Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Snowy Plover and Reclassify the Wintering Population of Piping Plover, 55638-55641 [2011-22900]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
55638
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 174 / Thursday, September 8, 2011 / Proposed Rules
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.
www.regulations.gov and upon request
from the Field Supervisor, Sacramento
Fish and Wildlife Office (see
ADDRESSES).
recordkeeping requirements,
Transportation.
Author(s)
The primary authors of this notice are
the staff members of the Sacramento
Fish and Wildlife Office (see
ADDRESSES).
Accordingly, we propose to amend
part 17, subchapter B of chapter I, title
50 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
as set forth below:
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and threatened species,
Exports, Imports, Reporting and
Proposed Regulation Promulgation
PART 17—[AMENDED]
§ 17.12
1. The authority citation for part 17
continues to read as follows:
*
Species
Historic range
Scientific name
2. Amend § 17.12(h) by adding an
entry for ‘‘Arctostaphylos franciscana
(Franciscan manzanita)’’ to the List of
Endangered and Threatened Plants in
alphabetical order under FLOWERING
PLANTS to read as follows:
Status
Family
Common name
Endangered and threatened plants.
*
*
(h) * * *
*
When listed
*
Critical
habitat
Special
rules
Flowering Plants
*
Arctostaphylos
franciscana.
*
Franciscan
manzanita.
*
*
U.S.A. (CA) ..............
*
*
Dated: August 27, 2011.
Gregory E. Siekaniec,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a
Petition To List the Snowy Plover and
Reclassify the Wintering Population of
Piping Plover
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition
finding.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
90-day finding on a petition to list the
snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
as endangered or threatened and to
reclassify the wintering population of
piping plover (Charadrius melodus) as
endangered under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
We find that the petition does not
present substantial scientific or
commercial information indicating that
the petitioned actions may be
warranted. This finding is based on our
determination that the petition did not
identify listable entities. Therefore, we
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
SUMMARY:
Jkt 223001
This finding is also
available on the Internet at https://
www.regulations.gov at Docket Number
FWS–R4–ES–2011–0059. Supporting
documentation we used in preparing
this finding is available for public
inspection, by appointment, during
normal business hours at the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Panama City Field
Office, 1601 Balboa Avenue, Panama
City, FL 32405. Please submit any new
information, materials, comments, or
questions concerning this finding to the
above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don
Imm, Project Leader, Panama City Field
Office (see ADDRESSES), by telephone at
850–769–0552 ext. 238, or by facsimile
to 850–763–2177. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD), please call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
800–877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that we
make a finding on whether a petition to
list, delist, or reclassify a species
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4702
*
XXX
*
ADDRESSES:
[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2011–0059; MO
92210–0–0008]
18:43 Sep 07, 2011
*
are not initiating a status review for
either species in response to this
petition. However, we ask the public to
submit to us any new information that
becomes available concerning the status
of, or threats to, the snowy plover or the
piping plover or their respective
habitats at any time.
DATES: The finding announced in this
document was made on September 8,
2011.
[FR Doc. 2011–22990 Filed 9–7–11; 8:45 am]
VerDate Mar<15>2010
*
*
Ericaceae ................. E
Sfmt 4702
*
*
NA
NA
*
presents substantial scientific or
commercial information indicating that
the petitioned action may be warranted.
We are to base this finding on
information provided in the petition,
supporting information submitted with
the petition, and information otherwise
available in our files at the time that the
petition was submitted to us. To the
maximum extent practicable, we are to
make this finding within 90 days of our
receipt of the petition, and to publish
our notice of the finding promptly in the
Federal Register.
Our standard for substantial scientific
or commercial information within the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with
regard to a 90-day petition finding is
‘‘that amount of information that would
lead a reasonable person to believe that
the measure proposed in the petition
may be warranted’’ (50 CFR 424.14(b)).
If we find that substantial scientific or
commercial information was presented,
we are required to promptly conduct a
species status review, which we
subsequently summarize in a 12-month
finding.
Petition History
On September 5, 2000, we received a
petition dated September 4, 2000, from
Robert R. Reid, Jr., on behalf of the
Alabama Audubon Council, Alabama
Environmental Council, and Alabama
Ornithological Society (petitioners),
requesting that the snowy plover be
listed as threatened or endangered, and
that the wintering population of piping
plover be reclassified from threatened to
endangered under the Act, and that
critical habitat be designated under the
E:\FR\FM\08SEP1.SGM
08SEP1
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 174 / Thursday, September 8, 2011 / Proposed Rules
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Act for both species. The petition was
submitted concurrently with comments
in response to the request for public
comments contained in our proposal to
designate critical habitat for wintering
piping plover (July 6, 2000; 65 FR
41782) and our extension of the
comment period for that proposal (65
FR 64414; October 27, 2000). We
responded to the petitioner’s comments
related to the critical habitat rulemaking
in the final rule for the designation of
critical habitat for wintering piping
plover (66 FR 36038; July 10, 2001).
