[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12115-12116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05083]
[[Page 12115]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2015-N044]; [FXES11130200000-167-FF02ENEH00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery
Plan for Lilaeopsis schaffneriana ssp. recurva (Huachuca Water Umbel)
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our draft recovery plan for the Lilaeopsis
schaffneriana ssp. recurva (Huachuca water umbel), which is listed as
endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
This plant species is currently found in southern Arizona and in
northern Sonora, Mexico. The draft recovery plan includes specific
recovery objectives and criteria to be met in order to enable us to
remove this species from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife
and plants. We request review and comment on this plan from local,
State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public. We will also
accept any new information on the status of the species throughout its
range to assist in finalizing the recovery plan.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive written comments on or
before May 9, 2016. However, we will accept information about any
species at any time.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: If you wish to review the draft
recovery plan, you may obtain a copy by any one of the following
methods:
Internet: Download the file at www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Documents/R2ES/LilaeopsisSchaffnerianaRecurva_DraftRecoveryPlan_Final_November2015.pdf;
U.S. mail: Request a copy by writing to the Arizona Ecological
Services Field Office, Fish and Wildlife Service, 2321 W. Royal Palm
Road, Suite 103, Phoenix, AZ 85021; or
Telephone: Request a copy by calling (602) 242-0210.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to comment on the draft recovery
plan, you may submit your comments in writing by any one of the
following methods:
U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, at the above address;
Hand-delivery: Arizona Ecological Services Office, at the above
address;
Fax: (602) 242-2513; or
Email: [email protected].
For additional information about submitting comments, see the
``Request for Public Comments'' section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Ecological Services Field Office,
2321 West Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, Phoenix, AZ 85021; telephone:
602-242-0210; facsimile: 602-242-2513. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We announce the availability of our draft
recovery plan for the Lilaeopsis schaffneriana ssp. recurva (Huachuca
water umbel), an endangered plant species currently found in southern
Arizona and in northern Sonora, Mexico. The draft recovery plan
includes specific recovery objectives and criteria to be met in order
to enable us to remove this species from the list of endangered and
threatened wildlife and plants. We request review and comment on this
plan from local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public.
We will also accept any new information on the status of the species
throughout its range to assist in finalizing the recovery plan.
Background
Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants to the
point where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their
ecosystems is a primary goal of our endangered species program and the
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Recovery means improvement of the status
of listed species to the point at which listing is no longer
appropriate under the criteria set out in section 4(a)(1) of the Act.
The Act requires the development of recovery plans for listed species,
unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular
species.
Species History
Lilaeopsis schaffneriana ssp. recurva (Huachuca water umbel), found
in aquatic habitats such as cienegas, rivers, streams, and springs of
southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico, was federally listed as
endangered on January 6, 1997. On July 12, 1999, 83.2 kilometers (51.7
miles) of streams or rivers in Cochise and Santa Cruz Counties,
Arizona, were designated as critical habitat. The taxon has been found
historically in Cochise, Pinal, Pima, and Santa Cruz Counties, Arizona,
and northern Sonora, Mexico. Lilaeopsis schaffneriana ssp. recurva is
not listed under Mexican protected species regulations by the
Secretar[iacute]a de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. The recovery
priority number for L. schaffneriana ssp. recurva is 3C, meaning that
the listed entity is a subspecies, the level of threat is high, the
potential for recovery is high, and there is a conflict with some form
of economic activity (groundwater withdrawal for mining, agriculture,
Fort Huachuca, municipal use, and private wells). The first 5-year
status review for L. schaffneriana ssp. recurva was signed on August
21, 2014. Based on the static or declining status of the species across
its range and continued threats, it was recommended in the 5-year
review that the taxon remain listed as endangered.
Lilaeopsis schaffneriana ssp. recurva is a semi-aquatic to fully
aquatic herbaceous perennial that ranges from 2.5 to 33 centimeters
(cm) (0.98 to 12.99 inches (in)) depending on habitat. The leaves are
round or elliptical in cross section, 0.5 to 5.5 millimeters (mm) (0.02
to 0.2 in) in diameter, and contain 6 to18 distinctive septa (thin
partitions) along their length. Umbels (umbrella-like flower
structures) develop on stalks shorter than the leaves, and contain
three to ten 1.0 to 2.0 mm (0.04 to 0.08 in) wide perfect (containing
male and female parts) flowers with five white to slightly maroon
tinted petals and maroon anthers. Flowering has been observed
episodically from March through October, peaking in July. The taxon
reproduces both sexually via seed and asexually through rhizome spread
and fragmentation. Clonal establishment following flooding events is
thought to be important for maintaining diversity in the taxon; the
seedbank can allow for recolonization following drought if hydric
conditions return.
