[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 7, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18709-18739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07625]
[[Page 18709]]
Vol. 80
Tuesday,
No. 66
April 7, 2015
Part II
Department of the Interior
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Fish and Wildlife Service
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50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species
Status for the Big Sandy Crayfish and the Guyandotte River Crayfish;
Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 80 , No. 66 / Tuesday, April 7, 2015 /
Proposed Rules
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2015-0015; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-BA85
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species
Status for the Big Sandy Crayfish and the Guyandotte River Crayfish
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; 12-month finding and status review.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
12-month finding on a petition to list the Big Sandy crayfish (known at
the time of the petition as Cambarus veteranus, but now known as two
distinct species: Guyandotte River crayfish, C. veteranus, and Big
Sandy crayfish, C. callainus) as endangered or threatened under the
Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act), and to designate critical
habitat. After review of the best available scientific and commercial
information, we find that listing the Big Sandy crayfish and the
Guyandotte River crayfish is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list
both the Big Sandy crayfish (C. callainus), a freshwater crustacean
from Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the Guyandotte River
crayfish (C. veteranus), a freshwater crustacean from West Virginia, as
endangered species under the Act. If we finalize this rule as proposed,
it would extend the Act's protections to both species and would add
both species to the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.
The Service seeks data and comments from the public on this proposed
listing rule.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before June
8, 2015. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59
p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. We must receive requests for
public hearings, in writing, at the address shown in FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT by May 22, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R5-ES-2015-0015,
which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Then, in the Search
panel on the left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading,
click on the Proposed Rules link to locate this document. You may
submit a comment by clicking on ``Comment Now!''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R5-ES-2015-0015; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see Public Comments below for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin Miller, Chief, Endangered
Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Regional Office, 300
Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035; telephone 413-253-8615;
facsimile 413-253-8482. Persons who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Summary
Why we need to publish a rule. Under the Act, if we find that a
species may be an endangered or threatened species throughout all or a
significant portion of its range, we are required to promptly publish a
proposed rule to list the species in the Federal Register and make a
final determination on our proposal within 1 year. Critical habitat
shall be designated, to the maximum extent prudent and determinable,
for any species determined to be an endangered or threatened species
under the Act. Listing a species as an endangered or threatened species
and designations and revisions of critical habitat can only be
completed by issuing a rule.
This document consists of:
Our 12-month finding that listing is warranted for the
petitioned Big Sandy crayfish.
Our status review finding that listing is warranted for
the nonpetitioned Guyandotte River crayfish.
A proposed rule to list the Big Sandy crayfish (Cambarus
callainus) and the Guyandotte River crayfish (C. veteranus) as
endangered species.
The basis for our action. Under the Act, we may determine that a
species is an endangered or threatened species based on any of five
factors: (A) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or
curtailment of its habitat or range; (B) overutilization for
commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (C)
disease or predation; (D) the inadequacy of existing regulatory
mechanisms; or (E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its
continued existence. We have determined that the Big Sandy crayfish and
Guyandotte River crayfish are in danger of extinction primarily due to
the threats of land-disturbing activities that increase erosion and
sedimentation, which degrades the stream habitat required by both
species (Factor A), and the effects of small population size (Factor
E).
We will seek peer review. We will seek comments from independent
specialists to ensure that our listing determination is based on
scientifically sound data, assumptions, and analyses. We will invite
these peer reviewers to comment on our listing proposal. Because we
will consider all comments and information we receive during the
comment period, our final determinations may differ from this proposal.
Information Requested
Public Comments
We intend that any final action resulting from this proposed rule
will be based on the best scientific and commercial data available and
be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, we request
comments or information from other concerned governmental agencies,
Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry, or any
other interested parties concerning this proposed rule. We particularly
seek comments concerning:
(1) The Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes' biology, ranges,
and population trends, including:
(a) Biological or ecological requirements of these species,
including habitat requirements for feeding, breeding, and sheltering.
(b) Genetics and taxonomy.
(c) Historical and current ranges, including distribution and
abundance patterns, and quantitative evidence of the species'
occurrence, especially in lower elevation sites within the known
watersheds.
(d) Historical and current population levels and current and
projected population trends.
(e) Past and ongoing conservation measures for these species, their
habitats, or both.
(2) Factors that may affect the continued existence of these
species, which may include habitat modification or destruction,
overutilization, disease, predation, the inadequacy of existing
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regulatory mechanisms, or other natural or manmade factors.
Particularly:
(a) Information regarding current conditions and future trends of
managing residential and commercial wastewater and how those conditions
and trends may affect the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes.
(b) Information on total number of stream miles monitored within
the Big Sandy and Upper Guyandotte watershed for compliance with Clean
Water Act of 1977 (CWA; 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
(c) Quantitative water quality parameters (e.g., conductivity) at
historical and current Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfish
occurrence and sampling sites.
(d) Trends in Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfish population
estimates or abundance as it relates to water quality parameters.
(3) Biological, commercial trade, or other relevant data concerning
any threats (or lack thereof) to these species and existing regulations
that may be addressing those threats.
(4) Additional information concerning the historical and current
status, range, distribution and abundance, and population size of each
of these species, including the locations and habitat conditions of any
additional populations.
(5) Information concerning dispersal mechanisms and distances for
these species.
(6) Locations of likely suitable habitat where previously unknown
populations of either species may occur.
(7) Information related to climate change within the ranges of the
Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfish and how it may affect the
species' habitat.
(8) The reasons why areas should or should not be designated as
critical habitat as provided by section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), including the possible risks associated with publication of maps
designating any area on which these species may be located, now or in
the future, as critical habitat.
(9) The following specific information on:
(a) The amount and distribution of habitat for the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes.
(b) What areas, that are currently occupied and that contain the
physical and biological features essential to the conservation of these
species, should be included in a critical habitat designation and why.
(c) Special management considerations or protection that may be
needed for the essential features in potential critical habitat area,
including managing for the potential effects of climate change.
(d) What areas not occupied at the time of listing are essential
for the conservation of these species and why.
Please include sufficient information with your submission (such as
scientific journal articles or other publications) to allow us to
verify any scientific or commercial information you include.
Please note that submissions merely stating support for or
opposition to the action under consideration without providing
supporting information, although noted, will not be considered in
making a determination, as section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs that
determinations as to whether any species is an endangered or threatened
species must be made ``solely on the basis of the best scientific and
commercial data available.''
You may submit your comments and materials concerning this proposed
rule by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We request
that you send comments only by the methods described in the ADDRESSES
section.
If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will
be posted on the Web site. If your submission is made via a hardcopy
that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the
top of your document that we withhold this information from public
review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We
will post all hardcopy submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing this proposed rule, will be
available for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by
appointment, during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Northeast Regional Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Public Hearing
Section 4(b)(5) of the Act provides for one or more public hearings
on this proposal, if requested. Requests for a public hearing must be
received within 45 days after the date of publication of this proposed
rule in the Federal Register. Such requests must be sent to the address
shown in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. We will schedule
public hearings on this proposal, if any are requested, and announce
the dates, times, and places of those hearings, as well as how to
obtain reasonable accommodations, in the Federal Register and local
newspapers at least 15 days before the hearing.
Peer Review
In accordance with our joint policy on peer review published in the
Federal Register on July 1, 1994 (59 FR 34270), we will seek the expert
opinions of three appropriate and independent specialists regarding
this proposed rule. The purpose of peer review is to ensure that our
listing determination is based on scientifically sound data,
assumptions, and analyses. The peer reviewers have expertise in
freshwater crayfish biology, habitat, or stressors to crayfish and
their habitat. We will invite comment from the peer reviewers during
this public comment period.
Previous Federal Action
We identified the Big Sandy crayfish, then known as Cambarus
veteranus, as a Category 2 species in the November 21, 1991, notice of
review titled Animal Candidate Review for Listing as Endangered or
Threatened Species (56 FR 58804). Category 2 candidates were defined as
species for which we had information that proposed listing was possibly
appropriate, but conclusive data on biological vulnerability and
threats were not available to support a proposed rule at the time. The
species remained a Category 2 species in our November 15, 1994,
candidate notice of review (59 FR 58982). In the February 28, 1996,
candidate notice of review (61 FR 7596), we discontinued the
designation of Category 2 species as candidates; therefore, the Big
Sandy crayfish was no longer a candidate species.
In 2010, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) petitioned the
Service to list 404 aquatic, riparian, and wetland species from the
southeastern United States under the Act. On September 27, 2011, the
Service published a substantial 90-day finding for 374 of the 404
species, including what was then known as the Big Sandy crayfish
(Cambarus veteranus), soliciting information about, and initiating
status reviews for, those species (76 FR 59836). In 2012, CBD filed a
complaint against the Service for failure to complete a 12-month
finding for the Big Sandy crayfish within the statutory timeframe. In
2013, the Service entered into a settlement agreement with CBD to
address the complaint; the court-approved settlement agreement
specified a 12-month finding for the Big Sandy crayfish would be
delivered to the Federal Register by April 1, 2015.
Since the settlement agreement, we received information indicating
that the Big Sandy crayfish is two separate species (see the Taxonomy
section, below): the Big Sandy crayfish
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(Cambarus callainus) and the Guyandotte River crayfish (C. veteranus).
Although the settlement agreement specified that we must make a 12-
month finding for C. veteranus, the Service chose to conduct a status
review, and subsequently prepare a proposed listing rule, for both C.
veteranus and C. callainus. As discussed below, we will propose to
designate critical habitat for the Big Sandy crayfish and Guyandotte
River crayfish under the Act in the near future.
Background
Taxonomy
The crayfish subspecies Cambarus bartonii veteranus was first
described in 1914 by Faxon (1914, pp. 389-390) from specimens collected
from Indian Creek in Wyoming County, West Virginia, in 1900. Hobbs
(1955, p. 330) later elevated the taxon to species-level, referring to
the animal as Cambarus veteranus. In 1969, Hobbs described several new
Cambarus subgenera and reclassified the species as C. (Puncticambarus)
veteranus (Hobbs 1969, p. 102).
From the late 20th century until 2011, Cambarus veteranus was
thought to occur in two disjunct river systems, the Upper Guyandotte
basin in West Virginia, from where it was originally described, and the
upper tributaries of the Big Sandy basin in eastern Kentucky,
southwestern Virginia, and southern West Virginia, from where it has
been known since 1989 (Hobbs 1989, pp. 27-28). In 2011, a genetic
comparison of extant specimens from the Upper Guyandotte and Big Sandy
populations found significant genetic divergence between the two
populations, indicative of possible species-level differences (Fetzner
2011, pp. 8-10, 25). Later, Thoma et al. (2014, entire) conducted the
first physical comparison of all known, intact, museum specimens (292
specimens from the Big Sandy basin and 32 from the Upper Guyandotte)
and noted significant morphological characteristics that distinguish
the two populations. Based on the previous genetic evidence and the
diagnostic morphological differences noted between specimens from the
two river basins, Thoma et al. (2014, entire) recommended that the Big
Sandy basin population be recognized as a new species, Cambarus
(Puncticambarus) callainus.
We have carefully reviewed the peer-reviewed genetic and taxonomic
information referenced above and conclude that the crayfish from the
Big Sandy basin formerly thought to be Cambarus veteranus is a new,
valid taxon, Cambarus callainus. The crayfish native to the Upper
Guyandotte basin remains C. veteranus because the scientific name is
linked with the type specimen. Additionally, Thoma et al. (2014, p.
551) proposed the common name ``Big Sandy crayfish'' be allied to the
newly recognized species C. callainus, and that C. veteranus, which is
endemic to the Upper Guyandotte system, be referred to as the
``Guyandotte River crayfish.'' We will follow this naming convention
herein and for clarity ascribe the appropriate species and common names
when discussing information from older studies that did not distinguish
between the two species.
Species Description
Cambarus callainus, the Big Sandy crayfish, and C. veteranus, the
Guyandotte River crayfish, are freshwater, tertiary burrowing
crustaceans of the Cambaridae family. Tertiary burrowing crayfish do
not exhibit complex burrowing behavior; instead, they shelter in
shallow excavations under loose cobbles and boulders on the stream
bottom. The two species are closely related and share many basic
physical characteristics. Adult body lengths range from 75.7 to 101.6
millimeters (mm) (3.0 to 4.0 inches (in)), and the cephalothorax (main
body section) is streamlined and elongate, and has two well-defined
cervical spines. The elongate convergent rostrum (the beak-like shell
extension located between the crayfish's eyes) lacks spines or
tubercles (bumps). The gonopods (modified legs used for reproductive
purposes) of Form I males (those in the breeding stage) are bent 90
degrees to the gonopod shaft (Loughman 2014, p. 1). Diagnostic
characteristics that distinguish the Big Sandy crayfish from the
Guyandotte River crayfish include the former's narrower, more elongate
rostrum; narrower, more elongate chelea (claw); and lack of a well-
pronounced lateral impression at the base of the claw's immovable
finger (Thoma et al. 2014, p. 551).
Carapace (shell) coloration ranges from olive brown to light green,
and the cervical groove is outlined in light blue, aqua, or turquoise.
The rostral margins and post orbital (behind the eye) ridges are
crimson red. The abdominal terga (dorsal plates covering the crayfish's
abdomen) range from olive brown to light brown to light green and are
outlined in red. The walking legs of the Guyandotte River crayfish are
blue, while those of the Big Sandy crayfish range from light green to
green blue to green. Chelae of the Guyandotte River crayfish range from
blue green to light blue, while those of the Big Sandy crayfish are
usually aqua but sometimes green blue to blue (Loughman 2014, p. 1-2;
Thoma et al. 2014, p. 547).
Life History and Habitat
Reproduction
Thoma (2009, entire; 2010, entire) reported demographic and life-
history observations for the Big Sandy crayfish in Virginia and
Kentucky. Based on these observations and professional expertise, he
concluded that the general life cycle pattern of the species is 2 to 3
years of growth, maturation in the third year, and first mating in
midsummer of the third or fourth year. Following midsummer mating, the
annual cycle involves egg laying in late summer or fall, spring release
of young, and late spring/early summer molting. He hypothesized the
likely lifespan of the Big Sandy crayfish to be 5 to 7 years, with the
possibility of some individuals reaching 10 years of age. Of 60 Big
Sandy crayfish juvenile and adult specimens collected, Loughman (2014,
p. 20) noted 5 total carapace length (TCL) size cohorts--8.0 to 19.0 mm
(0.31 to 0.75 in); 32.0 to 35.0 mm (1.26 to 1.38 in); 36.0 to 43.0 mm
(1.42 to 1.69 in); 44.0 to 49.0 mm (1.73 to 1.93 in); and 51.0 to 53.0
mm (2.01 to 2.09 in), indicating at least 6 molts likely occurred over
an individual's lifetime after the first year of life. The smallest
Form I male was 25.1 mm (0.99 in) TCL; the smallest ovigerous (egg-
carrying) female was 42.0 mm (1.65 in) TCL.
In Virginia, Thoma (2009, p. 4) reported the presence of males,
females, and juveniles during all months sampled (March and May through
October). The author noted Form I males and females cohabiting under
rocks in July, presumably in some stage of mating, with ovigerous
females reported in July, August, and October and females carrying
instars (larval crayfish) in September, October, and March (the March
observation indicating that late spawning females may overwinter with
instars attached). Two ovigerous females with TCLs of 42 mm (1.65 in)
and 46 mm (1.81 in) were observed with 90 and 142 eggs, respectively
(Thoma 2009, p. 4). Thoma (2010, pp. 3, 5) reported males, females, and
juveniles in both months sampled (July and September) in Kentucky, with
ovigerous females reported in September.
There is less information available specific to the life history of
the Guyandotte River crayfish, but based on other shared
characteristics with the Big Sandy crayfish, we conclude the life span
and age to maturity are similar.
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Jezerinac et al. (1995, p. 170) noted demographic information for the
species in the months surveyed (April and June through September),
reporting that Form II (the nonreproductive phase) males were present
in all months sampled and were the dominant demographic. Form I males
were found in April, July, and August. No ovigerous females were
collected by Jezerinac et al. (1995, entire); however, Loughman (2014,
p. 20) collected a female in June 2009, and maintained the specimen
live in the laboratory. It extruded eggs the following month. Loughman
also noted females carrying instars in March, just as Thoma (2009, p.
4) had reported for some Big Sandy crayfish females. Loughman also
observed that females carrying instars sought out slab boulders in
loose, depositional sands and silts in stream reaches with slower
velocities (Loughman 2014, p. 20). Loughman examined all known
Guyandotte River crayfish museum specimens (n=41) and determined five
TCL size cohorts--13 to 17 mm (0.51 to 0.67 in); 22 to 23 mm (0.87 to
0.91 in); 28 to 32 mm (1.10 to 1.26 in); 34 to 38 mm (1.34 to 1.50 in);
and 42 to 49 mm (1.65 to 1.93 in), with a mean TCL of 31.0 mm (1.22 in)
(Loughman 2014, p. 20).
