[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 210 (Wednesday, November 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60641-60642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23977]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2021-0114; FXES11130200000-212-FF02ENEH00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery
Plan for the Diamond Y Invertebrates
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of our draft recovery plan for the Diamond Y
invertebrates, including Diamond tryonia (Pseudotryonia adamantina),
Gonzales tryonia (Tryonia circumstriata), and Pecos amphipod (Gammarus
pecos). These endangered aquatic invertebrates occur in the Diamond Y
Spring system of the Chihuahuan Desert of western Texas. We request
review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and
Federal agencies; nongovernmental organizations; and the public.
DATES: We must receive any comments on or before January 3, 2022.
Comments submitted online at http://www.regulations.gov (see ADDRESSES)
must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 3, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain a copy of the draft
recovery plan, recovery implementation strategy, and species status
assessment for review at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-
R2-ES-2021-0114.
Submitting Comments: Submit your comments in writing by one of the
following methods:
[cir] Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2021-0114.
[cir] U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-
R2-ES-2021-0114, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/
3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
For additional information about submitting comments, see Request
for Public Comments and Public Availability of Comments under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, by
phone at 512-490-0057, or by email at adam_zerrenner@fws.gov.
Individuals who are hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal
Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), announce the availability of our draft recovery plan for the
Diamond Y invertebrates, including Diamond tryonia (Pseudotryonia
adamantina), Gonzales tryonia (Tryonia circumstriata), and Pecos
amphipod (Gammarus pecos), which we listed as endangered in 2013 (see
78 FR 41228; July 9, 2013) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). These aquatic invertebrates are
restricted to the small, isolated Diamond Y Spring system and
ci[eacute]nega (desert wetland) in the Chihuahuan Desert of Pecos
County, Texas. The draft recovery plan includes specific goals,
objectives, and criteria that may help to inform our consideration of
whether to reclassify the species as threatened (i.e., ``downlist'') or
remove the species from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife (i.e., ``delist''). We request review of and comment on the
draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies;
nongovernmental organizations; and the public.
Recovery Planning and Implementation
Section 4(f) of the ESA requires the development of recovery plans
for listed species, unless such a plan would not promote the
conservation of a particular species. Also pursuant to section 4(f) of
the ESA, a recovery plan must, to the maximum extent practicable,
include:
(1) A description of site-specific management actions as may be
necessary to achieve the plan's goals for the conservation and survival
of the species;
(2) Objective, measurable criteria that, when met, would support a
determination under the ESA's section 4(a)(1) that the species should
be delisted; and
(3) Estimates of the time and costs required to carry out those
measures needed to achieve the plan's goal and to achieve intermediate
steps toward that goal.
In 2016, the USFWS revised its approach to recovery planning, and
is now using a process termed recovery planning and implementation
(RPI) (see https://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/RPI.pdf). The
RPI approach is intended to reduce the time needed to develop and
implement recovery plans, increase recovery plan relevance over a
longer timeframe, and add flexibility to recovery plans so they can be
adjusted to new information or circumstances. Under RPI, a recovery
plan addresses the statutorily required elements under section 4(f) of
the ESA, including site-specific management actions, objective and
measurable recovery criteria, and the estimated time and cost to
recovery. The RPI recovery plan is supported by two supplementary
documents: A species status assessment (SSA), which describes the best
available scientific information related to the biological needs of the
species and assessment of threats; and a recovery implementation
strategy, which details the particular near-term activities needed to
implement the recovery actions identified in the recovery plan. Under
this approach, we can more nimbly incorporate new information on
species biology or details of recovery implementation by updating these
supplementary documents without concurrent revision of the entire
recovery plan, unless changes to statutorily required elements are
necessary.
Species Background
On July 9, 2013, we published a final rule (78 FR 41228) to list
the Diamond tryonia, Gonzales tryonia, and Pecos amphipod as endangered
species. Also on July 9, 2013, we published a final rule (78 FR 40970)
designating critical habitat for the three species. A single critical
habitat unit, encompassing 178.6 hectares (441.4 acres), is designated
as critical habitat for these species at the Diamond Y Spring system.
These species are only known to inhabit the Diamond Y Spring
system, a small complex of isolated desert springs, seeps, and
associated ci[eacute]negas (desert wetlands), in the Chihuahuan Basin
and Playas ecoregion of western Texas. The spring system is located
approximately 12 kilometers (8 miles) north of the City of Fort
Stockton in Pecos County. The Nature Conservancy owns and manages the
Diamond Y Spring Preserve, which encompasses the spring and
ci[eacute]nega system.
The primary ongoing threats to the Diamond Y invertebrates include
habitat loss and degradation as a result of decreasing groundwater
quantity and quality and habitat modification; predation; the
inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; competition; and climate
change.
Recovery Criteria
The draft recovery criteria are summarized below. For a complete
description of the rationale behind the criteria, the recovery
strategy, management actions, and estimated time and costs associated
with recovery, refer to the draft recovery plan for the Diamond Y
invertebrates (see ADDRESSES, above, for document availability).
[[Page 60642]]
The ultimate recovery goal is to delist the Diamond Y invertebrates
by ensuring the long-term viability of these species in the wild. In
the recovery plan, we define the following criteria for delisting
(i.e., removal of the species from the List of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife):
Criterion 1: Maintain the presence of each species in the
occupied management unit as of the start of this plan, with a stable or
increasing average trend in density over a period of 20 consecutive
years.
Criterion 2: Develop, implement, and fulfill a water
management plan or equivalent conservation agreement, supported by the
local irrigation district and other partners, that ensures adequate
surface and groundwater levels to (a) sustain delisting criteria
measured by Criterion 1, above, and (b) ensure that the flows in the
Diamond Y Spring system are stable and perennial.
Criterion 3: Commitments (e.g., conservation agreements)
are in place to maintain sufficient water quality protections and will
be implemented in perpetuity. These commitments should specifically
address the Diamond Y invertebrates and reduce the risk of a
catastrophic spill occurring within a drainage or recharge area
occupied by any of the three invertebrate species.
Request for Public Comments
Section 4(f) of the ESA requires us to provide public notice and an
opportunity for public review and comment during recovery plan
development. It is also our policy to request peer review of recovery
plans (59 FR 34270; July 1, 1994). In an appendix to the approved final
recovery plan, we will summarize and respond to the issues raised
during public comment and peer review. Substantive comments may or may
not result in changes to the recovery plan. Comments regarding recovery
plan implementation will be forwarded as appropriate to Federal or
other entities so that they can be taken into account during the course
of implementation of recovery actions.
We invite written comments on this draft recovery plan. In
particular, we are interested in additional information regarding the
current threats to the species, ongoing beneficial management efforts,
and the costs associated with implementing the recommended recovery
actions. The species status assessment is available as a supporting
document for the draft recovery plan, but we are not seeking comments
on the status assessment. We will consider all comments we receive by
the date specified in DATES, above, prior to final approval of the
plan.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments we receive, including names and addresses, will become
part of the administrative record and will be available to the public.
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--will be publicly available. While you may request in your
comment that we withhold your personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Authority
We developed our draft recovery plan and publish this notice under
the authority of section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Interior Region 6, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-23977 Filed 11-2-21; 8:45 am]
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