[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 74 (Monday, April 18, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-9218] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: April 18, 1994] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 RIN 1018-AC44 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Emergency Rule To List the Saint Francis' Satyr as Endangered AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Emergency rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Service exercises its emergency authority to determine the Saint Francis' satyr (Neonympha mitchellii francisci) to be an endangered species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. This butterfly is known from a single locality in North Carolina. Recent heavy collecting pressure has resulted in a reduction of the only known population and is believed to pose an imminent threat to the butterfly's existence. Protection from collecting is needed during the species' 1994 flight season while the Service proceeds with adopting permanent protection in accordance with the Act's requirements. This emergency rule will implement Federal protection for 240 days. A proposed rule to list the Saint Francis' satyr as endangered is published elsewhere in today's Federal Register. The proposed rule provides for public comment and a hearing (if requested). EFFECTIVE DATE: This emergency determination is effective on April 18, 1994 and expires on December 14, 1994. Due to the need for protecting the St. Francis' satyr from the effects of collecting, the Service finds that good cause exists for making this rule effective upon publication, as provided by 50 CFR 424.18(b)(1) and the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3)). ADDRESSES: The complete file for this rule is available for inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the Asheville Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 330 Ridgefield Court, Asheville, North Carolina 28806. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nora Murdock at the above address (704/665-1195, Ext. 231). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Neonympha mitchellii francisci is a subspecies of one of two North American species of Neonympha. One of the rarest butterflies in eastern North America, it was described by Parshall and Kral in 1989 from material collected in North Carolina. These authors estimated that the single known population probably produced less than 100 adults per year. Shortly thereafter, Saint Francis' satyr was reported to have been collected to extinction (Refsnider 1991, Schweitzer 1989). The subspecies was rediscovered at the type locality in 1992 during the course of a Service-funded status survey. The Act defines ``species'' to include ``any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife * * *.'' Therefore, although N. m. francisci is recognized taxonomically as a subspecies, it will be referred to as a ``species'' throughout the remainder of this emergency rule. Saint Francis' satyr is a fairly small, dark brown butterfly and is a typical member of the Satyrinae, a subfamily of the Nymphalidae family, which includes many species commonly called satyrs and wood nymphs. The wingspan for the species ranges from 34 to 44 mm (Opler and Malikul 1992). Saint Francis' satyr and Mitchell's satyr, the northern subspecies (N. m. mitchellii), which was classified as endangered on May 20, 1992 (57 FR 21569), are nearly identical in size and show only a slight degree of sexual size dimorphism (Hall 1993, Parshall and Kral 1989). Like most species in the wood nymph group, Saint Francis' satyr has conspicuous ``eyespots'' on the lower surfaces of the wings. These eyespots are dark maroon brown in the center, reflecting a silver cast in certain lights. The border of these dark eyespots is straw yellow in color, with an outermost border of dark brown. The eyespots are usually round to slightly oval and are well-developed on the fore wing as well as on the hind wing. The spots are accented by two bright orange bands along the posterior wing edges and two darker brown bands across the central portion of each wing. Saint Francis' satyr, like the nominate subspecies, can be distinguished from its North American congener, N. areolata, by the latter's well-marked eyespots on the upper wing surfaces and brighter orange bands on the hind wing, as well by its lighter coloration and stronger flight (Refsnider 1991, McAlpine et al. 1960, Wilsman and Schweitzer 1991, Hall 1993). Saint Francis' satyr is extremely restricted geographically. Mitchell's satyr, the nominate subspecies, has been eliminated from approximately half its known range, primarily due to collecting (Refsnider 1991). Saint Francis' satyr is now known to exist as only a single population in North Carolina. The annual life cycle of N. m. francisci, unlike that of its northern relative, is bivoltine. That is, it has two adult flights or generations per year. Larval host plants are believed to be graminoids such as grasses, sedges, and rushes. Little else is known about the life history of this butterfly. The habitat occupied by this satyr consists primarily of wide, wet meadows dominated by sedges and other wetland graminoids. In the North Carolina sandhills, such meadows are often relicts of beaver activity. Unlike the habitat of Mitchell's satyr, the North Carolina species' habitat cannot be properly called a fen because the waters of this sandhills region are extremely poor in inorganic nutrients. Hall (1993) states: Whereas true fens--apparently the habitat of the northern form of N. mitchellii (Wilsman and Schweitzer 1991)--are circumneutral to basic in pH and are long-lasting features of the landscape, the boggy areas of the sandhills are quite acidic as well as ephemeral, succeeding either to pocosin or swamp forest if not kept open by frequent fire or beaver activity. Hall (1993) further states: Under the natural regime of