Diet
Thoma (2009, pp. 3, 13) conducted a feeding study using 10 Big
Sandy crayfishes collected from Virginia. Each animal was offered a
variety of food items, and observations were made daily to monitor
consumption. The test period was 1 week, and each animal was tested
twice. The food items offered represented the following broad
categories: insect, fish, worm, crayfish, root, nut, herbaceous plant,
fruit, and leaf litter. Results indicated that the Big Sandy crayfish
had a preference for animal tissue. In each test, animal matter was
always consumed first; however, plant material was at least partially
consumed in most trials. Thoma concluded that the species was best
classified as a carnivore (Thoma 2009, p. 13). However, Loughman (2014,
p. 21) reviewed field studies of other tertiary burrowing Cambarus
species, which indicated that crayfish filling the ecological niche
similar to that of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfish
functioned as opportunistic omnivores, with seasonal-mediated
tendencies for animal or plant material. Loughman (2014, p. 20)
concluded that under natural conditions the Big Sandy and Guyandotte
River crayfish likely exhibit similar omnivorous tendencies.
Habitat
Habitat requirements for these two closely related species appear
to be similar in their respective, separate river basins. The Big Sandy
crayfish is known only from the Big Sandy River basin in eastern
Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and southern West Virginia; the
Guyandotte River crayfish is known only from the Guyandotte River basin
in southern West Virginia (Figure 1). Both the Big Sandy and the
Guyandotte Rivers flow in a northerly direction where they each join
the Ohio River.
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Both river basins are in the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic
province, which in this region is characterized by rugged, mountainous
terrain with steep hills and ridges dissected by a network of deeply
incised valleys (Ehlke et al. 1982, pp. 4, 8; Kiesler et al. 1983, p.
8). Geologically, the area is underlain primarily by
[[Page 18714]]
sandstones, siltstones, shales, and coals (Ehlke et al. 1982, p. 1;
Kiesler et al. 1983, p. 8). The dominant land cover in the two basins
is forest, with the natural vegetation community being characterized as
mixed mesophytic (moderately moist) forest and Appalachian oak forest
(McNab and Avers 1996, section 221E).
Suitable instream habitat for both species is generally described
as clean, third order or larger (width of 4 to 20 meters (m) (13 to 66
feet (ft))), fast-flowing, permanent streams and rivers with unembedded
slab boulders on a bedrock, cobble, or sand substrate (Channell 2004,
pp. 21-23; Jezerinac et al. 1995, p. 171; Loughman 2013, p. 1; Loughman
2014, pp. 22-23; Taylor and Shuster 2004, p. 124; Thoma 2009, p. 7;
Thoma 2010, pp. 3-4, 6). Jezerinac et al. (1995, p. 170) found that
specimens were more abundant in pools with current than in riffles.
Loughman (2013, p. 1; Loughman and Welsh 2013, p. 23) noted that all
historical Guyandotte River crayfish locations originally maintained
rocky substrates with abundant slabs and boulders, which is supported
by the watershed's geomorphology and available habitat descriptions
from early survey efforts. Loughman (2013, p. 2) characterized the
Guyandotte River crayfish as ``a habitat specialist primarily
associated with slab boulders in the immediate up and downstream
margins of fast moving riffles.'' However, some information indicates
adult and juvenile Big Sandy crayfish, and presumably Guyandotte River
crayfish, may use different microhabitats within the more generalized
stream parameters described above. In Dry Fork (upper Tug Fork
drainage, McDowell County, West Virginia), a stream described as having
characteristics approaching those of a headwater stream, lacking both
fast velocity and deep riffles (Loughman 2014, pp. 9-11), adult Big
Sandy crayfish specimens were captured from under slab boulders in the
midchannel, fast-moving waters of riffles and runs, while juvenile Big
Sandy crayfish were limited to smaller cobbles and boulders in the
shallow, slower velocity waters near stream banks. Loughman (2014, pp.
9-11) notes that this habitat partitioning between age classes has been
observed in other Cambarus species.
Jezerinac et al. (1995, p. 170) noted that all occurrences of the
Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes occurred above 457 m (1,500
ft) elevation. However, our analyses of both species' location data
(both pre- and post-Jezerinac et al. 1995) show that all known
occurrences of the Big Sandy crayfish occurred from about 180 to 500 m
(600 to 1,640 ft) elevation, and all known occurrences of the
Guyandotte River crayfish occurred from about 230 to 520 m (750 to
1,700 ft) elevation.
Both species also appear to be intolerant of excessive
sedimentation and other pollutants. This statement is based on observed
habitat characteristics from sites that either formerly supported
either the Big Sandy or Guyandotte River crayfish or from sites within
either of the species' historical ranges that were predicted to be
suitable for the species, but where neither of the species (and in some
cases no crayfish from any species) were observed (Channell 2004, pp.
22-23; Jezerinac et al. 1995, p. 171; Loughman 2013, p. 6; Thoma 2009,
p. 7; Thoma 2010, pp. 3-4). See Summary of Factors Affecting the
Species for additional information.
Summary of Habitat--Suitable habitat for both the Big Sandy
crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish appears to be limited to
higher elevation, clean, medium-sized streams and rivers in the upper
reaches of the Big Sandy and Upper Guyandotte basins, respectively.
Both species are associated with the faster moving water of riffles and
runs or pools with current. An important habitat feature for both
species is an abundance of large, unembedded slab boulders on a sand,
cobble, or bedrock stream bottom. Excessive sedimentation appears to
create unsuitable conditions for both the Big Sandy and the Guyandotte
River crayfishes.
Species Distribution and Status
Historical Range and Distribution
Results from multiple crayfish surveys dating back to 1900 and a
2014 examination of all existing museum specimens indicate that the
historical range of the Guyandotte River crayfish is limited to the
Upper Guyandotte River basin in West Virginia and that the historical
range of the Big Sandy crayfish is limited to the upper Big Sandy River
basin in eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia, and southern West
Virginia. Within these larger river basins, the two species were
apparently more narrowly distributed to certain stream reaches that
exhibited the habitat characteristics required by the species, as
discussed in the previous section. Evidence of each species' historical
distribution is presented below.
Guyandotte River crayfish--Specimens collected from Indian Creek in
the Upper Guyandotte basin in Wyoming County, West Virginia, in 1900
were the basis for the Guyandotte River crayfish's initial description
(Faxon 1914, pp. 389-390), and additional collections in the basin in
1947, 1953, and 1971 confirmed the species' presence in Wyoming County
and added a new record in Logan County, West Virginia (Jezerinac et al.
1995, p. 170; Loughman 2014, p.5). From 1987 to 1989, Jezerinac et al.
(1995, p. 170) conducted a Statewide survey of the crayfish of West
Virginia, and devoted considerable sampling effort to the Upper
Guyandotte basin (Logan, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming Counties, West
Virginia). Jezerinac et al. (1995, p. 170) sampled 13 of the 15 known
Guyandotte River crayfish locations (as well as 42 other potentially
suitable sites) in the Upper Guyandotte basin and documented the
species at only two of the known historical locations (a single Wyoming
County site and the Logan County site) and reported a new occurrence in
Wyoming County (Jezerinac et al. 1995, p. 170). A 2001 survey of the 15
historical locations in the Upper Guyandotte system failed to locate
the species at any site (Channell 2004, pp. 16-21; Jones et al. 2010
entire).
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Big Sandy crayfish--Records of the Big Sandy crayfish in the
Virginia portions of the Big Sandy basin date to 1937, with a specimen
collected from the Russell Fork drainage in Dickenson County. A series
of surveys conducted in 1950 confirmed the species' presence in
Dickenson County and added an occurrence in Buchanan County, Virginia.
Surveys in 1998-99 collected specimens from several locations in
Dickenson County and added a new occurrence record for Buchanan County
(Loughman 2014, pp. 14-15). In 2001, Channell (2004, pp. 21-23)
confirmed the presence of the species in the Levisa Fork drainage in
Buchanan and Dickenson Counties.
Prior to Thoma (2009, entire), little information exists regarding
the species' status in Kentucky. The earliest reference of the species
was Hobbs (1969, pp. 134-135), who provided no specific collection
records but did provide a shaded range map including portions of the
Levisa Fork, Russell Fork, and Tug Fork basins as part of the species'
range. A survey of the region by the U.S. National Museum in 1972-74
did not record the species' presence (Loughman 2014, p. 11). The first
confirmed specimens from Kentucky were collected in 1991, from two
locations in the Russell Fork in Pike County, and in 1998, another
survey confirmed the species' presence in this river (Loughman 2014, p.
11). In 1999, the species was found in the Levisa Fork in Floyd County,
and in 2002, the species was found in Knox Creek (Tug Fork drainage) in
Pike County (Loughman 2014, p. 11). Based on his best professional
judgment, Thoma (2010, p. 6) concludes that prior to the widespread
habitat degradation in the region (see Summary of Factors Affecting the
Species--Factor A), the species likely occupied suitable streams
throughout the basin, from the Levisa Fork/Tug Fork confluence to the
headwaters. Evidence that the species once occupied suitable habitat
down to the Levisa Fork/Tug Fork confluence is also provided by Fetzner
and Thoma (2011, pp. 9-10), who found that the pattern of certain
genetic markers in Big Sandy crayfish specimens collected from the now
isolated Russell Fork, Levisa Fork, and Tug Fork watersheds indicate
that the species once had a significantly larger range than it
currently occupies. In his 2014 report describing the species, Thoma et
al. (2014, p. 12) reported the species as endemic to the Levisa Fork,
Tug Fork, and Russell Fork watersheds in the upper Big Sandy basin.
There are three known occurrences of the Big Sandy crayfish in West
Virginia, all occurring in 2009 or later and from McDowell County
(Loughman 2014, pp. 9-11). See the Current Range and Distribution
section below for additional information.
Erroneous or Dubious Records
Collections of crayfish specimens from the region are held at the
United States National Museum, Eastern Kentucky University, Ohio State
University, West Liberty University, and the Virginia Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries. Several vouchered specimens in some of these
collections were labeled as Cambarus veteranus and were reported to
have originated from river basins other than the Upper Guyandotte or
Big Sandy. Upon further examination these were found to be erroneous or
dubious records. Jezerinac et al. (1995, p. 170) examined specimens
identified as C. veteranus collected from the Greenbrier, Little
[[Page 18716]]
Kanawha, and Elk River basins in 1948, and determined that they were
misidentified C. robustus and C. elkensis. Subsequent analysis of these
specimens by Loughman (2014, p. 16) determined that the Greenbrier
River specimens were actually C. smilax and that the Elk River
specimens were in fact Big Sandy crayfish (C. callainus)
(identification based on the morphological characteristics described
previously). However, Loughman (2014, p. 16) questioned the recorded
origin of this collection, noting that the Elk River and Big Sandy
basins are separated by hundreds of stream kilometers and that thorough
sampling in the Elk River basin by Jezerinac et al. (1995, pp. 170-171)
and Loughman and Welsh (2013, p. 64) were negative for the species.
Both Loughman and Jezerinac et al. (1995) surmise that neither C.
veteranus nor C. callainus is native to the Elk River basin (Loughman
2014, p. 16).
Also questionable are specimens collected in 1900, reportedly from
Crane Creek in the New River basin in Mercer County, West Virginia.
While Loughman (2014, p. 17) did confirm that these specimens are Big
Sandy crayfish (Cambarus callainus), he concluded that the collection
location was likely not ``Crane Creek'' in the New River system, but
the identically named ``Crane Creek'' in McDowell County, West
Virginia, part of the Big Sandy River basin. Loughman (2014, p. 17)
notes that several surveys of the New River's Crane Creek (Jezerinac et
al. 1995, p. 170; Loughman and Welsh 2013, p. 64) confirmed the
presence of other Cambarus species in this creek, indicating habitat
conditions were favorable for the genus, but failed to produce any Big
Sandy crayfish. In Loughman's best professional judgment, the species
is not native to the New River basin (Loughman 2014, p. 17).
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries possesses a
collection of specimens from the New River Watershed that were
originally identified as Cambarus veteranus; these specimens were later
determined by Thoma to be misidentified and are actually C. sciotensis
(Loughman 2014, p. 17).
Taylor and Shuster (2004) report a single 1967 Cambarus veteranus
collection from the Kentucky River basin in Estill County, Kentucky.
However, subsequent survey efforts in the area have been negative for
C. veteranus and C. callainus. In addition, the Kentucky River basin
has no direct connectivity with either the Big Sandy or Upper
Guyandotte River basins--the mouths of the Kentucky River and the Big
Sandy River are separated by more than 230 kilometers (km) (143 miles
(mi)) of the Ohio River mainstem and the mouth of the Guyandotte River
is separated by about 255 km (158 mi). Therefore, the authors concluded
that the Estill County record was dubious.
After reviewing the best available information, we conclude that
the historical range of the Guyandotte River crayfish (Cambarus
veteranus) is limited to the Upper Guyandotte River basin in West
Virginia, including Wyoming County and parts of Logan and Mingo
Counties. We conclude that the historical range of the Big Sandy
crayfish (C. callainus) is limited to the upper Big Sandy River basin
(Levisa Fork, Tug Fork, and Russell Fork watersheds) in eastern
Kentucky (Pike and Floyd Counties where the species has been confirmed,
and perhaps Johnson, Martin, and Lawrence Counties based on the
watershed boundary and stream connectivity), southwestern Virginia
(Buchanan and Dickenson Counties and parts of Wise County), and
southern West Virginia (McDowell and Mingo Counties).
Current Range and Distribution
The best available scientific information indicates that both the
Guyandotte River crayfish and the Big Sandy crayfish initially occurred
in suitable stream habitat throughout their respective historical
ranges (Loughman, pers. comm., October 24, 2014; Thoma 2010, p. 10;
Thoma et al. 2014, p. 2). However, by the late 1800s, commercial
logging and coal mining in the region had begun to severely alter the
landscape and affect the streams and rivers (Eller 1982, pp. 93-111,
128-162). These widespread and intensive timber and mining enterprises,
coupled with rapid human population growth that led to increased
development in the narrow valley riparian zones, sewage discharges,
road construction, and similar activities throughout both the Big Sandy
and the Upper Guyandotte basins, degraded the aquatic systems and
apparently extirpated both crayfish species from many subwatersheds
within much of their respective historical ranges (discussed below in
Summary of Factors Affecting the Species). The best available
information on each species' current range and distribution, based on
survey data collected since 2004, is presented below.
Guyandotte River crayfish--The current range of the Guyandotte
River crayfish appears to be limited to the midreach of a single
stream, Pinnacle Creek, in Wyoming County, West Virginia (Figure 3). In
2001, targeted sampling of the 9 streams (15 individual sites) where
the species had previously been confirmed failed to produce the species
(Channell 2004, pp. 17-18), and it was theorized that the species might
be extirpated from West Virginia (Jones et al. 2010, entire). In 2009,
considerable sampling effort was dedicated toward assessing the
species' status in West Virginia with 30 likely sites being sampled in
the Upper Guyandotte basin. Thirteen of these sites were historical
locations, and the remaining 17 sites were randomly and nonrandomly
selected sites meeting the basic habitat characteristics for the
species (e.g., size, gradient, bottom substrate) (Loughman 2013, pp. 4-
5). This effort succeeded in collecting two specimens from one of the
historical locations, Pinnacle Creek (Loughman 2013, pp. 5-6). In 2011,
Loughman (2014, p.10) returned to the Pinnacle Creek site and collected
five specimens. In 2014, Loughman (2014, pp. 10-11) surveyed a
different downstream location at Pinnacle Creek but was unable to
confirm the species' presence; he was not able to survey the historical
Pinnacle Creek site during this 2014 effort because of time
constraints. See Table 1a for all known stream occurrences of the
species.
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Big Sandy crayfish--In 2009 and 2010, Thoma (2010, p. 6) conducted
a survey of likely Big Sandy crayfish locations to determine the range
of the species in Kentucky, sampling sites in Pike (n=15), Floyd
(n=10), and Martin (n=2) Counties. The Big Sandy crayfish was confirmed
at 10 sites in Pike County and 1 in Floyd County. Broken down by
watershed, of the 18 likely sites sampled in the Levisa Fork portion of
the basin, the species was found at 8 sites; 2 in the mainstem of the
Levisa Fork, 3 in Shelby Creek, 3 in Russell Fork, and 1 in Elkhorn
Creek. In the Tug Fork portion of the Big Sandy basin, eight likely
sites were surveyed, with the species being confirmed at single sites
in three tributary streams near their respective confluences with the
mainstem of the Tug Fork (Figure 4).
In 2007 and 2012, the Kentucky Division of Water (KDOW; 2014) noted
two occurrences of the Big Sandy crayfish in Pike County, Kentucky. In
2007, the species was reported in the Russell Fork near the Virginia
border, the same area from which the species was reported in 1991 and
1998 (as discussed previously). In 2012, the species was again
confirmed at this location and at a site in Shelby Creek, from where
the species was known since Thoma's 2009 survey work (discussed above).
From 2007 to 2009, Thoma (2009, pp. 2, 10) conducted a
comprehensive survey of the Big Sandy River basin of Virginia and
confirmed the species' continued presence in Buchanan and Dickenson
Counties, and added a new occurrence in Wise County. Buchanan County is
drained primarily by the Levisa Fork tributary system; however, the
southwestern portion of the county is drained by the Russell Fork
system, and a section of the north portion is drained by the Tug Fork
system. Thoma sampled 16 likely Big Sandy crayfish sites in the Levisa
Fork system in Buchanan County and found the species at 5 sites, all in
a single stream, Dismal Creek. One site was sampled in the Tug Fork
drainage of Buchanan County, but the species was not found. In the
Russell Fork drainage of Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise Counties, the Big
[[Page 18719]]
Sandy crayfish was noted at 16 of the 24 sites surveyed. Thoma also
reported the species' presence in the Russell Fork system in Buchanan
County, finding the species at both of the sites sampled. However, it
is important to note that two of the streams (the Pound River and
Cranes Nest River) that were positive for the species (at five
individual sites) are physically isolated from each other and from the
remainder of the Russell Fork (and wider) system by the Flannagan Dam
and Reservoir (completed in 1964). In October 2014, the Virginia
Department of Transportation (VDOT) surveyed a site in the Open Fork
(Russell Fork system) in Dickenson County and confirmed the presence of
the Big Sandy crayfish at that location (VDOT 2014, entire).
