustard
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability for review and comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of a draft recovery plan for Mosquito Range mustard, a
plant species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. We
are requesting review and comment from the public on this draft plan.
[[Page 35820]]
DATES: We must receive any comments on the draft recovery plan on or
before September 7, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
Document availability: Copies of the draft recovery plan are
available at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html.
Alternatively, you may request a copy by U.S. mail from the Western
Colorado Ecological Services Field Office; 445 W Gunnison Ave. #240;
Grand Junction, CO 81501; or by telephone at 970-243-2778. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay
Service at 800-877-8339.
Submitting comments: If you wish to comment on the draft recovery
plan, you may submit your comments in writing by email to Ann
Timberman, at ann_timberman@fws.gov, or by U.S. mail to Ann Timberman,
Western Slope Field Supervisor, at the above U.S. mail address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Timberman, Western Slope Field
Supervisor, at the above U.S. mail address or by telephone at 970-243-
2778. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call
the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce the availability of a draft recovery plan for
Mosquito Range mustard (Eutrema penlandii), a plant listed as
threatened under the Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.). The draft recovery plan includes objective, measurable
criteria, and site-specific management actions as may be necessary to
remove the species from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened
Plants. We are requesting review and comment from the public on this
draft recovery plan.
Species Information
On August 12, 1993, we listed Mosquito Range mustard as a
threatened plant (July 28, 1993; 58 FR 40539). We did not designate
critical habitat due to risk associated with vandalism.
Mosquito Range mustard is a small, herbaceous plant in the mustard
family (Brassicaceae), with white flowers and stout leaves. The species
is found in high-elevation, alpine habitats of the Mosquito Mountain
Range, in Lake, Park, and Summit Counties in central Colorado. The
Mosquito Mountain Range is one of the driest and highest elevation
mountain ranges in Colorado; therefore, temperatures are cold, winds
are strong, and winters are long. The alpine areas where Mosquito Range
mustard lives range in elevations from 3,600 to 4,050 meters (11,800 to
13,280 feet) and are generally moist, fed by melting snowbanks, and
contain a diverse and abundant moss community. Mosquito Range mustard
is found primarily on public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service
(approximately 51 percent) and the Bureau of Land Management (17
percent). Approximately 31 percent of the overall range is privately
owned, with the remaining 1 percent owned by the State of Colorado.
There is no overlap of occupied habitat with Tribal lands.
Currently, there are 26 known populations of the mosquito range
mustard, distributed across approximately 100 hectares (246 acres) of
habitat. Only 11 out of the 26 total known populations are
characterized as relatively large, with high or moderate resiliency,
each with 200 or more individuals. These 11 populations account for
over 95 percent of the known number of individuals across the species'
range and are considered to be the most resilient populations. The
remaining 15 populations have fewer than 200 individuals and are
considered to have low resiliency.
The primary threats to Mosquito Range mustard, both at the time of
listing and currently, are small and geographically isolated
populations, climate change, the inadequacy of regulatory mechanisms,
disturbances related to recreation, such as hiking, biking, camping,
and off-highway vehicle use, disturbances related to mining, and
alteration of hydrology. Please refer to our biological report for
additional discussion and full analyses of the life history, ecology,
and biological status for Mosquito Range mustard (Service 2021,
entire).
Recovery Planning Process
Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is
a primary goal of the Service's endangered species program. Recovery
means improving the status of a listed species to the point at which
listing is no longer necessary according to the criteria specified
under section 4(a)(1) of the Act. The Act requires recovery plans for
listed species unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of
a particular species. To help guide recovery efforts, we prepare
recovery plans to promote the conservation of the species.
The purpose of a recovery plan is to provide a recommended
framework for the recovery of a species so that protection of the Act
is no longer necessary. Pursuant to section 4(f) of the Act, a recovery
plan must, to the maximum extent possible, include:
(1) A description of site-specific management actions as may be
necessary to achieve the plan's goal for the conservation and survival
of the species;
(2) Objective, measurable criteria which, when met, would support a
determination under section 4(a)(1) of the Act that the species should
be removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species; and
(3) Estimates of time and costs required to carry out those
measures needed to achieve the plan's goal and to achieve intermediate
steps toward that goal.
We used our new recovery planning and implementation (RPI) process
to develop the draft recovery plan for Mosquito Range mustard. The RPI
process helps reduce the time needed to develop and implement recovery
plans, increases the relevancy of the recovery plan over longer
timeframes, and adds flexibility so that the recovery plan can be more
easily adjusted to new information and circumstances. Under our RPI
process, a recovery plan will include the three statutorily required
elements for recovery plans--objective and measurable criteria, site-
specific management actions, and estimates of time and cost--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
biological report for Mosquito Range mustard (Service 2021, entire).
