[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14289-14290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06631]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2017-N089; FXES11130400000C2-178-FF04E00000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Technical/Agency
Draft Recovery Plan for the Cumberland Darter
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of the technical/agency draft recovery plan for the
endangered Cumberland darter, a fish. The draft recovery plan includes
specific recovery objectives and criteria that will guide the process
of recovery under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
We request review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local,
State, and Federal agencies, and the public.
DATES: In order to be considered, comments on the draft recovery plan
must be received on or before June 4, 2018.
ADDRESSES:
Reviewing documents: If you wish to review this technical/agency
draft recovery plan, you may obtain a copy by contacting Michael Floyd,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kentucky Ecological Services Field
Office, 330 West Broadway, Suite 265, Frankfort, KY 40601; tel. 502-
695-0468; or by visiting the Service's Kentucky Field Office website at
http://www.fws.gov/frankfort/ frankfort/.
Submitting comments: If you wish to comment, you may submit your
comments by one of the following methods:
1. You may submit written comments and materials to us at the
Kentucky Field Office address;
2. You may hand-deliver written comments to our Kentucky Field
Office, at the above address, or fax them to 502-695-1024; or
3. You may send comments by email to mike_floyd@fws.gov. Please
include ``Cumberland Darter Draft Recovery Plan Comments'' on the
subject line.
For additional information about submitting comments, see the
Request for Public Comments section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Floyd (see ADDRESSES).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
announce the availability of the technical/agency draft recovery plan
for the endangered Cumberland darter, a fish. The draft recovery plan
includes specific recovery objectives and criteria that would be used
to delist this fish under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; Act). We request review and comment on
this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, and
the public.
Background
The Act requires the development of recovery plans for listed
species, unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a
particular species. Recovery plans describe actions considered
necessary for conservation of species, establish criteria for
delisting, and estimate time and cost for implementing recovery
measures. Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide public notice
and an opportunity for public review and comment during recovery plan
development. We will consider all information presented during a public
comment period prior to approval of each new or revised recovery plan.
We and other Federal agencies will take these comments into
consideration in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
About the Species
We listed the Cumberland darter (Etheostoma susanae) as endangered
under the Act on September 8, 2011 (76 FR 48722). The Cumberland darter
is a small fish endemic to the upper Cumberland River basin, above
Cumberland Falls, in Kentucky and Tennessee. Cumberland darters occur
in 9 widely separated populations (total of 16 streams) in southeastern
Kentucky and north-central Tennessee. No population estimates or status
trends are available; however, survey results by Thomas (2007) suggest
that the species is uncommon or occurs in low densities across its
range.
Cumberland darters are known from streams ranging in size from
small, second order tributaries to larger, fourth order streams such as
Jellico Creek, Whitley County, Kentucky. Little is known of the
species' life history or microhabitat suitability, but it is often
encountered in pools or shallow runs of low-to-moderate-gradient
sections of streams with sand, silt, or sand-covered bedrock
substrates. Most of these habitats contain isolated boulders and large
cobble that the species likely uses as cover.
We designated critical habitat for the Cumberland darter on October
16, 2012 (77 FR 63604). A total of 54 river miles (86 rkm) were
designated, including 13 streams in McCreary and Whitley Counties,
Kentucky, and Campbell and Scott Counties, Tennessee.
Threats
The majority of streams within the upper Cumberland River basin
have been modified from their historical condition due to a number of
anthropogenic activities such as agriculture, logging, residential
development, road construction, and surface coal mining. As a result of
these activities and associated stressors (e.g., siltation), the
Cumberland darter has been extirpated from at least six streams and is
now restricted to nine isolated watersheds. Limiting factors include
the following: (1) Anthropogenic activities that cause siltation,
disturbance of riparian corridors, and changes in channel morphology;
(2) water quality degradation caused by a variety of nonpoint-source
pollutants; and (3) naturally small population size and reduced
geographic range.
Recovery Plan Components
The primary goal of this recovery plan is to recover Cumberland
darter populations to the point that listing under the Act is no longer
necessary. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to produce self-
sustaining, viable populations that possess healthy, long-term
demographic and genetic trends (e.g., evidence of multiple age classes
and continued recruitment, high genetic diversity), and that are no
longer threatened by any of the factors discussed above.