In 2009, Loughman (2014, pp. 8-11) surveyed 22 likely sites in the
upper Tug Fork basin in McDowell and Mingo Counties, West Virginia,
with the species being found at 1 site in Dry Fork. This was the first
observation of the species in the West Virginia section of the Big
Sandy basin. In 2011, Loughman confirmed the species' presence at the
Dry Fork site and reported a new occurrence in the Tug Fork mainstem.
In 2014, Loughman again confirmed the species' presence at the Dry Fork
site and reported a new location 25.8 km (16.0 mi) farther upstream in
the Dry Fork. This is the farthest upstream occurrence in the Tug Fork
drainage of West Virginia (Loughman 2014, p. 11). See Table 1b for all
stream occurrences of the Big Sandy crayfish.
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Population Estimates and Status
Data to inform a rangewide population estimate for either the Big
Sandy crayfish or the Guyandotte River crayfish are sparse, but
historical evidence, observations from existing healthier sites, and
expert opinion suggest that, prior to the significant land-disturbing
activities that began in the late 1800s (see Summary of Factors
Affecting the Species--Factor A), these species were the dominant
tertiary burrowing crayfish occupying the previously described habitat
type throughout their respective ranges (Loughman, pers. comm., October
24, 2014; Thoma 2010, p. 10). Loughman (pers. comm., October 24, 2014)
surmises that, within each suitable stream reach (e.g., the riffles and
runs of third order or larger streams with a sand, gravel, or bedrock
substrate and abundant unembedded slab boulders), each large slab
boulder in midstream likely harbored an adult specimen. This is based
on his observations of the population densities of similar stream-
dwelling Cambarus species, historical accounts, and the results of
Thoma's (2009) surveys for C. callainus in Virginia. It is also
reasonable to conclude based on the historical range of each species,
that the instream habitat conditions (including an absence of physical
obstacles such as dams) were once conducive to the movement of
individuals between subpopulations or to the colonization (or
recolonization) of unoccupied sites. This movement (via downstream
drift or active upstream migration) has been documented in other stream
crayfish (Kerby et al. 2005, p. 407; Momot 1966, pp. 158-159), and
contributes to the genetic diversity of the species and the flexibility
of individuals to occupy or abandon different sites as environmental
conditions change.
Guyandotte River crayfish--While the collection methods and level
of effort is not described for the early surveys, it is notable that on
August 16, 1900, a researcher visited the Upper Guyandotte River and
was able to collect 25 Guyandotte River crayfish specimens from Indian
Creek and 15 specimens from Little Indian Creek in Wyoming
[[Page 18720]]
County, West Virginia (Faxon 1914, p. 390; Loughman 2014, p. 5). These
sites are approximately 5 km (3 mi) apart, indicating the historical
relative abundance of the species and providing an indication of the
historical ``catch per unit effort'' (CPUE) discussed in detail below.
A subsequent survey of Indian Creek in 1947 produced six specimens, and
since that time, no single site in the Upper Guyandotte basin has
produced more than five individual specimens during a survey.
The best available information indicates that, of the nine streams
where the Guyandotte River crayfish had previously been confirmed, it
persists in only one: Pinnacle Creek. The R.D. Bailey Dam (completed in
1980) and Lake, on the Guyandotte River near the town of Justice, West
Virginia, physically isolates two of the streams with historical
records of the species (Huff Creek and Little Huff Creek) from the
remaining seven subwatersheds known to have harbored the species,
including Pinnacle Creek. The species was confirmed in Little Huff
Creek in 1971, and Huff Creek in 1989 (Jezerinac et al. 1995, p. 170),
and while survey efforts in 2001 and 2009 failed to find the species in
either creek, Loughman did remark that unlike most streams in the
basin, in 2009 Huff Creek appeared to have habitat conducive to the
species (Channell 2004, p. 17; Loughman 2013, pp. 5-6, 9).
Since 1978, four Pinnacle Creek sites have been surveyed for the
species. One of these sites is located near the creek's confluence with
the Guyandotte River, and the other three are located approximately 21
km (13 mi) upstream of this site. The three upstream sites are within
about 1.6-km (1.0-mi) stream distance of each other and were surveyed
in 1988, 2001, 2009, and 2011, with one, zero, two, and five individual
Guyandotte River crayfish reported in each respective year (Channell
2004, pp. 16-17, Jezerinac et al. 1995, p. 170; Loughman, 2013, pp. 6-
10). The site near the confluence was surveyed in 1978 and in 2014 but
was negative for the species. In addition, during the 2014 survey,
Loughman (2014, pp. 10-11) did not find crayfish of any species.
Big Sandy crayfish--In the Big Sandy basin of Virginia, Thoma
(2009, p. 10) noted apparently healthy populations of the Big Sandy
crayfish in the Russell Fork drainage in Dickenson and parts of
Buchanan and Wise Counties. Of the 18 sites sampled in 8 individual
streams that harbored the species, a total of 344 individuals were
observed (an average of 19 individuals per site). Two of the occupied
streams (Pound River and Cranes Nest River) (five individual sites) are
physically isolated from each other and from the rest of the Russell
Fork system (and remainder of the species' range) by the Flannagan Dam
and Reservoir.
In the upper Levisa Fork drainage of Buchanan County, Virginia, the
species was found only in a single stream: Dismal Creek. During
separate sampling events in 2007, 2008, and 2009, 33 specimens were
collected from 4 sites (3 to 12 individuals per site) in Dismal Creek.
The upper Levisa Fork (including Dismal Creek) is physically isolated
from the rest of the species' range by the Fishtrap Dam and Lake
(completed in 1969), located on the Levisa Fork about 4.5 km (2.8 mi)
upstream of the Levisa Fork-Russell Fork confluence in Kentucky.
In the Kentucky portion of the Big Sandy crayfish's range, Thoma
(2010, p. 6) found the species in very low numbers (one to two
individuals) at two sites in the lower portion of the Levisa Fork and
described the population as stressed and in poor condition (Thoma 2010,
p. 6). He also found the species in two tributaries to the Levisa Fork:
Shelby Creek and Russell Fork. Specimens were collected at 3 sites in
Shelby Creek, with the farthest downstream site producing 12
individuals and the farthest upstream site producing 4. The author
described these populations as ``very healthy,'' but noted that the
middle sampling site produced only two specimens. In the Russell Fork
upstream of Shelby Creek, 7 specimens were collected from 1 site and 20
from another; this section was also described as a ``healthy''
population. Thoma did not detect the species in the mainstem of the
Levisa Fork between Shelby Creek and the Virginia State line. However,
the previously mentioned Fishtrap Dam and Lake makes much of this
stretch of river unsuitable for the species and isolates the Big Sandy
crayfish population in the lower Levisa Fork system from the upper
reaches, including the only remaining population in Dismal Creek,
Virginia.
In the Tug Fork drainage of Kentucky, Thoma (2010, p. 6) surveyed
seven sites and confirmed the species in low numbers (one, three, and
seven individuals) at three sites. Those sites that produced specimens
were all located in tributary streams near their confluences with the
Tug Fork mainstem. In 2009, Loughman and Welsh (as reported in Loughman
2014, pp. 8-11) surveyed 24 likely sites in the Tug Fork basin in West
Virginia, and observed the species at one site, collecting three
individuals from Dry Creek, an upper Tug Fork tributary. In 2011,
Loughman returned to the area and, with the same level of sampling
effort, recovered nine specimens from Dry Creek and eight individuals
from a site in the Tug Fork mainstem. The Tug Fork site had produced
zero specimens in 2009. In 2014, Loughman again confirmed the species'
presence at the Dry Fork site, collecting 11 individuals, and reported
a new occurrence 25.8 km (16.0 mi) farther upstream in the Dry Fork,
where he collected seven individuals. See Tables 2a and 2b for a
summary of the survey results for the Big Sandy crayfish (2006 to 2014)
by watershed boundaries and by State boundaries.
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To better compare the status of the Big Sandy and the Guyandotte
River crayfish populations among existing sites, Loughman (2014, pp. 8-
15) standardized the results of his and Thoma's (2009; 2010) survey
work, which used the same sampling techniques, to the common metric
CPUE (i.e., ``crayfish per hour of searching''). The results indicate
that, compared to the seemingly healthy population of Big Sandy
crayfish in the Russell Fork system (including the Pound and Cranes
Nest Rivers), where the average CPUE ranged from 12 to 21.7 crayfish/
hour (hr), the remaining populations of Big Sandy crayfish in the
Levisa Fork and Tug Fork drainages, and the single remaining Guyandotte
River crayfish population in Pinnacle Creek, are depressed, ranging
from 1 to 11 crayfish/hr in the Levisa Fork and Tug Fork, and 2 to 2.5
crayfish/hr in the Guyandotte (see Table 3). The data also illustrate
an apparent decrease in abundance of the Big Sandy crayfish from
upstream waters (i.e., Virginia) to downstream waters (i.e., Kentucky).
Loughman (2014, pp. 13, 15) pooled the data from all sites sampled in
Kentucky and Virginia (including the sites that were negative for the
species) and determined the average CPUEs for the Big Sandy crayfish in
those States to be 1.9 and 3.83, respectively. The pattern is stark for
the Guyandotte River crayfish, as the species is known to persist in
only one upstream subwatershed, Pinnacle Creek, with a CPUE of 2.0 to
2.5 crayfish/hr; all other likely sites downstream of this were
negative for the species (i.e., zero crayfish/hr). The Guyandotte River
crayfish has apparently been extirpated from all waters downstream of
Pinnacle Creek.
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Summary of Population Estimates/Status--Multiple survey results
dating back to 1900 and the best professional judgment of crayfish
experts indicate a significant reduction in the Guyandotte River
crayfish's historical range and a likely reduction in the Big Sandy
crayfish's historical range. Specifically, the best available
information indicates a contraction in range from the lower reaches of
each watershed to the higher elevation streams. Based on a reduction in
CPUE and a reduction in the number of observed specimens, the
populations of both the Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River
crayfish appear to be depressed, and critically so for the latter.
Neither species is particularly cryptic. Multiple researchers have
demonstrated that, given suitable habitat conditions, individuals of
each species are readily located, collected, and identified. Survey
efforts since 2004 have adequately covered the ranges of both the Big
Sandy and the Guyandotte River crayfishes; therefore, if individuals of
either species occupied a surveyed site it is reasonable to conclude
that their presence would have been noted. While it is possible that
future survey efforts could identify additional occurrences of either
the Big Sandy or Guyandotte River crayfishes, the best available
information indicates a reduction in distribution and abundance for
both species.
Summary of Factors Affecting the Species
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C 1533) and its implementing
regulations at 50 CFR part 424 set forth the procedures for adding
species to the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and
Plants. Under section 4(a)(1) of the Act, we may list a species based
on any of the following five factors: (A) The present or threatened
destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (B)
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes; (C) disease or predation; (D) the inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms; and (E) other natural or manmade
factors affecting its continued existence. Listing actions may be
warranted based on any of the above threat factors, singly or in
combination. Each of these factors is discussed below.
Factor A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or
Curtailment of Its Habitat or Range
Based on the best available information, and as previously
described, the Guyandotte River crayfish and the Big Sandy crayfish
exist only in suitable stream habitats in the Upper Guyandotte basin of
southern West Virginia and the Big Sandy basin of eastern Kentucky,
southwestern Virginia, and southern West Virginia, respectively. Within
the historical range of each species, aquatic habitat has been severely
degraded by past and ongoing human activities (Channell 2004, pp. 16-
23; Jezerinac et al. 1995, p. 171; Loughman 2013, p. 6; Loughman 2014,
pp. 10-11; Loughman and Welsh 2013, p. 23; Thoma 2009, p. 7; Thoma
2010, pp. 3-4). Visual evidence of habitat degradation, such as
excessive bottom sedimentation, discolored sediments, or stream
channelization and dredging, is often obvious, while other water
quality issues such as changes in pH, low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels,
high dissolved solids, high conductivity, high metals concentrations,
and changes in other chemical parameters are less visually obvious.
These perturbations may occur singly or in combination, and may vary
temporally from chronic issues to acute episodic events. Degradation of
the aquatic habitat can affect the stream biota and community structure
in multiple ways. Some conditions can cause direct mortality to stream
organisms (e.g., exceedingly high or low pH, exceedingly low DO), while
others such as sedimentation may make the stream uninhabitable for some
species (by removing access to shelter or breeding substrates), but not
uninhabitable for other species. Within the range of each species,
water quality monitoring reports, most recently from the KDOW (2013,
entire), the EPA
[[Page 18723]]
(2004, entire), the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ
2012, entire), and the West Virginia Department of Environmental
Protection (WVDEP 2014, entire), have linked these widespread and often
interrelated direct and indirect stressors to coal mining (and
abandoned mine land (AML)), commercial timber harvesting, residential
and commercial development, roads, and sewage discharges.
Historical context--The initial degradation of the rivers and
streams within the ranges of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River
crayfishes was a result of industrial-scale forestry and coal mining.
By the late 1800s, the timber resources in the Northeast and Great
Lakes region were in decline, and companies began focusing on the
largely intact forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Initially
the cutting was selective and only the most valuable trees were taken,
but beginning in about 1900 and continuing into the 1920s, the cutting
became more intensive, widespread, and indiscriminate. During this same
period, the coal fields of eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and
southern West Virginia began to be mined and railroads expanded
throughout the region to transport the lumber and coal to outside
markets (Forest History Society 2008, entire). Since this period, many
thousands of individual underground and surface mines have been
constructed throughout the region, and extensive areas have been
disturbed (Kentucky Surface Mining Viewer 2015; Virginia Department of
Mines, Minerals, and Energy (VDMME) 2015; West Virginia Geological and
Economic Survey 2015). Figure 5 provides historical coal extraction
data for those counties making up the core ranges of the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes. To date, the cumulative tonnage of coal
extracted from these counties, standardized by area, ranges from 1.16
million to 2.78 million tons of coal per square mile (Virginia Energy
Patterns and Trends 2015; Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) 2015; West
Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training 2014; U.S. Census
Bureau 2014).
The regional timber and coal booms led to a concurrent increase in
human population as people moved into the area for work. Between 1900
and 1950, the human populations of the five counties that constitute
the core ranges of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes
increased by a range of 300 percent to more than 500 percent (Figure
6). And because of the rugged topography of the region, most of the
main roads, railroads, and residential and commercial development was
(and remains) confined to the narrow valley bottoms, through which the
region's streams and rivers also flow. This pattern of development
resulted in the destruction of riparian habitat and the direct
discharge of sewage, refuse, and sediments into the adjacent waters
(Eller 1982, pp. 162, 184-186).
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While most of the residential and commercial development was, and
remains, concentrated in the valley bottoms, the timber cutting and
coal mining operations occurred throughout, including the ridges and
steep mountainsides, resulting in severe soil erosion and sedimentation
of the region's streams and rivers. An account from the 1920s described
the regional landscape as being ``scarred and ugly, and streams ran
brown with garbage and acid runoff from the mines'' (Eller 1982, p.
162). While we are not aware of rigorous water quality or habitat
studies from this early period, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report
on the coal resources in Pike County, Kentucky (Big Sandy basin)
provides evidence that by 1937, habitat conditions conducive to the Big
Sandy crayfish were likely degraded, noting that throughout the county
the clearing of timber from the hillsides and subsequent attempts at
cultivating the steep slopes caused severe soil erosion into the
basin's streams ``keeping them muddy and partly filling their
channels'' (Hunt et al. 1937, p. 7). Because timber cutting and coal
mining were ubiquitous in the region, it is reasonable to conclude that
these conditions were common throughout the historical ranges of the
Big Sandy and the Guyandotte River crayfishes and that this habitat
degradation led to the extirpation of the species from much of their
historical ranges.
Current conditions--The KDOW reported that in the Big Sandy basin
in Pike County (Tug Fork and Levisa Fork drainages), 30 streams or
stream segments (about 285 km (177 mi) of stream length) are impaired,
meaning they violate water quality standards or do not meet one or more
of their designated uses (e.g., human health, aquatic life) (KDOW 2013,
appendix E). Of these, 25 are listed for aquatic habitat impairment, 9
for coliform bacteria (indicators of sewage discharges), and 1 for a
fish consumption advisory due to chemical contamination (KDOW 2013,
appendix E). Many of the streams have multiple impairments. Of those
streams listed for aquatic habitat impairment, coal mining is cited as
a cause in all but two cases (which are listed as ``unknown'').
According to the report, the next most commonly cited cause of stream
habitat degradation is sedimentation, which is associated with mining,
stream channelization, urban runoff, road runoff, and silviculture
(which are also cited individually as sources of impairment). The WVDEP
reported that in the Tug Fork drainage in West Virginia, 47 streams or
stream segments (about 523 km (325 mi) of stream length) are impaired,
primarily for ``biological impairment'' (as measured by the WVSCI),
coliform bacteria, and selenium (a toxic metal) (WVDEP 2012, pp. 32-
33).