The biological report is an in-depth, but not exhaustive, review of the
species' biology and threats, an evaluation of its biological status,
and an assessment of the resources and conditions needed to maintain
long-term viability. The biological report provides the scientific
background and threats assessment for Mosquito Range mustard, which are
key to the development of the recovery plan. A third, separate working
document, called the recovery implementation strategy (RIS), steps down
the more general descriptions of actions in the recovery plan to detail
the specifics needed to implement the recovery plan, which improves the
flexibility of the recovery plan. The RIS will be adaptable, with new
information on actions incorporated, as needed, without requiring a
concurrent revision to the recovery plan, unless changes to the three
statutory elements are required.
[[Page 35821]]
Draft Recovery Plan
Below, we summarize components from our draft recovery plan. Please
reference the draft recovery plan for full details.
The draft recovery plan describes the recovery goal for the
Mosquito Range mustard as its long-term viability in the wild. For
recovery, the species needs at least 11 (redundant) persistent
(resilient) populations across the species' range, where population
trends are stable or increasing and ecological and genetic diversity
are maintained (representation). This would be achieved by implementing
recovery actions, such as protecting, conserving, and monitoring known
populations, surveying for additional populations, and coordinating
with stakeholders.
The draft recovery plan includes recovery criteria for delisting.
The delisting criteria include:
(1) Maintaining population trends for the Mosquito Range mustard
that are stable or increasing, according to objective measures that are
described in the draft recovery plan; and
(2) Maintaining existing regulatory mechanisms or other
conservation plans that currently provide protections for Mosquito
Range mustard and including protections in any new or amended land
management plans on Federal lands.
Peer Review
In accordance with our July 1, 1994, peer review policy (59 FR
34270; July 1, 1994); our August 22, 2016, Director's Memo on the Peer
Review Process; and the Office of Management and Budget's December 16,
2004, Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review (revised June
2012), we will seek the expert opinion of at least three appropriate
and independent specialists regarding scientific data and
interpretations contained in the species biological report and the
draft recovery plan. We will send copies of both documents to the peer
reviewers immediately following publication of this notice in the
Federal Register. We will ensure that the opinions of peer reviewers
are objective and unbiased by following the guidelines set forth in the
Director's Memo, which updates and clarifies Service policy on peer
review (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2016). The purpose of such
review is to ensure that our decisions are based on scientifically
sound data, assumptions, and analysis. Accordingly, our final species
biological report and recovery plan may differ from the draft
documents. We will post the results of this structured peer review
process on our website at https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/science/peerReview.php. We also submitted our biological report to our Federal
and State partners for their scientific review. The biological report
is the scientific foundation for the draft recovery plan.
Request for Public Comments
All comments we receive by the date specified (see DATES) will be
considered prior to approval of the recovery plan. Written comments and
materials regarding the recovery plan should be sent via one of the
means in the ADDRESSES section.
We will consider all information we receive during the public
comment period, and particularly look for comments that provide
scientific rationale or factual background. The Service and other
Federal agencies and partners will take these comments into
consideration in the course of implementing an approved final recovery
plan. We are specifically seeking comments and suggestions on the
following questions:
Understanding that the time and cost presented in the
draft recovery plan will be fine-tuned when localized recovery
implementation strategies are developed, do you think that the
estimated time and cost to recovery are realistic? Is the estimate
reflective of the time and cost of actions that may have already been
implemented by Federal, State, county, or other agencies? Please
provide suggestions or methods for determining a more accurate
estimation.
Do the draft recovery criteria provide clear direction to
partners on what is needed to recover Mosquito Range mustard? How could
they be improved for clarity?
Are the draft recovery criteria both objective and
measurable given the information available for Mosquito Range mustard
now and into the future? Please provide suggestions.
Understanding that specific, detailed, and area-specific
recovery actions will be developed in the RIS, do you think that the
draft recovery actions presented in the draft recovery plan generally
cover the types of actions necessary to meet the recovery criteria? If
not, what general actions are missing? Are any of the draft recovery
actions unnecessary for achieving recovery? Have we prioritized the
actions appropriately?
Public Availability of Comments
We will summarize and respond to the issues raised by the public in
an appendix to the approved final recovery 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. You may request at the top of your
comment that we withhold this information from public review; however,
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).
Matthew Hogan,
Deputy Regional Director, Lakewood, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 2021-14464 Filed 7-6-21; 8:45 am]
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