frequent fires ignited by summer thunderstorms, the sandhills were once covered with a much more open type of woodland, dominated by longleaf pine, wiregrass, and other fire-tolerant species. The type of forest that currently exists along [the creek inhabited by Saint Francis' satyr] can only grow up under a long period of fire suppression. The dominance on this site of loblolly pine, moreover, is due primarily to past forestry management practices, not any form of natural succession. Parshall and Kral speculated that N. m. francisci is a relict from a more widespread southern distribution during the Pleistocene period. Hall (1993) presents the following alternative hypothesis: The current narrow distribution of francisci could also be a result of the enormous environmental changes that have occurred in the southern coastal plain just within the past 100 years. Only the discovery of additional populations or fossil remains can clarify this situation. Extensive searches have been made of suitable habitat in North Carolina and South Carolina, but no other populations of this butterfly have been found (Hall 1993, Schweitzer 1989). Federal government actions on this species began when it was included as a category 2 species in the November 21, 1991, animal notice of review (56 FR 58804). Category 2 species are those for which the Service believes that Federal listing as endangered or threatened is possibly appropriate but for which conclusive data on biological vulnerability and threat are not currently available to support proposed rules. Recent surveys have been conducted by Service and State personnel, and the Service now believes sufficient information exists to proceed with an emergency rule to list Neonympha mitchellii francisci as endangered. Summary of Factors Affecting the Species Section 4(a)(1) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and regulations (50 CFR part 424) promulgated to implement the listing provisions of the Act set forth the procedures for adding species to the Federal lists. A species may be determined to be an endangered or threatened species due to one or more of the five factors described in section 4(a)(1). These factors and their application to Saint Francis' satyr (Neonympha mitchellii francisci) are as follows: A. The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range. Because of its relatively recent discovery, it is impossible to determine what the original range of Saint Francis' satyr might have been. However, based upon its demonstrated dependency on periodic fires and the general trend of fire suppression on private lands, it seems reasonable to assume that it once occupied a more extensive area. As stated by Hall (1993): In order for francisci to have survived over the past 10,000 years, there must surely have been more populations and greater numbers of individuals than apparently now exist * * * As is true for many species that were once widespread in the sandhills, massive habitat alteration must also be a major factor in the diminution of the range of francisci * * * reductions in francisci's range would have accompanied the extensive loss of wetland habitats in the coastal plain. Again, the draining of swamps, pocosins, Carolina bays, savannas, flatwoods, and bogs for conversion to agriculture and silviculture is well known. In the case of francisci, however, the extirpation of beavers from the Carolinas may have been the greatest factor. Beavers had been virtually eliminated from North Carolina by the turn of the century. Reintroductions began in 1939, but it was several decades before they again became an agent for creation of the sedge meadow habitats favored by Saint Francis' satyr (Hall 1993, Woodward and Hazel 1991). Hall further states: As the landscape mosaic of open woodlands and wetlands of the coastal plain declined throughout the past two centuries, the range of francisci must have become increasingly fragmented. Although isolated populations may have persisted as long as suitable habitat remained, the structure of their meta-populations would have been destroyed. Opportunistic colonization of newly available habitats as well as the repopulation of sites wiped clean by fire or other catastrophe would have become eventually impossible; one by one, the isolated remnants would have blinked out of existence. Although again speculative, the fracturing of meta-populations has been used to explain the decline of the arogos skipper and a number of butterflies associated with the tall-grass prairies (Panzer, 1988, D. Schweitzer, pers. comm.). That francisci was a relict to begin with only exacerbated this problem; the overall effect was to bring it as close to extinction as any butterfly in the country. The sole surviving population of this species is now fragmented into less than half a dozen small colonies that occupy a total area no larger than a few square miles. B. Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes. Both subspecies of the Saint Francis' satyr are highly prized by collectors, including commercial collectors who often systematically collect every individual available. Several populations of the nominate subspecies are known to have been obliterated by collectors, and others are believed extremely vulnerable to this threat (Refsnider 1991). As mentioned in the ``Background'' section, the single known population of Saint Francis' satyr was so hard-hit by collectors in the 3 years following its initial discovery that it was believed to have been collected to extinction. Subsequent to the emergency listing of the nominate subspecies and prior to the publication of this rule, the North Carolina population was the last where Neonympha mitchellii could legally be collected. Following the emergency listing of Mitchell's satyr, the North Carolina Heritage Program received several inquiries from collectors about access to the last available population. Several expressed apprehension about any restriction on