In the Big Sandy basin of Virginia, the VADEQ reported that 25
streams, stream segments, or stream systems (about 475 km (295 mi) of
stream length) were impaired. Impairment assessments for aquatic life
are based on measures such as benthic macroinvertebrate community
structure or water temperature and for recreational use based on
measures such as Escherichia coli and fecal coliform bacteria
contamination (e.g., sewage) (VADEQ 2014, pp. 1098-1124). The primary
causes of these impairments are listed as coal mining (n=5), rural
residential development (n=12), forestry (n=1), or unknown (n=7).
Additionally, more than 212 km (138 mi) of the Knox Creek (Tug Fork
drainage) and Levisa Fork
[[Page 18725]]
systems are impaired, the assessment of which is based on a fish
consumption advisory due to chemical contamination.
Water quality monitoring data for the Upper Guyandotte basin
indicate that 62 streams (362 km (225 mi) of stream length) in the
basin are impaired. Forty-four streams are listed for biological
impairment, 14 streams exceed the water quality standard for selenium,
and 4 streams are listed for fecal coliform bacteria (WVDEP 2012, pp.
28, 42-44). Although the specific sources of these impairments are
listed as ``unknown,'' a 2004 report by the EPA (2004, entire) links
the metals and pH impairments to coal mining-related activities,
including AML drainage, and links the fecal coliform impairments to
``urban and residential runoff, leaking sanitary sewers, failing septic
systems, straight pipe discharges, grazing livestock, runoff from
cropland, and wildlife'' (EPA 2004, p. 2).
Water quality information appears to be correlated with the
presence or absence of the Guyandotte River crayfish. For example,
during their 1988 and 1989 surveys for the Guyandotte River crayfish at
13 of the 15 known locations for the species (as well as 42 other
potentially suitable sites) in the Upper Guyandotte basin, Jezerinac et
al. (1995, p. 171) a noted an absence of the species in many otherwise
suitable streams that displayed visible evidence of sewage,
sedimentation, and coal fines.
In 2001, Channell (2004, pp. 16-21) surveyed and assessed habitat
conditions at each of the 15 historical Guyandotte River crayfish
locations. Habitat quality was assessed and scored per the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rapid bioassessment protocol
(RBP) (Barbour et al. 1999, entire) and the West Virginia Stream
Condition Index (WVSCI) (Tetra Tech, Inc. 2000, entire). The RBP (see
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/monitoring/rsl/bioassessment/index.cfm;
last accessed March 3, 2015) is ``an integrated assessment, comparing
habitat (e.g., physical structure, flow regime), water quality and
biological measures with empirically defined reference conditions (via
actual reference sites, historical data, and/or modeling or
extrapolation)'' (Barbour et al. 1999, chapter 2) using benthic
macroinvertebrate assemblages (see http://www.dep.wv.gov/wwe/watershed/bio_fish/pages/bio_fish.aspx#wvwvsci; last accessed March 3, 2015). The
index allows comparison of assessed streams to reference streams that
contain little to no human disturbance. Although the RBP and WVSCI use
macroinvertebrates instead of crayfish as indicators, the WVSCI is a
valid screening tool for water quality assessment because
macroinvertebrates are sensitive to changes in water quality due to
their limited mobility and short life span (e.g., sensitive life stages
respond quickly to deteriorating conditions). Macroinvertebrates are
also abundant in most streams and easy to sample, and are food for
other stream biota (Barbour et al. 1999, chapter 3). The WVSCI was the
best available screening tool at the time of the 2001 crayfish surveys
and is a standard measure used to comply with the monitoring
requirements of the CWA. Of five crayfish species native to the basin
(the presence of each having been confirmed in 1988 and 1989 by
Jezerinac et al. (1995)), two species (Cambarus veteranus and C.
robustus) were not detected at any site during this effort. Four of the
historical sites produced no species in the genus Cambarus (e.g.,
crayfish of the same genus as C. veteranus). Results of the habitat
assessment indicated that 7 of 15 sites were ``impaired'' per the EPA
protocol, with 3 sites also being ``impaired'' per the WVSCI
definition. Impairment indicates that habitat conditions at these sites
exhibited some level of degradation, as compared to high-quality
reference streams in the region.
In 2009, Pinnacle Creek was the only site in the Upper Guyandotte
system confirmed to still harbor the Guyandotte River crayfish. This
site is located in a mostly forested floodplain and was characterized
as having coal fines and moderate sedimentation but with an abundance
of unembedded slab boulders in both riffles and runs (Loughman 2013, p.
6). At another historical site, Huff Creek, the species had been
reported as ``moderately abundant'' in 1989 (Jezerinac et al. 1995).
However in 2009, while the habitat appeared conducive to the species,
Loughman (2013, p. 6) did not observe the species in Huff Creek. Based
on personal observation, Loughman (2013, pp. 6, 9) concluded that the
Guyandotte River crayfish was eliminated from Huff Creek by channel
bulldozing in the early 2000s, and perhaps chemical inputs from
upstream coal mines.
In association with her study of the Guyandotte River crayfish
population, Channell (2004, pp. 21-23) also surveyed suitable locations
in the Levisa Fork system (Big Sandy basin) in Virginia. Big Sandy
crayfish were confirmed at three of the six sites surveyed, with the
author noting that the species was found under large rocks (greater
than 0.5 m (1.6 ft) across) in streams from 4 to 15 m (13 to 49 ft)
wide and without coal fines in the substrate. While RBP scores for the
six sites did not indicate impairment, the author noted that the three
streams where the Big Sandy crayfishes were not observed were included
on the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's 303(d) list of
impaired waters as a result of damming, urban influence, mining
activities, or sewage (Channell 2004, pp. 22-23).
Thoma (2009, p. 7 and 2010, pp. 3-4) examined the relationship of
Cambarus callainus abundance and various habitat parameters in Kentucky
and Virginia, and correlated his results with several habitat variables
at each site, quantified using the Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency's Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) (Ohio EPA 2006,
entire). The QHEI ``is a physical habitat index designed to provide an
empirical, quantified evaluation of the general lotic macrohabitat
characteristics that are important to fish communities'' (Ohio EPA
2006, p. 3). The habitat variables captured in the QHEI include
substrate quality, instream cover, riparian zone and bank erosion, and
pool/glide and riffle/run quality (Thoma 2009, p. 7). At sample sites
in Virginia, he found Big Sandy crayfish numbers positively correlated
with higher quality habitat, as measured by the QHEI, and negatively
correlated with pollution, fine bottom sediments, and stream gradient
(Thoma 2009, p. 7). A similar analysis of the species' status in
Kentucky supported his findings from Virginia that the Big Sandy
crayfish ``was most strongly associated with clean, third order or
larger streams, low in bedload sediments, with moderate gradient, and
an abundance of boulder/cobble substrate'' (Thoma 2010, p. 3). The
Kentucky data indicated a strong positive correlation between Big Sandy
crayfish numbers and general habitat quality (i.e., QHEI), riffle
quality, and percent boulders. A site's riffle quality and riffle
embeddedness (bottom sedimentation) were the best correlates of the
species' abundance (Thoma 2010, p. 4).
In 2009 and 2011, Loughman and Welsh (2013) surveyed specifically
for the species in the Upper Guyandotte River basin, Tug Fork basin
(Big Sandy River basin), and the Bluestone River basin (a tributary of
the New River) in West Virginia. Results of this intensive effort (69
sites surveyed in 2009) indicated that most sites exhibited excessive
sedimentation and embedded slab boulders, or had been channelized and
were devoid of large boulders (Loughman and Welsh 2013, p. 23;
[[Page 18726]]
Loughman 2013, p. 6). Loughman (2013, p. 6) also reported that most
surveyed sites harbored other native crayfish species, with Cambarus
theepiensis, a newly described Cambarus species associated with lower
gradient streams dominated by depositional bottom substrate (e.g.,
finer substrates) and fewer slab boulders, being common in the region's
streams. In these situations, C. theepiensis has been observed
sheltering in simple burrows in the stream bottom or stream banks.
Neither the Big Sandy crayfish nor the Guyandotte River crayfish has
been observed exhibiting this sheltering behavior (Loughman et al.
2013, p. 70).
Coal mining--The past and ongoing effects of coal mining in the
Appalachian Basin are well documented, and both underground and surface
mines are reported to degrade water quality and stream habitats
(Bernhardt et al. 2012, entire; Demchak et al. 2004, entire; Hartman et
al. 2005, pp. 94-100; Hopkins et al. 2013, entire; Lindberg et al.
2011, entire; Matter and Ney 1981, pp. 67-70; Merriam et al. 2011,
entire; Palmer and Hondula 2014, entire; Pond et al. 2008, entire; Pond
2011, entire; Sams and Beer 2000, entire; USEPA 2011, entire; Wang et
al. 2013, entire; Williams et al. 1996, p. 41-46). Notable water
quality changes associated with coal mining in this region include
increased concentrations of sulfate, calcium, and other ions (measured
collectively by a water's electrical conductivity); increased
concentrations of iron, magnesium, manganese, and other metals; and
increased alkalinity and pH, depending on the local geology (Lindberg
et al. 2011, pp. 2-6; Matter and Ney 1981, pp. 67-68; Pond et al. 2008,
pp. 717-718; Sams and Beer 2000, pp. 3-5; Williams et al. 1996, pp. 10-
17). The common physical changes to local waterways associated with
coal mining include increased erosion and sedimentation, changes in
flow, and in many cases the complete burial of headwater streams
(Hartman et al. 2005, pp. 91-92; Matter and Ney 1981, entire; Pond et
al. 2008, pp. 717-718; USEPA 2011, pp. 7-9). These mining-related
effects are commonly noted in the streams and rivers within the ranges
of the Big Sandy and the Guyandotte River crayfishes (KDOW 2013; USEPA
2004; VADEQ 2014; WVDEP 2012).
The response of aquatic species to coal mining-induced degradation
are also well documented, commonly observed as a shift in a stream's
macroinvertebrate (e.g., insect larva or nymphs, aquatic worms, snails,
clams, crayfish) or fish community structure and resultant loss of
sensitive taxa and an increase in tolerant taxa (Diamond and Serveiss
2001, pp. 4714-4717; Hartman et al. 2005, pp. 96-97; Hitt and Chambers
2014, entire; Lindberg et al. 2011b, p. 1; Matter and Ney 1981, pp. 66-
67; Pond et al. 2008). As mentioned above, coal mining can cause a
variety of changes to water chemistry and physical habitat; therefore,
it is often difficult to attribute the observed effects to a single
factor. It is likely that the observed shifts in community structure
(including the extirpation of some species) are, in many cases, a
result of a combination of factors.
There is less specific information available on the effects of coal
mining-induced degradation to crayfishes. A study in Ohio using
juvenile Appalachian Brook crayfish (Cambarus bartonii cavatus), a
stream-dwelling species in the same genus as the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes, found that individuals from downstream of
a mine drainage were somewhat more tolerant of high conductivity
conditions than individuals from upstream of the discharge (Gallaway
and Hummon 1991, pp. 168-170). The authors noted that during ecdysis
(molting, a particularly vulnerable stage in the animal's lifecycle),
however, individuals were more sensitive to high conductivity levels.
In the laboratory, conductivity levels of 1,200 to 2,000 micro Siemens/
centimeter ([micro]S) resulted in the crayfish having difficulty
molting, while field observations indicated that crayfish in isolated
pools with conductivity levels of 800 to 1,920 [micro]S died in midmolt
or experienced obviously stressful molts as demonstrated by missing
chelea and/or periopods or other physical malformations. The authors
also noted that a 1-week exposure to water with a conductivity level of
3,000 [micro]S, as might be experienced during summer low flow
conditions, would be lethal to all of the crayfish in the study
(Gallaway and Hummon 1991, pp. 168-170).
Welsh and Loughman (2014, entire) analyzed crayfish distributions
in the heavily mined upper Kanawha River basin in southern West
Virginia and determined that physical habitat quality (including
substrate type and quality, embeddedness, instream cover, channel
morphology, and gradient) and stream order (size) were the best
predictors of crayfish presence or absence and crayfish diversity. They
observed that, in general, secondary and tertiary burrowing species
such as Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes were associated with
high-quality physical habitat conditions. The exception to this pattern
was Cambarus bartonii cavatus (a secondary burrower), the same species
studied by Gallaway and Hummon (1991) and discussed above, that was
found to be more closely associated with low-quality physical habitat
but high-quality water (i.e., low conductivity). For most species
studied, the results did not demonstrate a relationship between
conductivity levels and a species' presence or absence. However, Welsh
and Loughman (2014, entire) noted that stream conductivity levels can
vary seasonally or with flow conditions, making assumptions regarding
species' presence or absence at the time of surveys difficult to
correlate with prior ephemeral conductivity conditions.
In addition to degrading water quality, coal mining increases
erosion and sedimentation in downgradient streams and rivers (Hartman
et al. 2005, pp. 91-92; Matter and Ney 1981; Pond et al. 2008, pp. 717-
718; USEPA 1976, pp. 3-11; USEPA 2011, pp. 7-9); this is of particular
importance for the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes, which, as
tertiary burrowers, rely on unembedded slab boulders for shelter. While
some other crayfish species (secondary burrowers) are known to excavate
burrows in the streambank or bottom, or utilize leaf packs or other
vegetation for shelter, neither the Big Sandy crayfish nor the
Guyandotte River crayfish has been observed exhibiting this behavior.
Channell (2004, p. 18), Jezerinac et al. (1995, p. 170), Loughman
(2014, pp. 32-33), and Loughman and Welsh (2013, pp. 22-24) theorize
that, because of habitat degradation, the habitat-specialist Big Sandy
and Guyandotte River crayfishes may be at a competitive disadvantage to
other more generalist crayfish species (see Factor E--Interspecific
competition, below, for additional information), which has contributed
to the decline, extirpation, and continued low abundance of the former
two species. Whatever the exact mechanism may be, multiple researchers
have observed that excessive bottom sedimentation appears to make
otherwise suitable stream reaches uninhabitable by the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes (Channell 2004, pp. 16-23; Jezerinac et al.
1995, p. 171; Loughman 2013, p. 6; Loughman 2014, pp. 10-11; Loughman
and Welsh 2013, p. 23; Thoma 2009, p. 7; Thoma 2010, pp. 3-4).
While coal extraction from the southern Appalachian region has
declined from the historical highs of the 20th century, and is unlikely
to ever return to those levels (McIlmoil, et al. 2013, pp. 1-8, 49-57;
Milici and Dennen 2009, pp. 9-10), significant mining still occurs
within the ranges of the Big Sandy and the Guyandotte River
[[Page 18727]]
crayfishes. The U.S. Department of Energy (2013, table 2) reports that
in 2012, there were 192 active coal mines (119 underground mines and 73
surface mines) in the counties that constitute the core ranges of the
Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes. The total amount of coal
extracted from these operations in 2012 was more than 32.6 million
tons. Underground mining accounts for most of the coal excavated in the
region, but since the 1970s, surface mining (including ``mountaintop
removal mining'' or MTR) has become more prevalent. Mountaintop removal
mining is differentiated from other mining techniques by the shear
amount of overburden that is removed to access the coal seams and the
use of ``valley fills'' to dispose of the overburden. This practice
results in the destruction of springs and headwater streams and often
leads to water quality degradation in downstream reaches (USEPA 2011,
pp. 7-10). An immediate threat to the continued existence of the
Guyandotte River crayfish is several active and inactive surface coal
mines (including MTR mines) in the mid and upper reaches of the
Pinnacle Creek watershed (discussed in detail below).
The detrimental effects of coal mining often continue long after
active mining ceases. Hopkins et al. (2013, entire) studied water
quality in a southeast Ohio watershed where most of the coal mining
operations are closed and in varying stages of reclamation, and found
that, while pH levels were not correlated with mining activity (and
appeared to be within the tolerance limits of most stream taxa),
conductivity, aluminum, and sulfate concentrations were correlated with
past mining activity and that, despite mine reclamation efforts, these
parameters were measured at levels associated with the impairment of
aquatic biota. While the Hopkins et al. (2013, entire) study does not
include crayfish species specifically, the results are compared to
water quality parameters that may negatively affect all aquatic
species, including crayfish. Sams and Beer (2000, pp. 11-16) studied
the effects of acid mine drainage in the Allegheny and Monongahela
River basins in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and estimated trends in
sulfate concentrations over a 30-year period (1965 to 1995). For
several creeks and rivers they found that sulfate concentrations were
correlated with coal production in the individual basins. In one stream
system with long-term data and where coal mining had been in decline
since 1950, they noted a decrease in sulfate concentrations over time
as abandoned mine lands were reclaimed and with the natural weathering
of the exposed sulfide minerals. However, while the decline in sulfate
concentrations was initially rapid, the rate of improvement slowed over
time, and they concluded that mine drainage would continue to degrade
water quality for many years.
By-products of deep and surface mines include manganese and iron
(Sams and Beers 2000, pp. 2, 4, 6). When these by-products enter the
aquatic environment, they can affect crayfish in two ways: directly
through the body and indirectly through food sources (Loughman 2014, p.
