[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 121 (Monday, June 25, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34664-34665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12240]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0076]
Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for a Biological Control Agent for Old World
Climbing Fern
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that an environmental assessment
and finding of no significant impact have been prepared by the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to the release of a
nonindigenous gall mite, Floracarus perrepae, for the biological
control of Old World climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum, in the
continental United States. Based on its finding of no significant
impact, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined
that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Robert V. Flanders, Chief, Pest
Permit Evaluation Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1228; (301) 734-5930.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Old World climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum, is a climbing fern
that has a large native range that extends through much of the Old
World tropics. It has become established in central and southern
peninsular Florida, where it grows in a number of wetland and mesic
(having a moderate supply of moisture) habitats including hammocks,
cypress swamps, flatwoods, bayheads, and disturbed sites.
[[Page 34665]]
The climbing fern is a highly invasive, exotic weed that climbs
over plants, including tall trees, to form massive walls of vegetation.
It also forms thick mats on the ground that smother native plants. New
infestations can arise great distances from existing populations
because the weed produces millions of spores that are spread by wind
and other physical carriers. A single spore is capable of starting a
new infestation. In addition, dense strands of Old World climbing fern
present a major fire hazard.
The biocontrol agent that is the subject of this notice, Floracarus
perrepae, is a gall mite in the insect family Eriophyidae and is native
to Australia and tropical Asia. The adult mites feed on young leaflets
of the target weed, L. microphyllum, inducing the leaf margins to curl
into galls. Female mites lay an average 60 eggs inside a gall. The eggs
hatch in 5 days and immature mites feed on the specialized tissue
within the gall, requiring 4 days to become adults. Galled leaflets are
often infected by secondary ambient pathogens and have reduced life
spans. Plants infested with the mite have slower rates of growth than
uninfested plants.
The mite is also host specific. Host specificity tests conducted in
Australia indicate that F. perrepae is specific to only two Lygodium
species (the target weed L. microphyllum and the Australian fern
Lygodium reticulatum).
On May 23, 2006, we published in the Federal Register (71 FR 29607-
29608, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0076) a notice \1\ in which we announced
the availability, for public review and comment, of an environmental
assessment (EA) that examined the potential environmental impacts
associated with the proposed release of this biological control agent
into the continental United States.
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\1\ To view the notice, environmental assessment, and finding of
no significant impact, go to http://www.regulations.gov, click on
the ``Advanced Search'' tab, and select ``Docket Search.'' In the
Docket ID field, enter APHIS-2006-0076, then click ``Submit.''
Clicking on the Docket ID link in the search results page will
produce a list of all documents in the docket.
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We solicited comments on the EA for 30 days ending June 22, 2006.
We did not receive any comments by that date.
In this document, we are advising the public of our finding of no
significant impact (FONSI) regarding the release of the nonindigenous
gall mite F. perrepae as a biological control agent to reduce the
severity and extent of Old World climbing fern infestation in the
continental United States. The finding, which is based on the EA,
reflects our determination that release of this biological control
agent will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human
environment.
The EA and FONSI may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site (see
footnote 1). Copies of the EA and FONSI are also available for public
inspection at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to inspect
copies are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate
entry into the reading room. In addition, copies may be obtained by
writing to the individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
The EA and FONSI have been prepared in accordance with: (1) The
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality
for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), (3) USDA regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4)
APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of June 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E7-12240 Filed 6-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P