Management Units
For this Recovery Plan, we identify nine management units for the
Cumberland Darter (refer to the associated Recovery Implementation
Strategy, Figure 1). Based on the species' current distribution (refer
to the associated Species Biological Report, Figures 1 and 2) and our
knowledge of the species' movement patterns, we consider each
management unit to
[[Page 14290]]
represent a separate population. As genetic analyses are completed and
more is known about the species' gene flow and genetic structure, it
may be necessary to adjust or modify unit boundaries. All stream
reaches within the species' historical range that are not specifically
identified in the following management units, should not immediately be
excluded from recovery activities if new information indicates these
areas are necessary to prevent local extirpation or to facilitate
recovery.
The management units are as follows:
Management Unit 1: The boundaries of this management unit
correspond to critical habitat units 1 (Bunches Creek) and 2 (Calf Pen
Fork), which are located entirely within the Daniel Boone National
Forest (DBNF).
Management Unit 2: The boundaries of this management unit
correspond to critical habitat units 7 (Kilburn Fork) and 8 (Laurel
Fork). The majority of this management unit (73 percent) is located
within the DBNF.
Management Unit 3: The boundaries of this management unit
correspond to critical habitat unit 6 (Cogur Fork). The majority of
this management unit (69 percent) is located within the DBNF.
Management Unit 4: The boundaries of this management unit
correspond to critical habitat units 4 (Barren Fork) and 5 (Indian
Creek), which are located entirely within the DBNF.
Management Unit 5: The boundaries of this management unit
correspond to critical habitat units 9 (Laurel Creek), 10 (Elisha
Branch), and 11 (Jenneys Branch), and a 7.4-km (4.6-mi) segment of
Bridge Fork. The majority of this management unit (96 percent) is
located within the DBNF.
Management Unit 6: This management unit corresponds to critical
habitat units 13 (Jellico Creek), 14 (Rock Creek), and 15 (Capuchin
Creek). A portion of this management unit (29 percent) is located
within the DBNF.
Management Unit 7: The boundaries of this management unit
correspond to critical habitat unit 3 (Youngs Creek). This unit is
located almost entirely on private land, except for any small amount
that is publicly owned in the form of bridge crossings and road
easements.
Management Unit 8: The boundaries of this management unit
correspond to critical habitat unit 12 (Wolf Creek). This unit is
located almost entirely on private land, except for any small amount
that is publicly owned in the form of bridge crossings and road
easements.
Management Unit 9: This management unit does not correspond to a
critical habitat unit because the species was thought to be extirpated
from Laurel Fork when the critical habitat rule was published in 2012.
The species was rediscovered in Laurel Fork (of Clear Fork) by the
Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission (KSNPC) and the Service in
2014 (Service unpublished data). This management unit is comprised of
an approximate 16.7-km (10.4-mi) reach of Laurel Fork that extends from
the mouth of Laurel Fork in Campbell County, Tennessee, upstream to
Laurel Fork-Buffalo Creek Road in Whitley County, Kentucky. No
collection records exist for the Tennessee portion of this management
unit (Campbell and Claiborne Counties); however, recent collection
records exist for areas near the Kentucky-Tennessee border, and
suitable habitat is present throughout the Tennessee portion of the
stream. This unit is located primarily on private property, except for
a 6.6-km (4.1-mi) reach on the western side (right descending bank) of
Laurel Fork in Archer-Benge State Nature Preserve, a 7.5-km\2\ (1,864-
ac) tract in Whitley County, Kentucky, and any small amount that is
publicly owned in the form of bridge crossings and road easements.
Recovery Criteria
The Cumberland darter should be considered for removal from the
List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife when:
(1) Management Units 1-9 or Management Units 1-7, 9, and one
additional stream within the species' historical range (e.g., Sanders
Creek) are determined to be protected from present and foreseeable
habitat threats through recovery efforts like land acquisition,
conservation agreements and easements, stewardship, outreach, adequate
regulatory oversight and enforcement, or other similar actions;
(2) Instream habitat quality (substrate, flows, water quality) in
these management units is sufficient, as defined by recovery tasks 3.1
and 3.2, to meet the species' life history requirements; and
(3) A viable population (as defined in the recovery plan) must
occur within each of these management units.
Request for Public Comments
We request written comments on the draft recovery plan. We will
consider all comments we receive by the date specified in DATES prior
to final approval of the plan.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority
The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533 (f).
Dated: March 26, 2018.
Leopoldo Miranda,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2018-06631 Filed 4-2-18; 8:45 am]
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