27). Both iron and manganese are upregulated into the body through gill
respiration and stomach and intestinal absorption (Baden and Eriksson
2006, pp. 67-75). In addition, both iron and manganese bioaccumulate in
crayfish when they feed on benthic macroinvertebrates. Although
manganese is ``an essential metal and is thus required in at least a
minimum concentration for an animal to be able to fulfil its metabolic
functions'' (Baden and Eriksson 2006, p. 64), it can be physiologically
toxic to crayfishes when levels are too high (Loughman 2014, p. 27).
While manganese absorption may not directly cause mortality, it may
adversely affect reproductive cycles and oocytes (immature egg cells)
(Baden and Eriksson 2006, p. 73). ``Iron and manganese also physically
bond to crayfish exoskeletons following ecydisis [e.g., molting],
clogging sensory sensila [e.g., receptor] and reducing overall health
of crayfish'' (Loughman 2014, p. 27).
Loughman (2014, pp. 26-27) has observed Guyandotte River crayfish
that have visible signs of manganese encrustation. While Hay's 1900
Indian Creek, Wyoming County, West Virginia, specimen did not exhibit
manganese encrustation, Hobbs' 1947 specimens from Indian Creek did. In
addition, Big Sandy crayfish specimens collected by Loughman in 2014,
from Dry Fork, McDowell County, West Virginia, also exhibited manganese
encrustation. The Dry Fork specimens were sampled from a site
immediately downstream of deep mine effluents entering Dry Fork
(Loughman 2014, p. 27). While manganese encrustations have been found
on both Guyandotte River and Big Sandy crayfish specimens, we are
uncertain the extent to which these deposits occur across the species'
ranges or if and to what extent the effects of the manganese and iron
exposure has contributed to the decline of the Big Sandy or Guyandotte
River crayfishes.
Ancillary to the coal mines are the processing facilities that use
various mechanical and hydraulic techniques to separate the coal from
rock and other geological waste material. This process results in the
creation of large volumes of ``coal slurry,'' a blend of water, coal
fines, and sand, silt, and clay particles, which is commonly disposed
of in large impoundments created in the valleys near the coal mines. In
multiple instances, these impoundments have failed catastrophically and
caused substantial damage to downstream aquatic habitats (and in some
cases the loss of human life) (Frey et al. 2001, entire; Michael et al.
2010, entire; Michalek et al. 1997, entire; National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) 2002, pp. 23-30). In 2000, a coal slurry impoundment in
the Tug Fork watershed failed and released approximately 946 million
liters (250 million gallons) of viscous coal slurry to several
tributary creeks of the Tug Fork, which ultimately affected 177.5 km
(110.3 mi) of stream length, including the Tug Fork and Levisa Fork
mainstems (Frey et al. 2001, entire). The authors reported a complete
fish kill in 92.8 km (57.7 mi) of stream length, and based on their
description of the instream conditions following the event, it is
reasonable to conclude that all aquatic life in these streams was
killed, including individuals of the Big Sandy crayfish, if they were
present at that time. The authors also noted that the effects of this
release will continue to negatively affect aquatic species, including
benthic macroinvertebrates, for a considerable time into the future.
Coal slurry impoundments are common throughout the ranges of the Big
Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes, and releases have been
documented in each of the States within these ranges (NAS 2002, pp. 25-
30). However, the exact location of impoundments as they relate to the
streams known to support Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes is
unknown.
In addition to the stressors described above, several active
surface coal mines in the Pinnacle Creek watershed may pose an
immediate threat to the continued existence of the Guyandotte River
crayfish. These mines represent geographic extents of 13 to 242
hectares (ha) (33 to 598 acres (ac)) and are located either on Pinnacle
Creek (e.g., encroaching to within 0.5 km (0.31 mi) of the creek) and
directly upstream (e.g., within 7.0 km (4.4 mi)) of the last documented
location of the Guyandotte River crayfish or on tributaries that drain
into Pinnacle Creek upstream of the Guyandotte River crayfish location
[[Page 18728]]
(WVDEP 2014a; WVDEP 2014b; WVDEP 2014c; WVDEP 2014d). Some of these
mines also have reported violations related to mandatory erosion and
sediment control measures (e.g., 3 to 37) within the last 2 years
(WVDEP 2014a; WVDEP 2014b; WVDEP 2014d).
Coal mining summary-- While coal extraction in the Appalachian
region has declined from the historical highs of the 20th century, we
expect that the ongoing and legacy effects of coal mining, including
the drainage from closed and abandoned mine lands, will continue to
degrade aquatic habitats and act as a stressor to both the Big Sandy
and the Guyandotte River crayfishes into the future.
Residential and commercial development--Because of the rugged
topography within the ranges of the Big Sandy and the Guyandotte River
crayfishes, most residential and commercial development and the
supporting transportation infrastructure is confined to the narrow
valley floodplains (Ehlke et al. 1982, p. 14; Kiesler et al. 1983, p.
14). The close proximity of this development to the region's streams
and rivers has historically resulted in the loss of riparian habitat
and the continued direct discharge of sediments, chemical pollutants,
sewage, and other refuse into the aquatic systems (KDOW 2013; VADEQ
2014; WVDEP 2012), which degrades habitat quality and complexity
(Merriam et al. 2011, p. 415). The best available information indicates
that the human population in these areas will continue to decrease over
the next several decades (see Figure 6, above). For example, between
2010 and 2030, the human populations of the five counties that make up
the core ranges of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes are
projected to decline between 3 to 28 percent (University of Louisville
2011; University of Virginia 2012; West Virginia University 2012).
However, while the human populations may decline, the human population
centers are likely to remain in the riparian valleys. We have no
information on whether the historical trend of releasing untreated
waste into the streams will decrease, increase, or stay the same, but
are seeking comments on this knowledge gap.
In summary, we conclude that even with the observed and projected
decline in human population within the ranges of the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes, development will still be concentrated in
the narrow valley riparian zones and may contribute to the degradation
of water quality and the aquatic habitat required by both species.
Roads--Both paved and unpaved roads can degrade the aquatic habitat
required by the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes. Paved roads,
coincident with and connecting areas of residential and commercial
development, generally occur in the narrow valley bottoms adjacent to
the region's streams and rivers. Runoff from these paved roads can
include a complex mixture of metals, organic chemicals, deicers,
nutrients, pesticides and herbicides, and sediments that, when washed
into local streams, can degrade the aquatic habitat and have a
detrimental effect on resident organisms (Buckler and Granato 1999,
entire; Boxall and Maltby 1997, entire; NAS 2005, pp. 72-75, 82-86). We
are not aware of any studies specific to the effects of highway runoff
on the Big Sandy or Guyandotte River crayfishes; however, one
laboratory study from Khan et al. (2006, pp. 515-519) evaluated the
effects of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc exposure on juvenile
Orconectes immunis, a species of pond crayfish. These particular
metals, which are known constituents of highway runoff (Sansalone et
al. 1996, p. 371), were found to inhibit oxygen consumption in O.
immunis. We are uncertain to what extent these results may be
comparable to how Big Sandy or Guyandotte River crayfishes may react to
these contaminants, but it was the only relevant study exploring the
topic in crayfish. Boxall and Maltby (1997, pp. 14-15) studied the
effects of roadway contaminants (specifically the polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons or PAHs) on Gammarus pulex, a freshwater amphipod
crustacean commonly used in toxicity studies. The authors noted an
acute toxic response to some of the PAHs, and emphasized that because
of possible interactions between the various runoff contaminants,
including deicing salts and herbicides, the toxicity of road runoff
likely varies depending on the mixture. We are uncertain to what extent
these results may be comparable to how Big Sandy or Guyandotte River
crayfishes may react to these contaminants.
The construction of new roads also has the potential to further
degrade the aquatic habitat in the region, primarily by increasing
erosion and sedimentation and perhaps roadway contaminant loading to
local streams. Two new, multi-lane highway projects, the King Coal
Highway and the Coalfields Expressway, are in various stages of
development within the Big Sandy and Upper Guyandotte River watersheds
(VDOT 2015; West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) 2015a;
WVDOT 2015b). In West Virginia, the King Coal Highway right-of-way runs
along the McDowell and Wyoming County line, the dividing line between
the Tug Fork and Upper Guyandotte watersheds, and continues into Mingo
County (which is largely in the Tug Fork watershed). This highway
project will potentially affect the current occupied habitat of both
crayfish species, but is of particular concern for the Guyandotte River
crayfish because of a section that will parallel and cross Pinnacle
Creek.
In West Virginia, the Coalfields Expressway right-of-way crosses
Wyoming and McDowell Counties roughly perpendicular to the King Coal
Highway and continues into Buchanan, Dickenson, and Wise Counties,
Virginia. This project runs through the Upper Guyandotte, Tug Fork,
Levisa Fork, and Russell Fork watersheds and has the potential to
affect the aquatic habitats in each basin. Of particular concern are
sections of the Coalfields Expressway planned through perhaps the most
robust Big Sandy crayfish populations in Dickenson County, Virginia.
Unpaved forest roads (e.g., haul roads, access roads, and skid
trails constructed by the extractive industries or others) are often
located on the steep hillsides and are recognized as a major source of
sediment loading to streams and rivers (Christopher and Visser 2007,
pp. 22-24; Clinton and Vose 2003, entire; Greir et al. 1976, pp. 1-8;
MacDonald and Coe 2008, entire; Morris et al. 2014, entire; Stringer
and Taylor 1998, entire; Wade et al. 2012, pp. 408-409; Wang et al.
2013, entire). These unpaved roads, especially those associated with
mining, forestry, and oil and gas activities, are ubiquitous throughout
the range of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes. The
estimated erosion rate for undisturbed forested sites in mountainous
terrain ranges from about 0.16 tonnes of sediment/ha/year (yr) (0.063
tons/ac/yr) to 0.31 tonnes/ha/yr (0.12 tons/ac/yr) (Grant and Wolff
1991, p. 36; Hood et al. 2002, p. 56); however, the construction of
unpaved forest roads in an area greatly increases this natural erosion
process. Wade et al. (2012, p. 403) cite typical erosion rates for
unpaved roads and trails as being from 10 to greater than 100 tonnes/
ha/yr (4 to greater than 40 tons/ac/yr), with one study of trails
established on steep slopes in the western United States resulting in
an erosion rate of 163 tonnes/ha/yr (64.7 tons/ac/yr). Christopher and
Visser (2007, pp. 23-24) estimated soil erosion rates for forestry
operations in the coastal plain, piedmont, and mountains of Virginia,
and determined that access roads and skid trails lost an average of
21.1 and
[[Page 18729]]
11.2 tonnes/ha/year (8.4 and 4.4 tons/ac/yr), respectively. The authors
estimated the erosion from one hillside skid trail to be in excess of
50 tonnes/ha/yr (19.8 tons/ac/yr) and erosion from another undescribed
site to be 270 tonnes/ha/year (107.1 tons/ac/yr). The authors concluded
that in mountainous areas, access roads and skid trails accounted for
an average of 27 and 54 percent of the erosion from a timber harvest
operation, respectively. We anticipate the number of unpaved roads
throughout the crayfishes' range to remain the same or expand as new
oil and gas facilities are built and new areas are logged.
In addition to erosion from unpaved road surfaces, we expect
erosion from unpaved road stream crossings throughout the range of the
Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes to also contribute
significant sediment loading to local waters. Wang et al. (2013,
entire) studied stream turbidity levels and suspended sediment loads
following construction of a forest haul road stream crossing in West
Virginia. The authors reported significant increases in both parameters
following construction of the stream crossing and noted that, with site
revegetation, sediment loads improved over time. However, sediment
remained in the stream channel 2 years after construction, and the
authors concluded that it could require decades to flush from the
system. Morris et al. (2014, entire) studied sediment loading from an
unpaved, but properly sized and installed, culvert stream crossing in
the Virginia piedmont. Their results indicated that, by applying the
minimal Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) ``Best Management
Practices'' (BMPs) for this type of stream crossing, the estimated
annual sediment load to the creek was 98.5 tonnes/yr (96.5 tons/yr). By
instituting the standard (vice minimum) BMP measures and installing a
geotextile and stone covering on the running surface, the sediment
loading was reduced to 28.5 tonnes/yr (27.9 tons/yr). A Statewide
survey of these types of crossings by the VDOF found that 33 percent
met the minimum criteria and 64 percent met the standard BMP
recommendations. About 3 percent of the crossings exceeded the State
BMP recommendations, but even with additional erosion control measures
the estimated sediment load was 22.5 tonnes/yr (22.1 tons/yr).
Christopher and Visser (2007, p. 23-24) estimated the average erosion
rate for stream crossings at logging sites in Virginia to be 20.8
tonnes/ha/yr (8.3 tons/ac/yr). This average includes sites in the
mountain, coastal plain, and piedmont physiographic provinces, the
latter two of which would be expected to have less erosion potential
than the steep mountainous terrain indicative of Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfish habitat.
Offroad Vehicles (ORVs)--Offroad vehicle use of haul roads and
trails has become an increasingly popular form of recreation in the
region (see http://www.riderplanet-usa.com, last accessed February 13,
2015). Recreational ORV use, which includes the use of unimproved
stream crossings, stream channel riding, and ``mudding'' (the
intentional and repeated use of wet or low-lying trail sections that
often results in the formation of deep ``mud holes''), may cause
increased sediment loading to streams and possibly kill benthic
organisms directly by crushing them (Switalski and Jones 2012, pp. 14-
15; YouTube.com 2008; YouTube.com 2010; YouTube.com 2011; YouTube.com
2013). Ayala et al. (2005, entire) modeled long-term sediment loading
from an ORV stream crossing in a ridge and valley landscape in Alabama,
and estimated that the ORV crossing contributed 45.4 tonnes/ha/yr (18
tons/ac/yr) to the stream. Chin et al. (2004, entire) studied ORV use
at stream crossings in Arkansas, and found that pools below ORV
crossings experienced increased sedimentation and decreased pool depth,
compared to unaffected streams. The quantitative data on stream bottom
embeddedness were unclear, but the authors did note that none of the
sites below ORV crossings was less than 10 percent embedded, while some
of the control sites had little or no embeddedness. Christopher and
Visser (2007, p. 24) looked at the effect of ORV use on previously
logged sites and found that ORV use significantly increased erosion at
stream crossings and access roads, as compared to sites that were
closed to ORV use.
Nearly all of the land within the ranges of the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes is privately owned. Offroad vehicle use on
private land is largely unregulated, and we found no comprehensive
information on the extent of offroad trails in the region, ridership
numbers, or the effects to local streams. However, the Hatfield-McCoy
Trail system, which was created in 2000 to promote tourism and economic
development in southern West Virginia, may provide some insight into
the scale of ORV recreation within the ranges of the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes (Pardue et al. 2014, p. 1). As of 2014, the
Hatfield-McCoy Trail system had eight individual trail networks
totaling more than 700 mi of cleared trails, with the stated long-term
goal being approximately 2,000 mi of accessible trails (Pardue et al.
2014, pp. 4-5), and in 2013, 35,900 trail permits were sold (Hatfield-
McCoy presentation 2013, p. 8). Two of the designated Hatfield-McCoy
trail networks, Pinnacle Creek and Rockhouse, are located in the Upper
Guyandotte basin and one, Buffalo Mountain, is in the Tug Fork basin.
The Pinnacle Creek Trail System, opened in 2004, is located
entirely within the Pinnacle Creek watershed and may pose a significant
threat to the continued existence of the Guyandotte River crayfish. The
majority of this unpaved trail network runs along the ridgelines or up
and down the steep mountainsides; however, approximately 13 km (8.0 mi)
of ORV trail is located in the Pinnacle Creek riparian zone, including
the area last known to harbor the Guyandotte River crayfish. At several
locations along this section of trail, riders are known to operate
their vehicles in the streambed or in adjacent ``mud holes'' (You Tube
2008; You Tube 2010; You Tube 2011; You Tube 2013; Loughman, pers.
comm., October 24, 2014). It is reasonable to conclude that these
activities increase erosion and sedimentation in Pinnacle Creek and
degrade the habitat of the Guyandotte River crayfish. In addition, the
instream operation of ORVs in Pinnacle Creek has the potential to crush
or injure individual crayfish directly.
Summary of Roads (Paved and Unpaved) and ORVs--In summary, we
conclude that contaminant runoff from paved road surfaces and erosion
and sedimentation from road construction projects, unpaved roads and
trails, and ORV use throughout the ranges of the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes likely contribute directly to degradation
of the species' habitat and will continue to do so into the future.
Forestry--The dominant land cover within the ranges of the Big
Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes is forest, and commercial timber
harvesting occurs throughout the region. While not approaching the
scale of the intensive cutting that occurred in the early 20th century,
commercial logging still has the potential to degrade aquatic habitats,
primarily by increasing erosion and sedimentation (Arthur et al. 1998,
entire; Hood et al. 2002, entire; Stone and Wallace 1998, entire;
Stringer and Hilpp 2001, entire; Swank et al. 2001, entire). The most
recent records available on timber harvesting within the ranges of the
Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes indicate that in 2007,
McDowell and Wyoming Counties, West Virginia, produced
[[Page 18730]]
238,711 cubic meters (m\3\) (8,426,498 cubic feet (ft\3\)) of timber;
in 2009, Pike County, Kentucky, produced 75,266 m\3\ (2,656,890 ft\3\)
of timber, and Buchanan, Dickenson, and Wise Counties, Virginia,
produced 264,338 m\3\ (9,331,131 ft\3\) of timber (Cooper et al. 2011a,
p. 27; Cooper et al. 2011b, pp. 26-27; Piva and Cook 2011, p. 46).
