Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Taxonomic Correction for the Grand Cayman Ground Iguana, 62657-62659 [2016-21845]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 176 (Monday, September 12, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62657-62659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21845]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0097; 4500030115]
RIN 1018-BB69


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Taxonomic 
Correction for the Grand Cayman Ground Iguana

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
revised taxonomy of Cyclura nubila lewisi (Grand Cayman ground iguana) 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are 
revising the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife to reflect the 
current scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of this 
species: Cyclura lewisi (Grand Cayman blue iguana). This action that 
does not alter the regulatory protections afforded to this species.

DATES: This rule will become effective on November 14, 2016, without 
further action, unless we receive significant scientific information 
that provides strong justifications as to why this rule should not be 
adopted or why it should be changed on or before October 12, 2016. If 
significant scientific information is received regarding why this rule 
should not be adopted or changed, we will publish a timely withdrawal 
of the rule in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In 
the Search box, enter FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0097, which is the docket number 
for this rulemaking. Then click on the Search button. You may submit a 
comment by clicking on ``Comment Now!''
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: FWS-HQ-ES-2016-0097; Division of Policy, Performance, and 
Management Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

[[Page 62658]]

Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: BPHC, Falls Church, VA 22041-3808.
    We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide 
us (see Public Comments, below, for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janine Van Norman, Branch Chief, 
Foreign Species Branch, Ecological Services Program, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: ES, Falls Church, VA 22041; 
telephone 703-358-2171; facsimile 703-358-1735. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comments

    You may submit your comments and materials regarding this direct 
final rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. Please include 
sufficient information with your comments to allow us to verify any 
scientific or commercial information you include. We will not consider 
comments sent by email or fax, or to an address not listed in 
ADDRESSES.
    We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information that you 
provide to us. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personal 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, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing this direct final rule, will be 
available for public inspection on the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov or by appointment, during normal business hours at 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Falls Church, Virginia (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Please note that comments posted to 
https://www.regulations.gov are not immediately viewable. When you 
submit a comment, the system receives it immediately. However, the 
comment will not be publicly viewable until we post it, which might not 
occur until several days after submission.

Previous Federal Actions

    On August 15, 1980, we published in the Federal Register (45 FR 
54685) a notice of review of 18 species of foreign reptiles, including 
the Grand Cayman ground iguana (Cyclura nubila lewisi), to determine 
whether they should be proposed for listing as endangered or threatened 
species under the provisions of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). On 
January 20, 1983, we published in the Federal Register a proposed rule 
to list the Grand Cayman ground iguana as an endangered species under 
the Act (48 FR 2562). On June 22, 1983, we published in the Federal 
Register (48 FR 28460) a final rule listing the Grand Cayman ground 
iguana (Cyclura nubila lewisi) as an endangered species under the Act.

Taxonomy of Cyclura nubila lewisi

    The blue iguana native to the Grand Cayman Island was originally 
described as Cyclura macleayi lewisi Grant, 1940, a subspecies of the 
Cuban rock iguana (Burton 2012, unpaginated). In 1977, Schwartz and 
Carey reviewed the unique blue coloration of the Grand Cayman island 
population and noted that it was a distinct subspecies of Cyclura 
nubila and, thus, established the nomenclature, Cyclura nubila lewisi 
Grant (Burton 2004, p. 198). In 2004, the iguana was elevated from 
subspecies status (Cyclura nubila lewisi) to species-level status 
(Cyclura lewisi) (Burton 2012, unpaginated; Burton 2004, entire).