collecting of this rare and much-sought-after satyr. Collectors reportedly visited the known site every day throughout the flight periods, taking every adult they saw (Hall 1993). After this first wave of over-collection, many unsuccessful searches for the butterfly were made before it was eventually rediscovered. Numbers of individuals then seen were much lower than those reported by Parshall and Kral (1989), with the highest single count consisting of only 11 butterflies (Hall 1993). Even though part of this population is protected from collectors by virtue of being within dangerous artillery impact areas, intensive collecting from the periphery of these areas could reduce total population numbers below levels needed for long-term survival. Very little is known about this species' life history and ecological requirements, but it appears to be a more vagile species than its northern relative. It may well be dependent upon a large meta- population structure in order to colonize new sites or recolonize those from which it has been extirpated. C. Disease or predation. This butterfly, like others, is undoubtedly consumed by predators, but there is no evidence that predation is a threat to the species at this point. Disease is not known to be a factor in its decline. D. The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms. Insects are not protected from collection under North Carolina law. There are also no Department of Defense regulations that would restrict collecting of Saint Francis' satyr in North Carolina. Federal listing of this species will provide legal protection against indiscriminate taking and illegal trade. E. Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence. Although the habitat occupied by this species is dependent upon some form of disturbance to set back succession (e.g., periodic fire and/or beaver impoundments), intense fires at critical times during the life cycle of the species can eliminate small colonies. Historically, this did not present a problem since there were undoubtedly other adjacent populations that could recolonize extirpated sites. However, the fact that only one population of this species now remains makes it more vulnerable to such threats as catastrophic climatic events, inbreeding depression, disease, and parasitism. Part of the occupied area is adjacent to regularly traveled roads, where there is the threat of toxic chemical spills into the species' wetland habitat. Current military use of the impact areas is favorable to this species; the frequent fires associated with shelling are undoubtedly a principal reason why the species is surviving on military lands and not on surrounding private lands. Department of Defense personnel are aware of the species' plight and have been cooperative in protection efforts. However, heavy siltation is a potential problem that could threaten the small drainages occupied by the species. Although troop movements directly through an area occupied by the satyr could have negative impacts, this has not occurred to date; these activities have now been directed away from areas where the satyr occurs. Other potential threats to the species include pest control programs (for mosquitoes or gypsy moths) and beaver control. Reasons for Emergency Determination In developing this rule the Service has carefully assessed the best scientific and commercial information available regarding the past, present, and future threats faced by this species. Based on this evaluation, the preferred action is to list Saint Francis' satyr as endangered on an emergency basis. With only one population remaining (and this one having already been diminished by intensive collecting) and with the other subspecies having been completely eliminated from half the States where it historically occurred, the threat of over- collection cannot be denied. The Service has concluded that conducting the normal listing process will delay protection of the species until after the 1994 flight period, thus subjecting the species to an additional year of excessive collecting pressure. The resulting potential for further reduction of this last population could severely reduce the probability of the species' survival. Therefore, the Service is listing the species on an emergency basis to provide maximum protection to the known population during the 1994 flight period. Critical Habitat Section 4(a)(3) of the Act, as amended, requires that, to the maximum extent prudent and determinable, the Secretary designate critical habitat at the time a species is determined to be endangered or threatened. At this time the Service has made a preliminary finding that designation of critical habitat is not prudent for this species. As discussed under Factor B in the ``Summary of Factors Affecting the Species'' section, Saint Francis' satyr has already been impacted by over-collecting and continues to be threatened by collecting pressure. Publication of critical habitat descriptions and maps would make the satyr more vulnerable to collection and would increase enforcement problems and the likelihood of extinction. Protection of this species' habitat will be addressed through the recovery process and through the Section 7 jeopardy standard. The single remaining population is located on military lands, where the Department of Defense is aware of its occurrence. Comments regarding the designation of critical habitat will be accepted and reviewed during the comment period established by the proposed rule, which is published in this issue of the Federal Register. Available Conservation Measures Conservation measures provided to species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act include recognition, recovery actions, requirements for Federal protection, and prohibitions against certain practices. Recognition through listing encourages and results in conservation actions by Federal, State, and private agencies, groups, and individuals. The Endangered Species