While we were unable to locate data on how much land area was subject
to harvesting, the West Virginia Forestry Association (2001, p. 2)
reported that a well-stocked timber stand in this region contains about
45.9 m\3\/ha (8,000 board feet/ac or 664 ft\3\/ac) of timber. By
dividing the total amount of timber harvested, 578,315 m\3\ (20,414,520
ft\3\), by 45.9 m\3\/ha (664 ft\3\/ac), we estimate that approximately
12,600 ha (30,745 ac) of forest were harvested within the core ranges
of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes during a single year
(either 2007 or 2009, depending on the State). Based on land cover data
from the USGS (2015, entire) this represents approximately 1.9 percent
of the total forest cover within this area.
Hood et al. (2002, p. 56) estimated the erosion rate for an
undisturbed forested site in the southern Appalachians to be about 0.31
tonnes/ha/yr (0.12 tons/ac/yr). The authors then estimated the erosion
rates resulting from several different timber harvest techniques (e.g.,
clearcut, leave tree, group selection, and shelterwood) and found that
during the first year postharvest, erosion rates ranged from 5.33 to
11.86 tonnes/ha/yr (2.11 to 4.71 tons/ac/yr). Applying these erosion
rates to the estimated single-year harvested area calculated above
(12,600 ha (30,745 ac)) indicates that, if the forest is undisturbed,
about 3,906 tonnes (3,828 tons) of sediment will erode, while logging
the same area will produce perhaps 67,158 to 149,436 tonnes (65,815 to
146,447 tons) of sediment. While Hood et al. (2002) found that erosion
rates improved quickly in subsequent years following logging, Swank, et
al. (2001, pp. 174-176) studied the long-term effects of timber
harvesting at a site in the Blue Ridge physiographic province in North
Carolina, and determined that 15 years postharvest, the annual sediment
yield was still 50 percent above predisturbance levels.
This analysis of potential erosion within the ranges of the Big
Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes likely underestimates actual
erosion rates. Hood et al. (2002, p. 54) provide the caveat that the
model they used does not account for gully erosion, landslides, soil
creep, stream channel erosion, or episodic erosion from single storms,
and, therefore, their estimates of actual sediment transport are low.
The authors also reported that applicable BMPs were applied diligently
at their study sites and that all skid trails were closed to vehicle
traffic after harvesting was completed (Hood et al. 2002, p. 55). The
rates of BMP adherence and effectiveness at other logging sites within
the ranges of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes vary.
Stringer and Queary (1997, entire) found that in eastern Kentucky,
which includes the Big Sandy drainage, BMPs were either not used or not
effective at 43.2 percent of the logging sites and that at 13.5 percent
of the sites the BMPs were used but not effective. Wang et al. (2007,
p.15) studied randomly selected sites that were logged between November
2003 and March 2004 and determined that, within the West Virginia
Forestry District that includes the Upper Guyandotte watershed, BMP
adherence was 80 percent. A 2012 report on forestry BMP implementation
in the southeast United States (Southern Group of State Foresters 2012,
p. 6) indicates that the Statewide level of compliance in Virginia
improved from about 75 to 86 percent between 2007 and 2011. The
implementation of forestry BMPs to reduce erosion and sedimentation is
not required for certain timber cutting operations. In Kentucky, tree
clearing incidental to preparing coal mining sites is specifically
exempted, and in West Virginia, tree-clearing activities incidental to
ground-disturbing construction activities, including those related to
oil and gas development, are exempted (Kentucky Division of Forestry
undated fact sheet, downloaded February 5, 2015); West Virginia
Division of Forestry 2014, pp. 3-4).
Swank et al. (2001) also referenced several associated studies on
the response of stream invertebrates to the timber harvest and
resultant sediment loading. These studies showed an alteration in
abundance, biomass, and productivity of taxa, notably a decrease in
abundance of species that inhabit lower gradient sand and pebble
habitats. They also note that after more than 15 years, the stream
invertebrate community was gradually returning toward that found in a
reference stream (Swank, et al. 2001, p. 175).
Because timber harvesting occurs year to year on a rotational basis
throughout the Big Sandy and Upper Guyandotte watersheds, and because
the excess sedimentation from harvested sites may take decades to flush
from area streams, we conclude that soil erosion and sedimentation from
commercial timber harvesting is likely relatively constant and ongoing
in the region, and continually degrades the aquatic habitat required by
the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes.
Stream channelization and dredging--Flooding is a recurring problem
for people living in the southern Appalachians, and many individuals
and mountain communities have resorted to unpermitted stream dredging
or bulldozing to deepen channels and/or remove obstructions in an
attempt to alleviate damage from future floods (West Virginia
Conservation Agency (WVCA), pp. 4, 36-38, 225-229). As recently as
2009, Loughman (pers. comm., October 24, 2014) observed heavy equipment
being operated in stream channels in the Upper Guyandotte basin.
Unfortunately, these efforts are rarely effective at reducing major
flood damage and often cause other problems such as stream bank
erosion, lateral stream migration, channel downcutting, and
sedimentation (WVCA, pp. 225-229). Stream dredging or bulldozing also
causes direct damage to the aquatic habitat by removing benthic
structure, such as slab boulders, and likely kills benthic organisms by
crushing or burial. Because these dredging and bulldozing activities
are unpermitted, we have little data on exactly how widespread or how
often they occur within the ranges of the Big Sandy or Guyandotte River
crayfishes. However, during their 2009 survey work for Cambarus
veteranus in the Upper Guyandotte and Tug Fork basins, Loughman and
Welsh (2013, p. 23) noted that 54 percent of the sites they surveyed
(these were sites predicted to be suitable to the species) appeared to
have been dredged, evidenced by monotypic gravel or cobble bottoms and
a conspicuous absence of large slab boulders. These sites were thus
rendered unsuitable for occupation by C. veteranus and confirmed so by
the absence of the species.
Gas and oil development--The Appalachian Plateaus physiographic
province is underlain by numerous geological formations that contain
natural gas, and to a lesser extent oil. The Marcellus shale formation
underlies the entire range of the Guyandotte River crayfish and a high
proportion of the range of the Big Sandy crayfish, specifically
McDowell County, West Virginia, and part of Buchanan County, Virginia
(U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) 2011, p. 5), and various formations
that make up the Devonian Big Sandy shale gas play (e.g., a favorable
geographic area that has been targeted for exploration) underlie the
entire range of the Big Sandy crayfish and some of the range of the
Guyandotte
[[Page 18731]]
River crayfish (USDOE 2011, p. 9). In addition to these shale gas
formations, natural gas also occurs in conventional formations and in
coal seams (referred to as ``coal bed methane'' or CBM) in each of the
counties making up the ranges of the two species. The intensity of
resource extraction from these geological formations has varied over
time depending on market conditions and available technology, but since
the mid- to late 20th century, many thousands of gas and oil wells have
been installed within the ranges of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River
crayfishes (KGS 2015; VDMME 2015, WVDEP 2015).
Numerous studies have reported that natural gas development has the
potential to degrade aquatic habitats (Adams et al. 2011, pp. 8-10, 18;
Boelter et al. 1992, pp. 1192-1195; Drohan and Brittingham, 2012,
entire; Harkness et al. 2015, entire; McBroom et al. 2012, pp. 953-956;
Olmstead et al. 2013, pp. 4966-4967; Papoulias and Velasco 2013,
entire; USEPA 2014, entire; Vegosh et al. 2014, pp. 8339-8342; Vidic et
al. 2013, entire; Warner et al. 2013, entire). The construction of well
pads and related infrastructure (e.g., gas pipelines, compressor
stations, wastewater pipelines and impoundments, and access roads) can
increase erosion and sedimentation, and the release of drilling fluids,
other industrial chemicals, or formation brines can contaminate local
streams.
Within the ranges of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes
the topography is rugged and the dominant land cover is forest;
therefore, the construction of new gas wells and related infrastructure
usually involves timber cutting and significant earth moving to create
level well pads, access roads, and pipeline rights-of-way. Drohan and
Brittingham (2012, entire) analyzed the runoff potential for shale gas
development sites in the Allegheny Plateau region of Pennsylvania, and
found that 50 to 70 percent of existing or permitted pad sites had
medium to very high runoff potential and were at an elevated risk of
soil erosion. McBroom et al. (2012, entire) studied soil erosion from
two well pads constructed in a forested area in the Gulf Coastal Plain
of east Texas. One well was constructed in the channel of an
intermittent stream, which was rechanneled around the pad following
construction. The second well was constructed on a terraced hillside
but with a 15-m (50-ft) vegetated riparian buffer. The observed
sediment losses were 14 and 0.7 tonnes/ha/yr (5.54 and 0.28 tons/ac/
yr), respectively. The authors reference their earlier study in east
Texas that found the average sediment yield from undisturbed forested
sites to be 0.042 tonnes/ha/yr (0.017 tons/ac/yr) (McBroom et al. 2012,
pp. 954-955). As noted previously, Hood et al. (2002, p. 56) estimated
the erosion rate for an undisturbed forested site in the steeper
terrain of the southern Appalachians to be about 0.31 tonnes/ha/yr
(0.12 tons/ac/yr), an order of magnitude greater than that reported by
McBroom et al. (2012) for an undisturbed site in east Texas. Therefore,
it is reasonable to conclude that the erosion potential from disturbed
sites within the ranges of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River
crayfishes is also much greater than that observed by McBroom et al.
(2012) in east Texas.
Natural gas well drilling and well stimulation, especially the
technique of hydraulic fracturing, can also degrade aquatic habitats
when drilling fluids or other associated chemicals or high salinity
formation waters (e.g., flowback water and produced water) are
released, either intentionally or by accident, into local surface
waters (Harkness et al. 2015, entire; McBroom et al. 2012, p. 951;
Papoulias and Velasco 2013, entire; USEPA 2014, entire; Vidic et al.
2013, entire; Warner et al. 2013, entire). We anticipate the rate of
oil and gas development within the ranges of the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes to increase based on projections from a
report by IHIS Global, Inc. (2013, p. 4) produced for the American
Petroleum Institute, which indicate that the ``recent surge in oil and
gas transportation and storage infrastructure investment is not a short
lived phenomenon. Rather, we find that a sustained period of high
levels of oil and gas infrastructure investment will continue through
the end of the decade.'' While this projection is generalized across
all oil and gas infrastructure within the United States, an increase of
new infrastructure within the ranges of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte
River crayfishes is also anticipated because of the yet untapped
Marcellus and Devonian Big Sandy shale resources discussed above.
Summary of Factor A--The best available information indicates the
primary threats to both the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes
throughout their respective ranges are land-disturbing activities that
increase erosion and sedimentation, which degrades the stream habitat
required by both species. Identified sources of ongoing erosion and
sedimentation that occur throughout the ranges of the species include
active surface coal mining, commercial forestry, unpaved roads, gas and
oil development, and road construction. These activities are ongoing
(e.g., imminent) and expected to continue at variable rates into the
future. For example, while active coal mining may decline, the legacy
effects will continue, and oil and gas activities and road construction
are expected to increase. An additional threat specific to the
Guyandotte River crayfish is the ongoing operation of ORVs in and
adjacent to the species' last known location in Pinnacle Creek; this
ORV use is expected to continue. Contributing stressors include water
quality degradation resulting from abandoned coal mine drainage;
untreated (or poorly treated) sewage discharges; road runoff;
unpermitted stream dredging; and potential catastrophic spills of coal
slurry, fluids associated with gas well development, or other
contaminants.
Factor B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or
Educational Purposes
We found no information indicating that overutilization has led to
the loss of populations or a significant reduction in numbers of
individuals for either the Big Sandy crayfish or Guyandotte River
crayfish. Therefore, we conclude based on the best scientific and
commercial information available that overutilization for commercial,
recreational, scientific, or educational purposes does not currently
pose a threat to the Big Sandy crayfish or the Guyandotte River
crayfish. However, because the best available information indicates
that the Guyandotte River crayfish persists only in very low numbers in
the midreach of a single stream, increased awareness of the species'
rarity may make it more desirable to collectors. Similarly, because the
Big Sandy crayfish is now recognized as a newly described species, it
too could become more desirable to collectors. Any future collection of
either species, but especially of the Guyandotte River crayfish, could
pose a threat to their continued existence.
Factor C. Disease or Predation
We found no information indicating that disease or predation has
led to the loss of populations or a significant reduction in numbers of
individuals of the Guyandotte River crayfish. However, because the
species is known to persist only in very low numbers in the midreach of
a single stream, any source of mortality or any impairment of growth,
reproduction, or fitness may pose a threat to its continued existence.
Additionally, it is possible that this remnant population lacks the
genetic diversity of the original wider
[[Page 18732]]
population, which may now make it more vulnerable to disease.
Similarly, we have no information indicating that disease or
predation has led to the decline of the Big Sandy crayfish. However,
the existing population is fragmented into at least four isolated
subpopulations in several different watersheds, the upper Tug Fork
system, the upper Levisa Fork system, Russell Fork/Levisa Fork system,
and the Pound River/Cranes Nest River system (see Factor E, below).
While this isolation may provide the species some resiliency should
disease (or other catastrophe) affect any one of the subpopulations,
this potentially positive aspect of habitat fragmentation is countered
by the fact that each isolated subpopulation is at a higher risk of
extirpation. However, the best scientific and commercial information
available indicates that disease or predation do not pose a threat to
the existence of either the Guyandotte River crayfish or the Big Sandy
crayfish now or in the future.
Factor D. The Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
Few existing Federal or State regulatory mechanisms specifically
protect the Big Sandy or Guyandotte River crayfishes or the aquatic
habitats where they occur. The species' habitats are afforded some
protection from water quality and habitat degradation under the Federal
CWA (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.), along with
State laws and regulations such as the Kentucky regulations for water
quality, coal mining, forest conservation, and natural gas development
(401 KAR, 402 KAR, 405 KAR, 805 KAR); the Virginia State Water Control
Law (Va. Code sec. 62.1-44.2 et seq.); and the West Virginia Water
Pollution Control Act (WVSC sec. 22-11) and Logging and Sediment
Control Act (WVSC sec.19-1B). Additionally, the Big Sandy crayfish is
listed as endangered by the State of Virginia (Va. Code sec. 29.1-563
to 570), which provides that species some direct protection within the
Virginia portion of its range. However, while water quality has
generally improved since 1977, when the CWA and SMCRA were enacted or
amended, there is continuing, ongoing degradation of habitat for both
species, as detailed under Factor A, above. Therefore, despite the
protections afforded by these laws and implementing regulations, both
the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes continue to be affected
by degraded water quality and habitat conditions.
In 1989, 12 years after enactment of the CWA and SMCRA, the
Guyandotte River crayfish was known to occur in low numbers in Huff
Creek and Pinnacle Creek (Jezerinac et al. 1995, p. 170). However,
surveys since 2002 indicate the species has been extirpated from Huff
Creek and continues to be found only in very low numbers in Pinnacle
Creek. Despite more than 35 years of CWA and SMCRA regulatory
protection, the range of the Guyandotte River crayfish has declined
substantially, and the single known population contains few
individuals. There is little information available to determine trends
in the Big Sandy crayfish's range or population since enactment of the
CWA or SMCRA. However, as discussed previously, surveys conducted
between 2007 and 2010 (Thoma 2009 and 2010, entire) indicate that the
species' current range is significantly reduced from its historical
range, and that much of the historical habitat continues to be degraded
by sediments and other pollutants. In addition, at many of the sites
that do continue to harbor the species, the Big Sandy crayfish is found
only in low numbers with individual crayfish often reported to be in
poor physical condition (Thoma 2010, p. 6; Loughman, pers. comm.,
October 24, 2014). Reduction in the range of the Big Sandy Crayfish and
continued degradation of its habitat lead us to conclude that neither
the CWA nor the SMCRA has been wholly effective at protecting this
species.
As discussed in previous sections, erosion and sedimentation caused
by various land-disturbing activities, such as surface coal mining,
roads, forestry, and oil and gas development, pose an ongoing threat to
the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes. State efforts to address
excessive erosion and sedimentation involve the implementation of BMPs;
however, as discussed under Factor A, above, BMPs are often not
strictly applied, are sometimes voluntary, or are situationally
ineffective. Additionally, studies indicate that even when BMPs are
properly applied and effective, erosion rates at disturbed sites are
still significantly above erosion rates at undisturbed sites
(Christopher and Visser 2007, pp. 22-24; Grant and Wolff 1991, p. 36;
Hood et al. 2002, p. 56; McBroom et al. 2012, pp. 954-955; Wang et al.
2013, pp. 86-90).
Although the majority of the land throughout the ranges of the two
species is privately owned, publicly managed lands in the region
include a portion of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, and 10
State wildlife management areas and parks in the remainder of the Big
Sandy and Upper Guyandotte watershed (one in Russell Fork, three in
Levisa Fork, four in Tug Fork, two in Upper Guyandotte). However, three
of these parcels surround artificial reservoirs that are no longer
suitable habitat for either the Big Sandy crayfish or Guyandotte River
crayfish, and six others are not in known occupied crayfish habitat.