The petition mentions common
threats to both species, provides brief
examples of potential population
declines, and discusses the petitioners’
views on how consultations would
benefit from critical habitat
designations. The petition also
discusses the petitioners’ views on the
economic advantages of critical habitat
and mentions that ‘‘inhabited’’ and
‘‘uninhabited’’ lands should be included
in the critical habitat designations. Few
references were provided to support the
statements in the petition.
The petition clearly identified itself as
such and included the requisite
identification information for the
petitioners, as required by 50 CFR
424.14(a); however, no scientific name
for either species was included in the
petition. In an October 11, 2000, letter
to the petitioners, we acknowledged
receipt of the petition. We determined
that issuing an emergency regulation
temporarily listing either species under
section 4(b)(7) of the Act was not
warranted. We notified the petitioners
that, due to court orders and judicially
approved settlement agreements for
other listing and critical habitat
determinations under the Act that
required nearly all of our listing and
critical habitat funding for fiscal year
2001, we would not be able to further
address the petition at that time, but we
anticipated addressing the action when
workload and funding allowed. Funding
limitations have prevented the Service
from responding to the petition until
now. This finding addresses the
petition. In separate sections below, we
address the petitioners’ requests to list
the snowy plover as threatened or
endangered and to reclassify the
wintering population of piping plover as
endangered.
Snowy Plover (Charadrius
alexandrinus)
Species Information
Snowy plovers are small shorebirds,
about 6.7 inches (17 centimeters (cm))
long. The plumage is pale gray or brown
above, and pure white below. Their bills
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:33 Sep 07, 2011
Jkt 223001
and legs are dark (Gore 1996, p. 73).
Snowy plovers require expansive, open
dry sandy beaches for breeding, and
both dry and tidal sand flats for foraging
(Woolfenden 1978, p. 9). They primarily
feed on small crustaceans, mollusks,
worms, and insects that they glean from
beaches and sand flats. They nest on
open, dry white sand where a typical
clutch of three eggs is laid in a slight
depression, sometimes lined with bits of
shell (Woolfenden 1978, p. 9). In
Florida, nests have been documented as
early as February, with pair bonding
reported as early as January (Gore and
Chase 1989, p. 8).
Two subspecies of snowy plover that
nest in North America were recognized
by the American Ornithological Union
(AOU) in 1957 (5th edition of its Checklist, pp. 168–169): The western snowy
plover (Charadrius alexandrinus
nivosus) and the Cuban or Southeastern
snowy plover (C. a. tenuirostis). Since
that time, however, the AOU has not
conducted a review of this subspecies
distinction. The AOU stopped listing
subspecies as of the 6th edition (1983)
of its Check-list, although it
recommended the continued use of the
5th edition for taxonomy at the
subspecific level. The AOU has not
formally or officially reviewed the
subspecific treatment of most North
American birds. In the 7th edition
(1998, p. xii) of the Check-list, the AOU
explained that its decision to omit
subspecies ‘‘carries with it our
realization that an uncertain number of
currently recognized subspecies,
especially those formally named early in
this century, probably cannot be
validated by rigorous modern
techniques.’’
Page et al. (1995, p. 3) state that two
subspecies of snowy plover have been
recognized for North America (and
partially in South and Central
Americas): Charadrius alexandrinus
tenuirostris is found on the Gulf Coast
east of Louisiana through Florida, the
Bahama Islands, the north coast of the
Yucatan Peninsula, the Greater and
Lesser Antilles, and islands off the north
coast of Venezuela; and C. a. nivosus is
found elsewhere in the United States
and Mexico (including coastal
California and Baja California; locally in
the Great Basin of California, Oregon,
Nevada, and Utah; very locally in
southern Saskatchewan, central
Montana, southern Wyoming, central
and eastern Colorado, and southern
Arizona; sparsely but widely distributed
over southeast New Mexico and east
through north central Texas, central
Oklahoma, and central Kansas; the
southern Texas coast into northeast
Mexico; and the central Mexican
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
55639
plateau) (AOU 1957, pp. 168–169;
Cramp 1983, p. 153). Others (Oberholser
1974, p. 312; Johnsgard 1981, pp. 191–
192; Jacobs 1986, p. 3; Gore 1996, p. 74)
have stated that C. a. tenuirostris
includes birds in coastal Texas and
northeastern Mexico, as well as birds of
the interior Great Plains.
