[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 146 (Tuesday, August 3, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41742-41743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16247]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2021-0012; FF09E21000 FXES11110900000 212]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month
Determination on a Petition To Revise Critical Habitat for the Mount
Graham Red Squirrel
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: 12-Month determination.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
12-month determination on a petition to revise critical habitat for the
Mount Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The petition
requests that the Service expand the subspecies' critical habitat
designation to include currently occupied mixed conifer habitat and all
historically occupied habitat outside the current critical habitat
designation. Our 12-month determination is that we intend to assess
revisions to the subspecies' critical habitat after a species status
assessment and revised recovery plan for the Mount Graham red squirrel
are completed.
DATES: The determination announced in this document was made on August
3, 2021.
ADDRESSES: This determination is available on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2021-0012. Information and
supporting documentation that we received and used in preparing this
finding is available for public inspection pursuant to current COVID-19
restrictions. You may contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, Tucson Sub-Office, 201 N
Bonita, Suite 141, Tucson, AZ 85745 for further information about these
restrictions. Please submit any new information, materials, comments,
or questions concerning this finding to the above mailing address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, Attn: Jeff Humphrey, to the
mailing address in ADDRESSES, telephone: 602-242-0210, or email:
incomingazcorr@fws.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(D)(ii) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) states
that within 12 months after receiving a petition to revise a critical
habitat designation that is found to present substantial information
indicating that the requested revision may be warranted, the Secretary
will determine how he or she intends to proceed with the requested
revision, and will promptly publish notice of such intention in the
Federal Register.
Previous Federal Actions
On June 3, 1987, we published in the Federal Register (52 FR 20994)
a final rule listing the Mount Graham red squirrel (red squirrel) as an
endangered subspecies of the red squirrel, or pine squirrel (T.
hudsonicus species account: Steele 1998, p. 1), pursuant to the Act. We
concluded that the Mount Graham red squirrel was endangered because its
range and habitat had been reduced and its habitat was at risk due to a
number of factors, including the proposed construction of an
astrophysical observatory, occurrences of forest fires, proposed
construction and improvement of roads, and recreational development at
high elevations. The rule concluded that red squirrels might also
suffer due to resource competition with the introduced Abert's, or
tassel-eared, squirrel (Sciurus aberti).
On January 5, 1990, we published in the Federal Register (55 FR
425) a final rule designating approximately 769 hectares (ha) (1,900
acres (ac)) in three separate units as critical habitat for the Mount
Graham red squirrel. Critical habitat encompasses the Mount Graham Red
Squirrel Refugium, which resulted from a July 1988 biological opinion
and subsequent Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-696,
November 18, 1988), on Hawk and Plain View peaks (about 688 ha (1,700
ac)), as well as areas outside the Refugium on Heliograph and Webb
Peaks (about 81 ha (200 ac)). The main attribute of critical habitat at
that time was existing dense stands of mature (about 300 years old)
spruce-fir forest, which has since been damaged by drought, insects,
wildfire, and associated wildfire-suppression activities.
On January 11, 2006, we initiated a 5-year review of the Mt. Graham
red squirrel (71 FR 1765); that 5-year review was completed on January
15, 2008. On May 27, 2011, we announced the availability of, and
requested public comments on, a draft recovery plan, first revision,
for the Mount Graham red squirrel (76 FR 30957).
Petition History
On December 14, 2017, we received a petition from the Center for
Biological Diversity, Maricopa Audubon Society, and the Mount Graham
Coalition requesting that critical habitat for the Mount Graham red
squirrel be revised under the Act, on an emergency basis. The petition
requests that the Service expand the subspecies' critical habitat
designation to include currently occupied mixed conifer habitat and all
historically occupied habitat outside the current critical habitat
designation. In general, the petitioners recommend expanding the
current designation of critical habitat to include mixed conifer and
spruce-fir forest above 7,500 feet (ft) (2,286 meters (m)), including
specific areas currently occupied by the Mount Graham red squirrel at
Grant Hill, Riggs Lake, Turkey Flat, and Columbine. The petition
clearly identified itself as such and included the requisite
identification information for the petitioners, required at 50 CFR
424.14(c). Because the Act does not provide for petitions to revise
critical habitat in an emergency, we considered it as a petition to
revise critical habitat for the red squirrel.
We published our 90-day finding on the petition to revise critical
habitat for the Mount Graham red squirrel on September 6, 2019 (84 FR
46927). We determined that the petition presented substantial
scientific information indicating that revising critical habitat for
the Mount Graham red squirrel under the Act may be warranted, thus
initiating the review that led to this 12-month determination.
This 12-month determination addresses the petition's request to
revise the Mount Graham red squirrel's currently designated critical
habitat.
Species Information
Mount Graham red squirrels are found only in the high-elevation
forests of the Pinale[ntilde]o Mountains in the Safford Ranger District
of the Coronado National Forest in southeastern Arizona. The subspecies
inhabits upper elevation, mature to old-growth associations in mixed
conifer and spruce-fir forests above approximately 7,500 ft (2,286 m).
