[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 125 (Wednesday, June 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38203-38204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16379]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2011-N092; 10120-1113-0000-C2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Amendment to the
Draft Recovery Plan for the Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment
of the Pygmy Rabbit
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of an amendment to the Draft Recovery Plan for the
Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Pygmy Rabbit
(Brachylagus idahoensis) for public review and comment. This amendment
updates the recovery strategies and objectives that were developed in
the 2007 Draft Recovery Plan, based on new information about genetics,
disease risk, and habitat associations of the species.
DATES: We must receive any comments on the amendment to the draft
recovery plan on or before August 29, 2011.
ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the draft recovery plan amendment is
available at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html
and http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/plans.html. Copies of the draft recovery
[[Page 38204]]
plan amendment are also available by request from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Eastern Washington Field Office, 11103 E. Montgomery
Drive, Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (telephone: 509-891-6839). Written
comments and materials regarding this draft recovery plan amendment
should be addressed to the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Warren, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by writing to the above address, by calling 509-893-8020, or
by electronic mail at: chris_warren@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants is a
primary goal of our endangered species program and the Endangered
Species Act (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 appropriate under the criteria set out 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. Recovery plans help guide conservation efforts by
describing actions considered necessary for the recovery of the
species, establishing criteria for downlisting or delisting listed
species, and estimating time and cost for implementing the measures
needed for recovery. Section 4(f) of the Act requires that public
notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be provided
during recovery plan development. A draft recovery plan for the
Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit was made available for public comment from
September 7 to November 6, 2007 (72 FR 51461). The recovery plan has
not yet been finalized; because new scientific information has
substantially changed our recommended recovery strategy, we are now
publishing this amendment to the draft recovery plan for additional
public comment before we prepare a final recovery plan.
We will consider all comments we receive during the public comment
period. Substantive comments may or may not result in changes to the
recovery plan; comments regarding recovery plan implementation will be
forwarded to appropriate Federal or other entities so that they can
take them into account during the course of implementing recovery
actions. Responses to individual commenters will not be provided, but
we will provide a summary of how we addressed substantive comments in
an appendix to the final recovery plan.
Pygmy rabbits are typically found in habitat types that include
tall, dense stands of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), on which they are
highly dependent for both food and shelter throughout the year.
Historically, pygmy rabbits were found throughout the semi-arid
sagebrush steppe biome of the Great Basin and adjacent intermountain
regions of the western United States, including portions of Oregon,
California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Washington. The
population within the Columbia Basin of central Washington is disjunct
from the remainder of the species' range. Museum specimens and sighting
records indicate that during the first half of the 20th century, the
Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit likely occurred in portions of six
Washington counties: Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Adams, Franklin, and
Benton. This range declined due to large-scale loss and fragmentation
of native shrub-steppe habitats, primarily for agricultural
development, and by the late 1980s it was known only from southern
Douglas County. We listed the Columbia Basin distinct population
segment of the pygmy rabbit under emergency provisions of the Act on
November 30, 2001 (66 FR 59734), and fully listed it as endangered on
March 5, 2003 (68 FR 10388).
The last known wild population of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit
was extirpated in 2004, and an experimental release of 20 captive
individuals in 2007 failed. The remaining captive population is derived
from controlled intercross breeding between Columbia Basin individuals
and pygmy rabbits of the same taxonomic classification from Idaho, and
currently comprises 92 individuals averaging 65 percent Columbia Basin
ancestry. The condition of the captive population has deteriorated in
recent years due to poor reproductive success, soil-borne diseases,
habituation to captive conditions, and genetic bottlenecks. The
prospects for long-term viability of the population in captivity are
considered poor. The recovery plan amendment recommends that, to
effectively reintroduce captive rabbits to the wild, 100 to 200 rabbits
should be released annually for up to 3 years; this program will
include supplementation of the captive pygmy rabbits with wild pygmy
rabbits translocated from outside of the Columbia Basin. The amendment
also recommends surveys of suitable habitat within the Columbia Basin
to locate undiscovered populations of wild Columbia Basin pygmy
rabbits.
Public Comments Solicited
We solicit written comments on the amendment to the draft recovery
plan described in this notice. All comments received by the date
specified above will be considered in development of a final recovery
plan for the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit.
Authority: The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the
Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Dated: June 8, 2011.
Theresa E. Rabot,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-16379 Filed 6-28-11; 8:45 am]
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