Gorman (2000, pp. 36–38) performed
genetic studies that concluded the
Greater Antillean snowy plovers,
represented only by samples from
Puerto Rico, were clearly differentiated
from mainland birds in Florida.
Furthermore, Florida birds were much
more closely related to other continental
populations of Charadrius alexandrinus
nivosus than to Puerto Rican C. a.
tenuirostris. Among birds east of the
Rocky Mountains, Texas coastal and
Great Plains birds appeared to be more
closely related to other eastern birds
than birds west of the Rocky Mountains.
Gorman (2000, pp. 36–38) admits that,
in the absence of further sampling, it is
not clear whether all snowy plover
populations in the West Indies and
Bahamas would be grouped with birds
from Puerto Rico or with birds from east
of the Rocky Mountains. Differentiation
among the eastern continental U.S.
populations is apparently insufficient to
warrant separate populations. Thus,
these results suggest that snowy plovers
east of Louisiana, including Florida,
along the Gulf Coast may be grouped
with Great Plains and other Gulf Coast
birds. The Service accepts the
characterization of the snowy plover as
two subspecies in North America,
Charadrius alexandrinus nirvosus and
C. a. tenuirostris.
It is not clear which demarcation the
petitioners relied upon for the petition
request, because neither a species nor
subspecies scientific name was
provided for the snowy plover in the
petition. At times, the petitioners
reference inclusion of the Texas
coastline as part of the ‘‘Gulf Coast’’
snowy plover range; yet most references
to population data are from Florida and,
possibly, Alabama. No reference is made
to the Caribbean population. The
genetic studies performed by Gorman
were reported earlier in the same year
as the petition, and may not have been
available to the petitioners prior to
submission of the petition. Gorman
(2000, pp. 36–38) made a
recommendation that small
management units based on
demographic considerations might be
adopted. Regardless of the petitioners’
intention, they failed to provide a
scientific name and to clearly identify
the petitioned entity of the snowy
plover.
E:\FR\FM\08SEP1.SGM
08SEP1
55640
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 174 / Thursday, September 8, 2011 / Proposed Rules
Previous Federal Actions
The Pacific Coast vertebrate
population segment of Charadrius
alexandrinus nivosus, the Western
snowy plover, was listed as threatened
under the Act on March 5, 1993 (58 FR
12864). The Pacific coast population is
defined as those individuals that nest
within 50 miles of the Pacific Ocean on
the mainland coast, peninsulas, offshore
islands, bays, estuaries, or rivers of the
United States and Baja California,
Mexico. No other populations of the
snowy plover are currently federally
listed as threatened or endangered
species.
Evaluation of Listable Entity
Upon receipt of a petition to list,
delist, or reclassify a species, we are to
consider whether such petition ‘‘clearly
indicates the administrative measure
recommended and gives the scientific
and any common name of the species
involved’’ (50 CFR 424.14(b)(2)(i)).
Throughout the subject petition, the
term ‘‘snowy plover’’ is used with
references to the ‘‘Gulf Coast’’ without
providing a scientific name or
distinguishing the snowy plover as a
species, subspecies, or population. At
the time of receipt of the petition, the
Pacific Coast population of the Western
snowy plover was listed as a threatened
species (March 5, 1993; 58 FR 12864).
The snowy plover breeding and
wintering ranges provided in the
petition identified ranges of both the
Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus and C.
a. tenuirostris. Thus, the petition did
not fully identify what constituted the
entity and as petitioned, did not,
therefore, meet the ‘‘listable entity’’
requirement for a substantial finding.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)
Species Information
The piping plover is a small (6.7 to
7.1 inches (17 to 18 cm)) pale-colored
migratory shorebird that breeds in three
separate areas of North America: The
Northern Great Plains, the Great Lakes,
and the Atlantic Coast. The piping
plover winters in coastal areas of the
United States from North Carolina to
Texas, along the coast of eastern
Mexico, on Caribbean islands from
Barbados to Cuba, and the Bahamas
(Plissner and Haig 1997, pp. 8–9).