Only the Jefferson National Forest and the Breaks Interstate Park in
the Russell Fork watershed at the Kentucky/Virginia border appear to
potentially offer additional protections to extant Big Sandy crayfish
populations, presumably through stricter management of land-disturbing
activities that cause erosion and sedimentation. However, the extent of
publically owned land adding to the protection of the Big Sandy and
Guyandotte River crayfishes is minimal and not sufficient to offset the
rangewide threats to either species.
Summary of Factor D--Degradation of Big Sandy and Guyandotte River
crayfish habitat (Factor A) is ongoing despite existing regulatory
mechanisms. While these regulatory efforts have led to some
improvements in water quality and aquatic habitat conditions, the
precipitous decline of the Guyandotte River crayfish and the decline of
the Big Sandy crayfish within most of its range indicate that these
regulatory efforts have not been effective at protecting these two
species. In addition, the threat resulting from the species' endemism
and their isolated and small population sizes (discussed below under
Factor E) cannot be addressed through regulatory mechanisms.
Factor E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting Its Continued
Existence
Locally endemic, isolated, and small population size--It is
intuitive and generally accepted that the key factors governing a
species' risk of extinction include small population size, reduced
habitat size, and fragmented habitat (Hakoyama et al. 2000, pp. 327,
334-336; Lande 1993, entire; Pimm et al. 1988, pp. 757, 774-777;
Wiegand et al. 2005, entire). Relevant to wholly aquatic species, such
as the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes, Angermeier (1995, pp.
153-157) found that fish species that were limited by physiographic
range or range of waterbody sizes were also more vulnerable to
extirpation or extinction, especially as suitable habitats became more
fragmented. As detailed in previous sections, both the Big Sandy
crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish are known to exist only in
the
[[Page 18733]]
Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province and are limited to certain
stream classes and habitat types within their respective river basins.
Furthermore, the extant populations of each species are limited to
certain disjunct subwatersheds, which are physically isolated from the
others by distance, human-induced inhospitable intervening habitat
conditions, and/or physical barriers (e.g., dams and reservoirs).
Genetic fitness--Species that are restricted in range and
population size are more likely to suffer loss of genetic diversity due
to genetic drift, potentially increasing their susceptibility to
inbreeding depression, and reducing the fitness of individuals
(Allendorf and Luikart 2007, pp. 117-146; Hunter 2002, pp. 97-101;
Soule 1980, pp. 157-158). Similarly, the random loss of adaptive genes
through genetic drift may limit the ability of the Big Sandy crayfish
and, especially, the Guyandotte River crayfish to respond to changes in
their environment such as the chronic sedimentation and water quality
effects described above or catastrophic events (Noss and Cooperrider
1994, p. 61). Small population sizes and inhibited gene flow between
populations may increase the likelihood of local extirpation (Gilpin
and Soul[eacute] 1986, pp. 32-34). The long-term viability of a species
is founded on the conservation of numerous local populations throughout
its geographic range (Harris 1984, pp. 93-104). These separate
populations are essential for the species to recover and adapt to
environmental change (Harris 1984, pp. 93-104; Noss and Cooperrider
1994, pp. 264-297). The populations of the Big Sandy crayfish are
isolated from other existing populations and known historical habitats
by inhospitable stream conditions and dams that are barriers to
crayfish movement. The current population of the Guyandotte River
crayfish is restricted to one location in one stream. This population
is isolated from other known historical habitats by inhospitable stream
conditions. The level of isolation and the restricted ranges seen in
each species make natural repopulation of historical habitats or other
new areas following previous localized extirpations virtually
impossible without human intervention.
Guyandotte River crayfish--As discussed previously, the historical
range of the Guyandotte River crayfish has been greatly reduced. Early
surveys confirmed the species in 9 streams (15 individual sites) in the
Upper Guyandotte basin, and prior to the widespread habitat degradation
that began in the early 20th century, it undoubtedly occurred at other
suitable sites throughout the system (Loughman, pers. comm. October 24,
2014). In 2009, 35 likely sites were surveyed in the Upper Guyandotte
basin (including 13 of the historical sites), and the species was found
only in very low numbers at a single site in the midreach of Pinnacle
Creek (Loughman 2013, pp. 5-6). Any further reduction in the range of
the Guyandotte River crayfish (i.e., loss of the Pinnacle Creek
population) would likely result in the species' extinction.
Based on the Guyandotte River crayfish's original distribution and
the behavior of other similar stream-dwelling crayfish, it is
reasonable to surmise that, prior to the widespread habitat degradation
in the basin, individuals from the various occupied sites were free to
move between sites or to colonize (or recolonize) suitable vacant sites
(Kerby et al. 2005, pp. 407-408; Momot 1966, entire). According to
Loughman (2013, p. 9), Huff Creek, where the species was last noted in
1989 (Jezerinac et al. 1995, p. 170), is one of the few streams in the
basin that still appears to maintain habitat conducive to the species.
However Huff Creek and another historical stream, Little Huff Creek,
are physically isolated from the extant Pinnacle Creek population by
the R.D. Bailey Dam on the Guyandotte River near the town of Justice,
West Virginia. This physical barrier, as well as generally inhospitable
habitat conditions throughout the basin, makes it unlikely and perhaps
impossible for individuals from the extant Pinnacle Creek population to
successfully disperse to recolonize other locations in the basin.
And, as noted above in Factor A, the persistence of the last known
Guyandotte River crayfish population is threatened by several proximate
active surface coal mines and ORV use in the Pinnacle Creek watershed.
The species lacks redundancy (e.g., the ability of a species to
withstand catastrophic events) and representation (e.g., the ability of
a species to adapt to changing environmental conditions), and has very
little resiliency (e.g., the ability of the species to withstand
stochastic events); therefore, this single small population is at an
increased risk of extirpation, and in this case likely extinction, from
natural demographic or environmental stochasticity, a catastrophic
event, or even a modest increase in any existing threat at the single
known site of occurrence.
Big Sandy crayfish--The survey work of Thoma (2009, p. 10; 2010, p.
6) and Loughman (2013, pp. 7-8) demonstrates that the geographic extent
of the Big Sandy crayfish's occupied habitat, in the context of the
species' historical range, is significantly reduced. Additionally,
their research indicates that, because of widespread habitat
degradation, the species is notably absent from many individual streams
where its presence would otherwise be expected, and at most sites where
it does still persist, it is generally found in low numbers.
Because the Big Sandy crayfish is wholly aquatic and therefore
limited in its ability to move from one location to another by the
basin's complex hydrology, the species' overall population size and
current geographic range must be considered carefully when evaluating
its risk of extinction. Prior to the significant habitat degradation
that began in the late 1800s, the Big Sandy crayfish likely occurred in
suitable stream habitat throughout its range (from the Levisa Fork/Tug
Fork confluence to the headwater streams in the Russell Fork, Levisa
Fork, and Tug Fork basins) (Thoma 2010, p. 6; Thoma et al. 2014, p.
549), and individuals were free to move between occupied sites or to
colonize (or recolonize) suitable vacant sites. The current situation
is quite different, with the species' occupied subwatersheds being
isolated from each other by linear distance (of downstream and upstream
segments), inhospitable intervening habitat, and/or dams. Therefore,
the status and risk of extirpation of each individual subpopulation
must be considered in assessing the species' risk of extinction. Based
on habitat connectedness (or lack thereof), we consider the existing
Big Sandy crayfish subpopulations to be the upper Tug Fork population,
the upper Levisa Fork population, the Russell Fork/Levisa Fork
population (including Shelby Creek), and the Pound River/Cranes Nest
River population (Figure 7). While the Pound River and Cranes Nest
River are in the same subwatershed, they both flow into the Flannagan
Reservoir, which is unsuitable habitat for the species. Therefore, the
Big Sandy crayfish populations in these streams are not only isolated
from other populations by the dam and reservoir, but also most likely
isolated from each other by the inhospitable habitat in the reservoir
itself (Loughman, pers. comm., December 1, 2014). It is conceivable,
however, that on occasions when reservoir levels are low, crayfish from
the Pound and Cranes Nest Rivers could intermix. Also, because the
Fishtrap Dam physically isolates the upper Levisa Fork (Dismal Creek)
population from the remainder of the species' range, only the upper Tug
Fork and the
[[Page 18734]]
Russell Fork/Levisa Fork subpopulations still maintain any possible
connection. However, intervening stream distance (240 km (150 mi)) and
poor habitat conditions in both the lower Tug Fork and the lower Levisa
Fork make it unlikely that individuals from either subpopulation can
migrate out of their respective subbasins to intermix or recolonize
other sites.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP07AP15.010
There is one exception to this subpopulation organization. In 2009,
a single Big Sandy crayfish was recovered by Thoma (2010, p. 6) in the
lower Levisa Fork at the town of Auxier, Kentucky, more than 50 km (31
mi) downstream of the nearest other occupied site near the town of Coal
Run Village, Kentucky (Figure 7). The author surveyed 8 other likely
sites in the lower Levisa system between Auxier and Coal Run Village,
but did not confirm the species at any location. Therefore, we conclude
that the lower Levisa Fork system does not represent a viable
subpopulation.
The four remaining subpopulations differ in their resiliency. The
upper Levisa Fork population persists in a single stream, as do the
Pound River/Cranes Nest River populations. While the species appears to
be moderately abundant in these streams (see Table 3, above), the fact
that they are restricted to single streams (versus a network of
streams) makes them especially susceptible to catastrophic loss as a
result of a contaminant spill, disease, stream dredging, or other
perturbation. The upper Tug Fork population also appears to be
relatively insecure, with most sites where the species is still found
showing very low abundance. Thoma (2010, p. 6) found the species in low
numbers in the Kentucky portion of the upper Tug Fork system and
described their status there as ``highly tenuous.''
This isolation, caused by habitat fragmentation, reduces the
resiliency of the species by eliminating the potential movement of
individuals from one subpopulation to another, or to unoccupied sites
that could become habitable in the future. This inhibits gene flow in
the species as a whole and will likely reduce the genetic diversity and
perhaps the fitness of individuals in the remaining subpopulations.
Interspecific competition--A contributing factor to the imperilment
of the habitat-specialist Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes may
be increased interspecific competition brought about by habitat
degradation. In the Upper Guyandotte, researchers surmise that as the
benthic habitat was degraded by sedimentation, competition between the
habitat-specialist Guyandotte River crayfish and more generalist native
crayfish species may have contributed to the former's decline (Loughman
2014, pp. 32-33). The Guyandotte River crayfish has always been
associated with faster moving water of riffles and runs, while other
native species such as Cambarus theepiensis are typically associated
with the lower velocity portions of streams. Loughman surmises that,
because these lower velocity stream habitats suffer the effects of
increased sedimentation and bottom embeddedness before the effects are
manifested in the faster moving reaches, the native crayfish using
these habitats migrated into the relatively less affected riffle and
run habitats that are normally the niche of the Guyandotte River
crayfish. In the ensuing competition between the habitat-specialist
Guyandotte River crayfish and the more generalist species, the former
is thought to be at a competitive
[[Page 18735]]
disadvantage. Survey results support this hypothesis, with C.
theepiensis being found commonly in the riffle habitats of streams
suffering from high sediment loads, including the historical Guyandotte
River crayfish locations. At the Pinnacle Creek location, Loughman
(2014, pp. 9, 33) noted a 40:1 ratio between C. theepiensis and
Guyandotte River crayfish numbers. We have no information to determine
whether or not the Big Sandy crayfish faces similar competitive
pressures.
Direct Mortality Due to Crushing
As discussed above under Factor A, ORV use of unpaved trails are a
source of sedimentation into the aquatic habitats within the range of
the Guyandotte River crayfish. In addition to this habitat degradation,
there is the potential for direct crayfish mortality as a result of
crushing when ORVs use stream crossings, or when they deviate from
designated trails or run over slab boulders that the Guyandotte River
crayfish use for shelter (Loughman 2014, pp. 30-31).
Summary of Factor E--The habitat of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte
River crayfishes is highly fragmented, thereby isolating the remaining
populations of each species from each other. The remaining individuals
are found in very low numbers at most locations where they still exist.
The level of isolation and the restricted ranges seen in each species
make natural repopulation of historical habitats or other new areas
following previous localized extirpations virtually impossible without
human intervention. This reduction in redundancy and representation
significantly impairs the resiliency of each species and poses a threat
to their continued existence. In addition, direct mortality due to
crushing may have a significant effect on the Guyandotte River
crayfish. Interspecific competition from other native crayfish species
that are more adapted to degraded stream conditions may also act as an
additional stressor to the Guyandotte River crayfish.
Cumulative Effects From Factors A Through E
Based on the risk factors described above, the Big Sandy crayfish
and the Guyandotte River crayfish are at an increased risk of
extinction primarily due to land-disturbing activities that increase
erosion and sedimentation, and subsequently degrade the stream habitat
required by both species (Factor A), and due to the effects of small
population size (Factor E). Other contributing factors are degraded
water quality and unpermitted stream dredging (Factor A). While events
such as collection (Factor B) or disease and predation (Factor C) are
not currently known to affect either species, any future incidences
will further reduce the resiliency of the Guyandotte River and Big
Sandy crayfishes.
12-Month Petition Finding
Big Sandy Crayfish
As required by the Act, we considered the five factors in assessing
whether the Big Sandy crayfish is an endangered or threatened species,
as cited in the petition, throughout all of its range. We examined the
best scientific and commercial information available regarding the
past, present, and future threats faced by the Big Sandy crayfish. We
reviewed the petition, information available in our files, and other
available published and unpublished information, and we consulted with
recognized crayfish experts and other Federal and State agencies.
We identify that the primary threats to the Big Sandy crayfish are
attributable to land disturbance that increases erosion and
sedimentation, which degrades the stream habitat required by both
species (Factor A), and to the effects of small population size (Factor
E). Other contributing factors are degraded water quality and
unpermitted stream dredging (Factor A). Existing regulatory mechanisms
are inadequate to reduce these threats (Factor D).
On the basis of the best scientific and commercial information
available, we find that the petitioned action to list the Big Sandy
crayfish as an endangered or threatened species is warranted. A
determination on the status of the species as an endangered or
threatened species is presented below in the proposed listing
determination.
Status Review Finding
Guyandotte River Crayfish
As required by the Act, we considered the five factors in assessing
whether the Guyandotte crayfish is an endangered or threatened species
throughout all of its range. We examined the best scientific and
commercial information available regarding the past, present, and
future threats faced by the Guyandotte River crayfish. We reviewed
information available in our files, and other available published and
unpublished information, and we consulted with recognized crayfish
experts and other Federal and State agencies.
We identify that the primary threats to the Guyandotte River
crayfish are attributable to land disturbance that increases erosion
and sedimentation, which degrades the stream habitat required by both
species (Factor A), and to the effects of small population size (Factor
E). Other contributing factors are degraded water quality and
unpermitted stream dredging (Factor A). Existing regulatory mechanisms
are inadequate to reduce these threats (Factor D).
On the basis of the best scientific and commercial information
available, we find that the Guyandotte River crayfish warrants listing
as an endangered or threatened species. A determination on the status
of the species as an endangered or threatened species is presented
below in the proposed listing determination.
Determination
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533), and its implementing
regulations at 50 CFR part 424, set forth the procedures for adding
species to the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and
Plants. Under section 4(a)(1) of the Act, we may list a species based
on (A) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or
curtailment of its habitat or range; (B) overutilization for
commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (C)
disease or predation; (D) the inadequacy of existing regulatory
mechanisms; or (E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its
continued existence. Listing actions may be warranted based on any of
the above threat factors, singly or in combination.
As discussed above, we have carefully assessed the best scientific
and commercial information and data available regarding the past,
present, and future threats to the Big Sandy crayfish and the
Guyandotte River crayfish. Rangewide habitat loss and degradation
(Factor A) is occurring from land-disturbing activities that increase
erosion and sedimentation, which degrades the stream habitat required
by both species. Identified sources of ongoing erosion include active
surface coal mining, commercial forestry, unpaved roads, gas and oil
development, and road construction. An additional threat specific to
the Guyandotte River crayfish is the operation of ORVs in and adjacent
to Pinnacle Creek, the last known remaining extant population.
Contributing stressors to both species include water quality
degradation (Factor A) resulting from abandoned coal mine drainage;
untreated (or poorly treated) sewage discharges; road runoff;
unpermitted stream dredging; and potential catastrophic spills of coal
slurry, fluids associated with gas well development, or other
contaminants. The effects of habitat loss have resulted in a
significant range contraction of the
[[Page 18736]]
Big Sandy crayfish to all but higher elevation habitats, and the
Guyandotte River crayfish's current distribution is limited to one site
with five known individuals confirmed during last survey in 2011.
Existing State wildlife laws and Federal regulations such as the CWA
and SMCRA are insufficient to address the threats to the species
(Factor D). Additionally, the habitat of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte
River crayfishes is highly fragmented, thereby isolating the remaining
populations of each species (Factor E) from each other. The remaining
individuals are found in very low numbers at most locations where they
still exist. The single remaining population of the Guyandotte River
crayfish has no redundancy and significantly reduced representation.
The level of isolation and the restricted range of each species make
natural repopulation of historical habitats or other new areas
following previous localized extirpations virtually impossible without
human intervention. The reduction in redundancy and representation for
each species significantly impairs their resiliency and poses a threat
to their continued existence. The interspecific competition (Factor E)
from other native crayfish species that are more adapted to degraded
stream conditions may act as an additional stressor to the Guyandotte
River crayfish. These Factor A and Factor E threats are rangewide; are
not likely to be reduced in the future; are likely to increase (e.g.,
for Factor A, oil and gas development and road construction; for Factor
E, extirpation and further isolation of populations); and are
significant because they further restrict limited available habitat and
decrease the resiliency of Big Sandy crayfish and Guyandotte River
crayfish within those habitats.