Act provides for possible land acquisition and cooperation with the States and requires that recovery actions be carried out for all listed species. The protection required of Federal agencies and the prohibitions against certain activities involving listed animals are discussed, in part, below. Section 7(a) of the Act, as amended, requires Federal agencies to evaluate their actions with respect to any species that is proposed or listed as endangered or threatened and with respect to its critical habitat, if any is being designated. Regulations implementing this interagency cooperation provision of the Act are codified at 50 CFR part 402. Section 7(a)(4) requires Federal agencies to confer informally with the Service on any action that is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a proposed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of proposed critical habitat. If the species is listed subsequently, Section 7(a)(2) requires Federal agencies to ensure that activities they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of such a species or to 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 formal consultation with the Service. Federal activities that could impact Saint Francis' satyr and its habitat in the future include, but are not limited to, the following: road and firebreak construction, pesticide application, beaver control, troop movements, prescribed burning and fire suppression, and facilities construction. The only known population is located on military lands, where the Department of Defense is already working with the Service to secure the protection and proper management of Saint Francis' satyr while accommodating military activities to the extent possible. Conservation of this butterfly is consistent with most ongoing military operations at the occupied site, and the listing of the species is not expected to result in significant restrictions on military use of the land. The Act and implementing regulations found at 50 CFR 17.21 set forth a series of general prohibitions and exceptions that apply to all endangered wildlife. These prohibitions, in part, make it illegal for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to take (includes harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, or collect; or to attempt any of these), import or export, ship in interstate commerce in the course of a commercial activity, or sell or offer for sale in interstate or foreign commerce and listed species. It also is illegal to possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport, or ship any such wildlife that has been taken illegally. Certain exceptions apply to agents of the Service and State conservation agencies. Permits may be issued to carry out otherwise prohibited activities involving endangered wildlife species under certain circumstances. Regulations governing permits are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.23. Such permits are available for scientific purposes, to enhance the propagation or survival of the species, and/or for incidental take in connection with otherwise lawful activities. References Cited Hall, S. 1993. A rangewide status survey of Saint Francis' satyr Neonympha mitchellii francisci (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Field Office, Asheville, NC. 44 pp. McAlpine, W., S. Hubble, and T. Pliske. 1960. The distribution, habits, and life history of Euptychia mitchellii (Satyrinae). J. Lep. Soc. 14:209-225. Opler, P., and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies. Houghton Miflin Co., New York. Parshall, D. K., and T. W. Kral. 1989. A new subspecies of Neonympha mitchellii (French) (Satyrinae) from North Carolina. J. Lep. Soc. 43:114-119. Refsnider, R. 1991. Emergency rule to list the Mitchell's satyr as endangered. Federal Register 56(122):28825. Schweitzer, D. 1989. A review of category 2 insects in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Regions 3, 4, and 5. Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Newton Corner, MA. Pp. 132-133. Wilsman, L., and D. Schweitzer. 1991. A rangewide status survey of Mitchell's satyr, Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 3, Endangered Species Office, Twin Cities, MN. Woodward, D., and R. Hazel. 1991. Beavers in North Carolina; ecology, utilization, and management. Cooperative Extension Service Publication No. AG-434, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. Author The primary author of this proposed rule is Ms. Nora Murdock (see Addresses section) (704/665-1195, Ext. 231). List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and Transportation. Regulation Promulgation Accordingly, effective April 18, 1994 until December 14, 1994, part 17, subchapter B of chapter I, title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, is amended as set forth below: PART 17--[AMENDED] (1) The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows: Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C. 4201-4245; Pub. L. 99-625, 100 Stat. 3500; unless otherwise noted. (2) Section 17.11(h) is amended by adding the following, in alphabetical order under ``Insects,'' to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife to read as follows: Sec. 17.11 Endangered and threatened wildlife. * * * * * (h) * * * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Vertebrate population ---------------------------------------------------- Historic range where endangered or Status When listed Critical Special Common name Scientific name threatened habitat rules -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * * * * * * * Insects: * * * * * * * Butterfly, Saint Neonympha mitchellii U.S.A. (NC)............. NA...................... E 539 NA NA Francis' satyr. francisci. * * * * * * * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dated: April 8, 1994. Mollie H. Beattie, Director, Fish and Wildlife Service. [FR Doc. 94-9218 Filed 4-17-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-M