Information from observation of colorbanded piping plovers indicates that the
winter ranges of the breeding
populations overlap to a significant
degree (Plissner and Haig 1997, pp. 9–
11; Wemmer 2000, p. 47). The source
breeding population of a given
wintering individual bird cannot be
determined in the field unless the
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:33 Sep 07, 2011
Jkt 223001
individual bird has been banded or
otherwise marked.
Piping plovers spend about two-thirds
of the year on migratory and wintering
grounds. Piping plovers begin arriving
on the wintering grounds in July, with
some late-nesting birds arriving in
September. A few individuals can be
found on the wintering grounds
throughout the year, but sightings are
rare in late May, June, and early July.
Migration is poorly understood, but
preliminary data suggest that plovers
use inland and coastal stopover sites
when migrating from interior breeding
areas to wintering grounds
(McConnaughey et al. 1990, p. 19).
Observations of color-marked birds in
Alabama indicated wintering plovers
were least mobile from late November
through late January (Johnson and
Baldassarre 1988, p. 221).
Concentrations of spring and fall
migrants also have been observed along
the Atlantic Coast (Service 1996, pp.
129–138). In late February, piping
plovers begin leaving the wintering
grounds to migrate back to breeding
sites.
Habitat on the wintering grounds
consists of exposed sandflats, beaches,
washovers and algal flats. Mudflats and
sandflats provide foraging areas where
piping plovers feed primarily on marine
and freshwater invertebrates. Foraging
accounted for about 75 percent of
observed piping plover behavior in an
Alabama study (Johnson and
Baldassarre 1988, p. 217). The number
of plovers foraging in an area may be
dependent on density of food sources
(Zonick 2000, p. 90).
Two subspecies of piping plover,
Charadrius melodus melodus (Atlantic
Coast of North America) and C. m.
circumcinctus (Northern Great Plains of
North America), were recognized by the
American Ornithological Union (AOU)
in 1957 (5th edition of its Check-list
1957, pp. 167–168) and in 1983 (6th
edition of its Check-list 1983, pp. 170–
171). However, the AOU has not
conducted a review of this subspecies
distinction since that time. The Service
accepts the characterization of the
piping plover as two subspecies in
North America, C. m. melodus and C. m.
circumcinctus.
Previous Federal Actions
On December 11, 1985 (50 FR 50726;
effective January 10, 1986), the piping
plover (Charadrius melodus) was listed
as endangered in the Great Lakes
watershed of both the United States and
Canada, and as threatened in the
remainder of its range in the United
States (Northern Great Plains, Atlantic
and Gulf Coasts, Puerto Rico, Virgin
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Islands), Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, and
the West Indies. The threatened status
included all piping plover when on
their wintering grounds.
Protection of the entire species
Charadrius melodus under the Act
reflects its status range wide. However,
the Service has consistently recognized
three separate breeding populations of
piping plovers, on the Atlantic Coast,
Great Lakes, and Northern Great Plains.
A recovery plan established delisting
criteria for the Atlantic Coast breeding
population (Service 1996, pp. 57–58). A
joint recovery plan specified separate
delisting criteria for the Great Lakes and
Northern Great Plains breeding
populations (Service 1988, pp. 54–55).
After the September 4, 2000, petition
was submitted to the Service, critical
habitat was designated for the Great
Lakes (66 FR 22938; May 7, 2001) and
Northern Great Plains breeding
populations (67 FR 57637; September
11, 2002), and for piping plovers from
the three breeding populations while on
the wintering grounds (66 FR 36038;
July 10, 2001).
Evaluation of Listable Entity
The petition asserts the ‘‘Need to
Designate the Wintering Gulf Population
of Piping Plover as Endangered’’
(petition, p. 6). The petition focused
solely on conditions along the Gulf
coast and the status of the piping plover
along the Gulf coast. The petition did
not differentiate between species,
subspecies, and distinct population
segments, nor did the petition include a
scientific name in its recommendation
to change the status of the piping plover
to endangered within the Gulf of
Mexico. However, the petitioners were
responding to a proposed rule to
designate critical habitat for the piping
plover (Charadrius melodus) while on
its wintering grounds (65 FR 41782; July
6, 2000) in the same document as the
petition. The Service accepts the
petition as a request to reclassify
wintering piping plover of the listed
entity (C. melodus) from a threatened to
an endangered species.
Upon receipt of a petition to list,
delist, or reclassify a species, we are to
consider whether such petition ‘‘clearly
indicates the administrative measure
recommended and gives the scientific
and any common name of the species
involved’’ (50 CFR 424.14(b)(2)(i)).