Mount Graham red squirrels are highly territorial (C.C. Smith 1968,
pp. 33-34) and create middens within their territory. The middens in
each squirrel's territory consist of piles of cone scales in which
squirrels cache live, unopened cones as a food source for over-
wintering and during times of cone
[[Page 41743]]
failure (M.C. Smith 1968, pp. 308-309; Finley 1969, all; Steele and
Koprowski 2001, p. 67). Placement of these middens tends to be on
gentler, non-southerly-facing slopes in healthier, older forested areas
with higher canopy closure, basal area, and number of large live trees
(Finley 1969, p. 237; Zugmeyer and Koprowski 2009, p. 179; Hatten 2014,
p. 111). This type of placement allows specific moisture levels to be
maintained within the midden, thereby creating prime storage conditions
for cones and other food items, such as mushrooms, acorns, and bones
(Finley 1969, p. 237; Brown 1984, pp. 66-67; USFWS 1993, pp. 5-7;
Zugmeyer and Koprowski 2009, p. 179). They also seem to prefer areas
with snags, piles and tangles of downed timber, and a higher volume of
logs that provide cover and safe travel routes, especially in winter,
when open travel across snow exposes them to increased predation, as
the species does not hibernate. Wood et al. (2007, p. 2362) determined
that midden site selection occurs not only at the microclimate level
(where conditions are appropriate for cone storage), but also on a
larger scale that encompasses other features found on the landscape,
usually in areas with a high number of healthy trees and
correspondingly high seedfall. There appears to be no differentiation
in selection of midden sites based on sex (Alanen et al. 2009, pp. 204-
205).
Within their territory, Mount Graham red squirrels build nests in
hollow trees, in hollow snags, in hollow logs, outside trees in nests
of grass or foliose lichens (called dreys or bolus nests), or in holes
in the ground (C.C. Smith 1968, p. 58; Leonard and Koprowski 2009, p.
132). Nests may be built in natural hollows or abandoned cavities made
by other animals, such as woodpeckers, and enlarged by squirrels (USFWS
1993, p. 11). Nest site selection by Mount graham red squirrels is
strongly influenced by stand composition, particularly density of
corkbark fir, mature (large) trees, and decaying logs (Merrick et al.
2007, p. 1961). The availability of larger snags and cavity-containing
trees, especially aspen, is of particular importance for this
population, as they provide preferred nesting locations (Merrick et al.
2007, p. 1961).
Critical Habitat
Current Critical Habitat Designation
On January 5, 1990, we published a final rule (55 FR 425)
designating critical habitat for the Mount Graham red squirrel as
mature spruce-fir forest in:
1. Hawk Peak-Mount Graham Area. The area above the 10,000-ft
(3,048-m) contour surrounding Hawk Peak and Plain View Peak, plus the
area above the 9,800-ft (2,987-m) contour that is south of lines
extending from the highest point of Plain View Peak eastward at 90[deg]
(from true north) and southwestward at 225[deg] (from true north).
2. Heliograph Peak Area. The area on the north-facing slope of
Heliograph Peak that is above the 9,200-ft (2,804-m) contour
surrounding Heliograph Peak and that is between a line extending at
15[deg] (from true north) from a point 160 ft (49 m) due south of the
horizontal control station on Heliograph Peak and a line extending
northwestward at 300[deg] (from true north) from that same point.
3. Webb Peak Area. The area on the east facing slope of Webb Peak
that is above the 9,700-ft (2,957-m) contour surrounding Webb Peak and
that is east of a line extending due north and south through a point
160 ft (49 m) due west of the horizontal control station on Webb Peak.
12-Month Determination
Pursuant to the provisions of the Act regarding revision of
critical habitat and petitions for revision, we now publish notice of
how we intend to proceed with the requested revision. As described
below under How the Service Intends to Proceed, we intend to assess
potential revisions to the subspecies' critical habitat after a species
status assessment (SSA) and a revision of the Mount Graham red
squirrel's recovery plan are complete.
How the Service Intends To Proceed
Section 4(b)(3)(D)(ii) of the Act states that if we find that a
petition presents substantial information indicating that a revision to
critical habitat may be warranted, then within 12 months of receiving
the petition we are to indicate how we intend to proceed with the
requested revision and promptly publish a notice of our intention in
the Federal Register. We intend that any revisions to critical habitat
for the Mount Graham red squirrel be as accurate and comprehensive as
possible. Therefore, completing the SSA and a revised recovery plan
will inform any future revisions to critical habitat for the red
squirrel. Once the SSA and revised recovery plan are complete, a
rulemaking process will be initiated if revisions to the subspecies'
critical habitat are determined to be appropriate.
The currently designated critical habitat, as well as areas that
support the subspecies 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. Actions affecting the
Mount Graham red squirrel or its designated critical habitat are
subject to the regulatory protections afforded by section 7(a)(2) of
the Act, 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.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited in this rulemaking is available
on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov and upon request from the
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Author
The primary authors of this document are the staff members of the
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Martha Williams,
Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the Delegated Authority of the
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-16247 Filed 8-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P