Groundwater pumping, regional drought, and climate change are among
the largest threats to this taxon, which depends on the availability of
permanently wet (or nearly so), muddy, or silty substrates with some
organic content. At this time, the most significant long-term threats
to the continued existence of the species are: (1) Aquatic habitat
degradation; (2) the effects of drought and climate change; (3)
wildfire and resulting sedimentation and scouring; (4) invasive non-
native plant competition; and (5) livestock grazing. While propagation
has proven successful, augmentation into new and previously occupied
habitat has had mixed success. A larger challenge involves restoring
appropriate habitat for the taxon, including the availability of
perennial water.
The majority of critical habitat is under Federal administration
through
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the Coronado National Forest (National Forest Service), the San Pedro
Riparian National Conservation Area (Bureau of Land Management), and
Fort Huachuca Military Reservation (United States Army); a small
portion is in private ownership. The taxon occurs in five watersheds in
southeastern Arizona and adjacent portions of Sonora, Mexico. In the
United States, we are aware of 17 locations supporting extant
occurrences of L. schaffneriana ssp. recurva, 8 locations where all L.
schaffneriana ssp. recurva occurrences are considered extirpated, and 6
locations where no occurrences have been relocated in recent years. In
Sonora, Mexico, we are aware of 21 locations supporting L.
schaffneriana ssp. recurva occurrences, though most of these locations
have not been revisited in recent years. It is difficult to estimate
the number of individuals due to the clonal nature of the taxon, though
estimates of density indicate most occurrences are stable or in
decline.
The principal recovery strategy is to conserve the habitat of L.
schaffneriana ssp. recurva by implementing a variety of protection
strategies, including decreasing groundwater pumping, increasing water
conservation and recharge, and protecting L. schaffneriana ssp. recurva
occurrences and their seedbanks. Providing conservation and restoration
of the taxon and its habitat will allow stable, self-sustaining
occurrences to persist with some level of connectivity and
opportunities for expansion and dispersal. Additional efforts will
focus on improving the baseline understanding of L. schaffneriana ssp.
recurva ecology and threats.
Recovery Plan Goals
The objective of a recovery plan is to provide a framework for the
recovery of a species so that protection under the Act is no longer
necessary. A recovery plan includes scientific information about the
species and provides criteria and actions necessary for us to be able
to reclassify the species to threatened status or remove it from the
list of federally endangered and threatened wildlife and plants.
Recovery plans help guide our recovery efforts by describing actions we
consider necessary for the species' conservation, and by estimating
time and costs for implementing needed recovery measures. To achieve
its goals, this draft recovery plan identifies the following
objectives:
(1) Protect and restore functional aquatic habitat and reduce
dewatering threats to known and newly discovered L. schaffneriana ssp.
recurva occurrences and habitat.
(2) Conserve existing and newly discovered L. schaffneriana ssp.
recurva occurrences and their seedbanks; establish new occurrences in
appropriate habitat; establish plants at botanical gardens for
research, recovery, and educational purposes; and maintain seeds for
conservation and recovery at seed storage facilities.
(3) Remove stressors related to invasive plants, unmanaged
livestock grazing, and small population size to L. schaffneriana ssp.
recurva occurrences and their habitats.
(4) Develop a standardized monitoring technique based on existing
protocols; monitor L. schaffneriana ssp. recurva occurrences, threats,
and outcomes from management actions allowing for adaptive management.
(5) Encourage scientific study to improve our understanding of L.
schaffneriana ssp. recurva geography, ecology, viability, genetics,
propagation, restoration, and threats in the United States and Mexico.
(6) Develop public outreach, collaborative partnerships, agency
management plans, and agreements with private land owners in the United
States and Mexico that encourage L. schaffneriana ssp. recurva
conservation.
The draft recovery plan focuses on conserving and enhancing habitat
quality, protecting populations, managing threats, monitoring progress,
and building partnerships to facilitate recovery. When the recovery of
L. schaffneriana ssp. recurva approaches these criteria, we will review
the species' status and consider downlisting, and, ultimately, removal
from the list of federally threatened and endangered wildlife and
plants.
Request for Public Comments
Section 4(f) of the Act 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 (July 1, 1994; 59 FR 34270). In an appendix to the approved
recovery plan, we will summarize and respond to the issues raised by
the public and peer reviewers. 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 implementing recovery actions. Responses to individual commenters
will not be provided, but we will provide a summary of how we addressed
substantive comments in an appendix to the approved recovery plan.
We invite written comments on the draft recovery plan. In
particular, we are interested in additional information regarding the
current threats to the species and the costs associated with
implementing the recommended recovery actions.
Before we approve our final recovery plan, we will consider all
comments we receive by the date specified in DATES above. Methods of
submitting comments are in the ADDRESSES section above.
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.
Comments and materials we receive will be available, by
appointment, for public inspection during normal business hours at our
office (see ADDRESSES).
References Cited
A complete list of all references cited herein is available upon
request from the Arizona Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section).
Authority
We developed our draft recovery plan under the authority of section
4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f). We publish this notice under
section 4(f) Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.).
Dated: March 1, 2016.
Joy E. Nicholopoulos.
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-05083 Filed 3-7-16; 8:45 am]
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