Under the Act, a species is defined as
including any subspecies of fish or
wildlife of plants, and any distinct
population segment of any species of
vertebrate fish or wildlife which
interbreeds when mature (16 U.S.C.
1532).
E:\FR\FM\08SEP1.SGM
08SEP1
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 174 / Thursday, September 8, 2011 / Proposed Rules
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Piping plovers on their wintering or
migration grounds, such as the Gulf
coast, do not constitute a valid entity.
The listing (50 FR 50726; December 11,
1985) of the species classified all piping
plovers on the Great Lakes watershed
breeding grounds as endangered and all
other piping plover as threatened
including on their breeding grounds in
the Northern Great Plains and Atlantic
Coast and on their migration and
wintering grounds. This, along with the
proposed designation of critical habitat
for wintering piping plover, may have
given the impression that the piping
plover constitutes a listable entity while
on its wintering grounds. However, this
is not the case. Birds from all three of
the recognized breeding grounds use
and share the same Gulf coast wintering
habitats. Thus, the birds on the
wintering grounds are all of the listed
entity (C. melodus) but from three
separate recognized breeding grounds.
Thus, the petition’s identification of a
‘‘Gulf wintering population of piping
plover’’ is, therefore, not a listable
entity.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:33 Sep 07, 2011
Jkt 223001
Finding
In summary, on the basis of our
determination under section 4(b)(3)(A)
of the Act, the petition does not present
substantial information indicating that
listing the snowy plover as threatened
or endangered is warranted, because the
entity as petitioned is not listable. No
scientific name of the petitioned entity
was provided, and there are two
subspecies of the snowy plover accepted
for North America.
The petition also does not present
substantial information indicating that
reclassifying piping plover while
wintering on the Gulf coast as
endangered is warranted, because the
entity as petitioned is not listable. The
piping plover, as currently listed,
represents all of the three recognized
breeding entities wherever they reside
or winter in their life cycle. The petition
does not specify a listable entity for the
requested reclassification.
Although we will not review the
status of the snowy plover or the piping
plover at this time, we encourage
interested parties to continue to gather
data that will assist with the
conservation of these species. If you
wish to provide information regarding
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 9990
55641
the snowy plover or piping plover, you
may submit your information or
materials to the Project Leader, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service Panama City
Field Office (see ADDRESSES), at any
time.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited is
available on the Internet at https://
www.regulations.gov and upon request
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Panama City Field Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are
the staff members of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service Panama City Field
Office (see ADDRESSES).
Authority
The authority for this action is the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: August 22, 2011.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–22900 Filed 9–7–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
E:\FR\FM\08SEP1.SGM
08SEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 174 (Thursday, September 8, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55638-55641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22900]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2011-0059; MO 92210-0-0008]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on
a Petition To List the Snowy Plover and Reclassify the Wintering
Population of Piping Plover
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
90-day finding on a petition to list the snowy plover (Charadrius
alexandrinus) as endangered or threatened and to reclassify the
wintering population of piping plover (Charadrius melodus) as
endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
We find that the petition does not present substantial scientific or
commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be
warranted. This finding is based on our determination that the petition
did not identify listable entities. Therefore, we are not initiating a
status review for either species in response to this petition. However,
we ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes
available concerning the status of, or threats to, the snowy plover or
the piping plover or their respective habitats at any time.
DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on September 8,
2011.
ADDRESSES: This finding is also available on the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS-R4-ES-2011-0059. Supporting
documentation we used in preparing this finding is available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Panama City Field Office, 1601 Balboa
Avenue, Panama City, FL 32405. Please submit any new information,
materials, comments, or questions concerning this finding to the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Imm, Project Leader, Panama City
Field Office (see ADDRESSES), by telephone at 850-769-0552 ext. 238, or
by facsimile to 850-763-2177. If you use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires
that we make a finding on whether a petition to list, delist, or
reclassify a species presents substantial scientific or commercial
information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. We
are to base this finding on information provided in the petition,
supporting information submitted with the petition, and information
otherwise available in our files at the time that the petition was
submitted to us. To the maximum extent practicable, we are to make this
finding within 90 days of our receipt of the petition, and to publish
our notice of the finding promptly in the Federal Register.
Our standard for substantial scientific or commercial information
within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with regard to a 90-day
petition finding is ``that amount of information that would lead a
reasonable person to believe that the measure proposed in the petition
may be warranted'' (50 CFR 424.14(b)). If we find that substantial
scientific or commercial information was presented, we are required to
promptly conduct a species status review, which we subsequently
summarize in a 12-month finding.