The Act defines an endangered species as any species that is ``in
danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its
range'' and a threatened species as any species ``that is likely to
become endangered throughout all or a significant portion of its range
within the foreseeable future.'' As discussed above, we find that the
Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish are in danger of
extinction throughout their entire ranges based on the severity and
immediacy of threats currently affecting these species. For the Big
Sandy crayfish, although the species still occupies sites located
throughout the breadth of its historical range, the remaining sites are
significantly reduced to only the higher elevations within the
watersheds; the remaining habitat and populations are threatened by a
variety of factors acting in combination to reduce the overall
viability of the species. The risk of extinction is high because the
remaining populations are small and isolated, and because there is
limited potential for recolonization. For the Guyandotte River
crayfish, the species has been reduced to a single site, and its
habitat and population are threatened by a variety of factors acting in
combination to reduce, and likely eliminate, the overall viability of
the species. The risk of extinction is high because the single
population is very small and isolated, and has essentially no potential
to recolonize other sites. Therefore, on the basis of the best
available scientific and commercial information, we propose to list the
Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish as endangered
species in accordance with sections 3(6) and 4(a)(1) of the Act because
the threats are impacting both of the species at a high level of
severity across their severely contracted ranges now, and are expected
to increase into the future. All of these factors combined lead us to
conclude that the threat of extinction is high and immediate, thus
warranting a determination as an endangered species rather than a
threatened species for both the Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte
River crayfish.
Under the Act and our implementing regulations, a species may
warrant listing if it is endangered or threatened throughout all or a
significant portion of its range. Because we have determined that the
Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish are endangered
throughout all of their ranges, no portion of their ranges can be
``significant'' for purposes of the definitions of ``endangered
species'' and ``threatened species.'' See the Final Policy on
Interpretation of the Phrase ``Significant Portion of Its Range'' in
the Endangered Species Act's Definitions of ``Endangered Species'' and
``Threatened Species'' (79 FR 37577, July 1, 2014).
Available Conservation Measures
Conservation measures provided to species listed as endangered or
threatened under the Act include recognition, recovery actions,
requirements for Federal protection, and prohibitions against certain
practices. Recognition through listing results in public awareness and
conservation by Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies; private
organizations; and individuals. The Act encourages cooperation with the
States and other countries and calls for recovery actions to be carried
out for listed species. The protection required by Federal agencies and
the prohibitions against certain activities are discussed, in part,
below.
The primary purpose of the Act is the conservation of endangered
and threatened species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The
ultimate goal of such conservation efforts is the recovery of these
listed species, so that they no longer need the protective measures of
the Act. Subsection 4(f) of the Act calls for the Service to develop
and implement recovery plans for the conservation of endangered and
threatened species. The recovery planning process involves the
identification of actions that are necessary to halt or reverse the
species' decline by addressing the threats to its survival and
recovery. The goal of this process is to restore listed species to a
point where they are secure, self-sustaining, and functioning
components of their ecosystems.
Recovery planning includes the development of a recovery outline
shortly after a species is listed and preparation of a draft and final
recovery plan. The recovery outline guides the immediate implementation
of urgent recovery actions and describes the process to be used to
develop a recovery plan. Revisions of the plan may be done to address
continuing or new threats to the species, as new substantive
information becomes available. The recovery plan also identifies
recovery criteria for review of when a species may be ready for
downlisting or delisting, and methods for monitoring recovery progress.
Recovery plans also establish a framework for agencies to coordinate
their recovery efforts and provide estimates of the cost of
implementing recovery tasks. Recovery teams (composed of species
experts, Federal and State agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and
stakeholders) are often established to develop recovery plans. When
completed, the recovery outline, draft recovery plan, and the final
recovery plan will be available on our Web site (http://www.fws.gov/endangered), or from the Northeast Regional Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Implementation of recovery actions generally requires the
participation of a broad range of partners, including other Federal
agencies, States, Tribes, nongovernmental organizations, businesses,
and private landowners. Examples of recovery actions include habitat
restoration (e.g., restoration of native vegetation, removal of
sedimentation), research, captive propagation and reintroduction, and
outreach and education. The recovery of many listed species cannot be
accomplished solely on Federal lands
[[Page 18737]]
because they may occur primarily or solely on non-Federal lands. To
achieve recovery of these species requires cooperative conservation
efforts on private, State, and Tribal lands. If these species are
listed, funding for recovery actions will be available from a variety
of sources, including Federal budgets; State programs; and cost share
grants for non-Federal landowners, the academic community, and
nongovernmental organizations. In addition, pursuant to section 6 of
the Act, the States of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia would be
eligible for Federal funds to implement management actions that promote
the protection or recovery of the Big Sandy crayfish, and the State of
West Virginia would be eligible for Federal funds to implement
management actions that promote the protection or recovery of the
Guyandotte River crayfish. Information on our grant programs that are
available to aid species recovery can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/grants.
Although the Big Sandy crayfish and Guyandotte River crayfish are
only proposed for listing under the Act at this time, please let us
know if you are interested in participating in recovery efforts for
these species. Additionally, we invite you to submit any new
information on these species whenever it becomes available and any
information you may have for recovery planning purposes (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Section 7(a) of the Act requires Federal agencies to evaluate their
actions with respect to any species that is proposed or listed as an
endangered or threatened species and with respect to its critical
habitat, if any is designated. Regulations implementing this
interagency cooperation provision of the Act are codified at 50 CFR
part 402. Section 7(a)(4) of the Act requires Federal agencies to
confer with the Service on any action that is likely to jeopardize the
continued existence of a species proposed for listing or result in
destruction or adverse modification of proposed critical habitat. If a
species is listed subsequently, section 7(a)(2) of the Act requires
Federal agencies to ensure that activities they authorize, fund, or
carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the
species or destroy or adversely modify its critical habitat. If a
Federal action may affect a listed species or its critical habitat, the
responsible Federal agency must enter into consultation with the
Service.
Federal agency actions within the species' habitat that may require
conference or consultation or both as described in the preceding
paragraph include management and any other landscape-altering
activities on Federal lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service and
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE); issuance of section 404 CWA
permits by the ACOE; issuance or oversight of coal mining permits by
the Office of Surface Mining (OSM); and construction and maintenance of
roads, bridges, or highways by the Federal Highway Administration.
The Act and its implementing regulations set forth a series of
general prohibitions and exceptions that apply to endangered wildlife.
The prohibitions of section 9(a)(1) of the Act, codified at 50 CFR
17.21, make it illegal for any person subject to the jurisdiction of
the United States to take (which includes harass, harm, pursue, hunt,
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect; or to attempt any of
these) endangered wildlife within the United States or on the high
seas. In addition, it is unlawful to import; export; deliver, receive,
carry, transport, or ship in interstate or foreign commerce in the
course of commercial activity; or sell or offer for sale in interstate
or foreign commerce any listed species. It is also illegal to possess,
sell, deliver, carry, transport, or ship any such wildlife that has
been taken illegally. Certain exceptions apply to employees of the
Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, other Federal land
management agencies, and State conservation agencies.
We may issue permits to carry out otherwise prohibited activities
involving endangered wildlife under certain circumstances. Regulations
governing permits are codified at 50 CFR 17.22. With regard to
endangered wildlife, a permit may be issued for the following purposes:
For scientific purposes, to enhance the propagation or survival of the
species, and for incidental take in connection with otherwise lawful
activities. There are also certain statutory exemptions from the
prohibitions, which are found in sections 9 and 10 of the Act.
It is our policy, as published in the Federal Register on July 1,
1994 (59 FR 34272), to identify to the maximum extent practicable at
the time a species is listed, those activities that would or would not
constitute a violation of section 9 of the Act. The intent of this
policy is to increase public awareness of the effect of a proposed
listing on proposed and ongoing activities within the ranges of species
proposed for listing. Based on the best available information, the
following actions are unlikely to result in a violation of section 9,
if these activities are carried out in accordance with existing
regulations and permit requirements; this list is not comprehensive:
(1) Normal agricultural and silvicultural practices, including
herbicide and pesticide use, which are carried out in accordance with
any existing regulations, permit and label requirements, and best
management practices; and
(2) Surface coal mining and reclamation activities conducted in
accordance with the 1996 Biological Opinion between the Service and
OSM.
Based on the best available information, the following activities
may potentially result in a violation of section 9 the Act; this list
is not comprehensive:
(1) Unlawful destruction or alteration of the habitat of the Big
Sandy crayfish or Guyandotte River crayfish (e.g., unpermitted instream
dredging, impoundment, water diversion or withdrawal, channelization,
discharge of fill material) that impairs essential behaviors such as
breeding, feeding, or sheltering, or results in killing or injuring a
Big Sandy crayfish or Guyandotte River crayfish.
(2) Unauthorized discharges or dumping of toxic chemicals or other
pollutants into waters supporting the Big Sandy crayfish or Guyandotte
River crayfish that kills or injures individuals, or otherwise impairs
essential life-sustaining behaviors such as breeding, feeding, or
finding shelter.
Questions regarding whether specific activities would constitute a
violation of section 9 of the Act should be directed to the appropriate
office:
Kentucky Ecological Services Field Office, 330 West
Broadway, Suite 265, Frankfort, KY 40601; telephone (502) 695-0468;
facsimile (502) 695-1024.
Southwest Virginia Ecological Services Field Office, 330
Cummings Street, Abingdon, VA 24210; telephone (276) 623-1233;
facsimile (276) 623-1185.
West Virginia Field Office, 694 Beverly Pike, Elkins, WV
26241; telephone (304) 636-6586; facsimile (304) 636-7824.
Critical Habitat for the Big Sandy Crayfish and Guyandotte River
Crayfish
Background
Critical habitat is defined in section 3 of the Act as:
(1) The specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the
species, at the time it is listed in accordance with the Act, on which
are found those physical or biological features:
(a) Essential to the conservation of the species, and
[[Page 18738]]
(b) Which may require special management considerations or
protection; and
(2) Specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the
species at the time it is listed, upon a determination that such areas
are essential for the conservation of the species.
Conservation, as defined under section 3 of the Act, means to use
and the use of all methods and procedures that are necessary to bring
an endangered or threatened species to the point at which the measures
provided pursuant to the Act are no longer necessary. Such methods and
procedures include, but are not limited to, all activities associated
with scientific resources management such as research, census, law
enforcement, habitat acquisition and maintenance, propagation, live
trapping, and transplantation, and, in the extraordinary case where
population pressures within a given ecosystem cannot be otherwise
relieved, may include regulated taking.
Critical habitat receives protection under section 7 of the Act
through the requirement that Federal agencies ensure, in consultation
with the Service, that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out is
not likely to result in the destruction or adverse modification of
critical habitat. The designation of critical habitat does not affect
land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or
other conservation area. Such designation does not allow the government
or public to access private lands. Such designation does not require
implementation of restoration, recovery, or enhancement measures by
non-Federal landowners. Where a landowner requests Federal agency
funding or authorization for an action that may affect a listed species
or critical habitat, the consultation requirements of section 7(a)(2)
of the Act would apply, but even in the event of a destruction or
adverse modification finding, the obligation of the Federal action
agency and the landowner is not to restore or recover the species, but
to implement reasonable and prudent alternatives to avoid destruction
or adverse modification of critical habitat.
Section 4 of the Act requires that we designate critical habitat on
the basis of the best scientific data available. Further, our Policy on
Information Standards Under the Endangered Species Act (published in
the Federal Register on July 1, 1994 (59 FR 34271)), the Information
Quality Act (section 515 of the Treasury and General Government
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Pub. L. 106-554; H.R. 5658)),
and our associated Information Quality Guidelines, provide criteria,
establish procedures, and provide guidance to ensure that our decisions
are based on the best scientific data available. They require our
biologists, to the extent consistent with the Act and with the use of
the best scientific data available, to use primary and original sources
of information as the basis for recommendations to designate critical
habitat.
Prudency Determination
Section 4(a)(3) of the Act, as amended, and implementing
regulations (50 CFR 424.12), require that, to the maximum extent
prudent and determinable, the Secretary designate critical habitat at
the time the species is determined to be endangered or threatened. Our
regulations (50 CFR 424.12(a)(1)) state that the designation of
critical habitat is not prudent when one or both of the following
situations exist: (1) The species is threatened by taking or other
human activity, and identification of critical habitat can be expected
to increase the degree of threat to the species, or (2) such
designation of critical habitat would not be beneficial to the species.
There is currently no imminent threat of take attributed to
collection or vandalism under Factor B for either the Big Sandy
crayfish or Guyandotte River crayfish, and identification and mapping
of critical habitat is not likely to increase any such threat. In the
absence of finding that the designation of critical habitat would
increase threats to a species, if there are any benefits to a critical
habitat designation, then a prudent finding is warranted. The potential
benefits of designation include: (1) Triggering consultation under
section 7 of the Act, in new areas for actions in which there may be a
Federal nexus where it would not otherwise occur because, for example,
it is or has become unoccupied or the occupancy is in question; (2)
focusing conservation activities on the most essential features and
areas; (3) providing educational benefits to State or county
governments or private entities; and (4) preventing people from causing
inadvertent harm to the species. Therefore, because we have determined
that the designation of critical habitat will not likely increase the
degree of threat to these species and may provide some measure of
benefit, we find that designation of critical habitat is prudent for
the Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish.
Critical Habitat Determinability
Having determined that designation is prudent, under section
4(a)(3) of the Act we must find whether critical habitat for the
species is determinable. Our regulations at 50 CFR 424.12(a)(2) state
that critical habitat is not determinable when one or both of the
following situations exist: (i) Information sufficient to perform
required analyses of the impacts of the designation is lacking, or (ii)
The biological needs of the species are not sufficiently well known to
permit identification of an area as critical habitat.
As discussed above, we have reviewed the available information
pertaining to the biological needs of these species and habitat
characteristics where these species are located. Because we are seeking
additional information regarding water quality conditions within the
range of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte River crayfishes, updated
occurrence records for both species, future climate change effects on
the species' habitat, and other analyses, we conclude that the
designation of critical habitat is not determinable for the Big Sandy
crayfish or the Guyandotte River crayfish at this time. We will make a
determination on critical habitat no later than 1 year following any
final listing determination.
Required Determinations
Clarity of the Rule
We are required by Executive Orders 12866 and 12988 and by the
Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 1998, to write all rules in plain
language. This means that each rule we publish must:
(1) Be logically organized;
(2) Use the active voice to address readers directly;
(3) Use clear language rather than jargon;
(4) Be divided into short sections and sentences; and
(5) Use lists and tables wherever possible.
If you feel that we have not met these requirements, send us
comments by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. To
better help us revise the rule, your comments should be as specific as
possible. For example, you should tell us the numbers of the sections
or paragraphs that are unclearly written, which sections or sentences
are too long, the sections where you feel lists or tables would be
useful, etc.
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
We have determined that environmental assessments and
[[Page 18739]]
environmental impact statements, as defined under the authority of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), need
not be prepared in connection with listing a species as an endangered
or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. We published a
notice outlining our reasons for this determination in the Federal
Register on October 25, 1983 (48 FR 49244).
Government-to-Government Relationship With Tribes
In accordance with the President's memorandum of April 29, 1994
(Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal
Governments; 59 FR 22951), Executive Order 13175 (Consultation and
Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments), and the Department of the
Interior's manual at 512 DM 2, we readily acknowledge our
responsibility to communicate meaningfully with recognized Federal
tribes on a government-to-government basis. In accordance with
Secretarial Order 3206 of June 5, 1997 (American Indian Tribal Rights,
Federal-Tribal Trust Responsibilities, and the Endangered Species Act),
we readily acknowledge our responsibilities to work directly with
tribes in developing programs for healthy ecosystems, to acknowledge
that tribal lands are not subject to the same controls as Federal
public lands, to remain sensitive to Indian culture, and to make
information available to tribes. We are not aware of any Big Sandy
Crayfish or Guyandotte River Crayfish populations on tribal lands.
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
Northeast Regional Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authors
The primary authors of this proposed rule are the staff members of
the Northeast Regional Office.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Proposed Regulation Promulgation
Accordingly, we propose to amend part 17, subchapter B of chapter
I, title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth below:
PART 17--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 1531-1544; and 4201-4245,
unless otherwise noted.
0
2. Amend Sec. 17.11(h) by adding entries for ``Crayfish, Big Sandy''
and ``Crayfish, Guyandotte River'' to the List of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife in alphabetical order under CRUSTACEANS to read as
set forth below:
Sec. 17.11 Endangered and threatened wildlife.
* * * * *
(h) * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Vertebrate
-------------------------------------------------------- population where Critical Special
Historic range endangered or Status When listed habitat rules
Common name Scientific name threatened
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
CRUSTACEANS
* * * * * * *
Crayfish, Big Sandy.............. Cambarus callainus.. U.S.A. (KY, VA, WV). Entire........... E TBD NA NA
* * * * * * *
Crayfish, Guyandotte River....... Cambarus veteranus.. U.S.A. (WV)......... Entire........... E TBD NA NA
* * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
Dated: March 17, 2015.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-07625 Filed 4-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P