Taxonomic Correction

    The Service's objective is to provide the protections of the Act to 
endangered and threatened species. Pursuant to 50 CFR 17.11(c), we use 
the most recently accepted scientific name for a listed species. We 
rely, to the extent practicable, on the Integrated Taxonomic 
Information System (ITIS) to determine a species' scientific name. ITIS 
incorporates the naming principles established by the International 
Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Because the International Code of 
Zoological Nomenclature, as well as the International Union for 
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade 
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), has accepted 
Cyclura lewisi as the appropriate taxonomy for the Grand Cayman ground 
iguana, and because this taxonomic change best reflects the scope of 
the Service's listing for this species, the Service is hereby adopting 
the scientific name Cyclura lewisi for the Grand Cayman ground iguana 
(Burton 2012, unpaginated; ITIS 2016, unpaginated; Burton 2004, 
entire).
    Additionally, although 50 CFR 17.11(b) notes that common names 
cannot be relied upon for identification of any specimen, as they may 
vary greatly in local usage, the common name currently used by the 
Service, the Grand Cayman ground iguana, is not consistently used 
across scientific authorities. Therefore, for consistency, we are 
adopting the common name Grand Cayman blue iguana for this species to 
reflect Burton (2004, p. 198).

Use of Direct Final Rule

    We are publishing this direct final rule without a prior proposal 
because this is a noncontroversial action that does not alter the scope 
of the animals that are protected or the regulatory protections 
afforded to this species. Rather, it reflects the current 
scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of the Grand Cayman 
blue iguana. Therefore, in the best interest of the public, we are 
taking this action to update the scientific and common names in as 
timely a manner as possible to eliminate confusion by adopting the 
accepted taxonomy and align the scientific name with CITES 
nomenclature, unless we receive significant scientific information that 
provides strong justifications as to why this rule should not be 
adopted or why it should be changed on or before the comment due date 
specified above in DATES. If we receive significant scientific 
information that provides strong justifications as to why this rule 
should not be adopted or why it should be changed, we will publish a 
document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before the 
effective date, and we will engage in the normal rulemaking process to 
promulgate these changes to 50 CFR 17.11.

Required Determinations

Clarity of the Rule

    We are required by Executive Orders 12866 and 12988 and by the 
Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 1998, to write all rules in plain 
language. This means that each rule we publish must:
    (1) Be logically organized;
    (2) Use the active voice to address readers directly;
    (3) Use clear language rather than jargon;
    (4) Be divided into short sections and sentences; and
    (5) Use lists and tables wherever possible.
    If you feel that we have not met these requirements, send us 
comments by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. To better help us 
revise the rule; your

[[Page 62659]]

comments should be as specific as possible. For example, you should 
tell us the numbers of the sections or paragraphs that are unclearly 
written, which sections or sentences are too long, the sections where 
you feel lists or tables would be useful, etc.

National Environmental Policy Act

    We have determined that an environmental assessment or an 
environmental impact statement, as defined under the authority of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
need not be prepared in connection with regulations adopted under 
section 4(a) of the Act. A notice outlining our reasons for this 
determination was published in the Federal Register on October 25, 1983 
(48 FR 49244).

References Cited

    A complete list of the references used to develop this rule is 
available upon request from the Foreign Species Branch (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

Regulation Promulgation

    Accordingly, we hereby amend part 17, subchapter B of chapter I, 
title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth below:

PART 17--ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 1531-1544; 4201-4245, unless 
otherwise noted.


0
2. Amend Sec.  17.11(h), the List of Endangered and Threatened 
Wildlife, by removing the entry for ``Iguana, Grand Cayman ground'' and 
adding in alphabetical order an entry for ``Iguana, Grand Cayman blue'' 
under REPTILES to read as follows:


Sec.  17.11  Endangered and threatened wildlife.

* * * * *
    (h) * * *

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                                                                                              Listing citations
           Common name                Scientific name        Where listed         Status        and applicable
                                                                                                    rules
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                                                  * * * * * * *
             Reptiles
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Iguana, Grand Cayman blue........  Cyclura lewisi......  Wherever found......            E   48 FR 28460; 6/22/
                                                                                              1983.
 
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    Dated: September 2, 2016.
Brian Arroyo,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-21845 Filed 9-9-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P