Petition History
On September 5, 2000, we received a petition dated September 4,
2000, from Robert R. Reid, Jr., on behalf of the Alabama Audubon
Council, Alabama Environmental Council, and Alabama Ornithological
Society (petitioners), requesting that the snowy plover be listed as
threatened or endangered, and that the wintering population of piping
plover be reclassified from threatened to endangered under the Act, and
that critical habitat be designated under the
[[Page 55639]]
Act for both species. The petition was submitted concurrently with
comments in response to the request for public comments contained in
our proposal to designate critical habitat for wintering piping plover
(July 6, 2000; 65 FR 41782) and our extension of the comment period for
that proposal (65 FR 64414; October 27, 2000). We responded to the
petitioner's comments related to the critical habitat rulemaking in the
final rule for the designation of critical habitat for wintering piping
plover (66 FR 36038; July 10, 2001).
The petition mentions common threats to both species, provides
brief examples of potential population declines, and discusses the
petitioners' views on how consultations would benefit from critical
habitat designations. The petition also discusses the petitioners'
views on the economic advantages of critical habitat and mentions that
``inhabited'' and ``uninhabited'' lands should be included in the
critical habitat designations. Few references were provided to support
the statements in the petition.
The petition clearly identified itself as such and included the
requisite identification information for the petitioners, as required
by 50 CFR 424.14(a); however, no scientific name for either species was
included in the petition. In an October 11, 2000, letter to the
petitioners, we acknowledged receipt of the petition. We determined
that issuing an emergency regulation temporarily listing either species
under section 4(b)(7) of the Act was not warranted. We notified the
petitioners that, due to court orders and judicially approved
settlement agreements for other listing and critical habitat
determinations under the Act that required nearly all of our listing
and critical habitat funding for fiscal year 2001, we would not be able
to further address the petition at that time, but we anticipated
addressing the action when workload and funding allowed. Funding
limitations have prevented the Service from responding to the petition
until now. This finding addresses the petition. In separate sections
below, we address the petitioners' requests to list the snowy plover as
threatened or endangered and to reclassify the wintering population of
piping plover as endangered.
Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
Species Information
Snowy plovers are small shorebirds, about 6.7 inches (17
centimeters (cm)) long. The plumage is pale gray or brown above, and
pure white below. Their bills and legs are dark (Gore 1996, p. 73).
Snowy plovers require expansive, open dry sandy beaches for breeding,
and both dry and tidal sand flats for foraging (Woolfenden 1978, p. 9).
They primarily feed on small crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and insects
that they glean from beaches and sand flats. They nest on open, dry
white sand where a typical clutch of three eggs is laid in a slight
depression, sometimes lined with bits of shell (Woolfenden 1978, p. 9).
In Florida, nests have been documented as early as February, with pair
bonding reported as early as January (Gore and Chase 1989, p. 8).
Two subspecies of snowy plover that nest in North America were
recognized by the American Ornithological Union (AOU) in 1957 (5th
edition of its Check-list, pp. 168-169): The western snowy plover
(Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) and the Cuban or Southeastern snowy
plover (C. a. tenuirostis). Since that time, however, the AOU has not
conducted a review of this subspecies distinction. The AOU stopped
listing subspecies as of the 6th edition (1983) of its Check-list,
although it recommended the continued use of the 5th edition for
taxonomy at the subspecific level. The AOU has not formally or
officially reviewed the subspecific treatment of most North American
birds. In the 7th edition (1998, p. xii) of the Check-list, the AOU
explained that its decision to omit subspecies ``carries with it our
realization that an uncertain number of currently recognized
subspecies, especially those formally named early in this century,
probably cannot be validated by rigorous modern techniques.''
Page et al. (1995, p. 3) state that two subspecies of snowy plover
have been recognized for North America (and partially in South and
Central Americas): Charadrius alexandrinus tenuirostris is found on the
Gulf Coast east of Louisiana through Florida, the Bahama Islands, the
north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Greater and Lesser Antilles,
and islands off the north coast of Venezuela; and C. a. nivosus is
found elsewhere in the United States and Mexico (including coastal
California and Baja California; locally in the Great Basin of
California, Oregon, Nevada, and Utah; very locally in southern
Saskatchewan, central Montana, southern Wyoming, central and eastern
Colorado, and southern Arizona; sparsely but widely distributed over
southeast New Mexico and east through north central Texas, central
Oklahoma, and central Kansas; the southern Texas coast into northeast
Mexico; and the central Mexican plateau) (AOU 1957, pp. 168-169; Cramp
1983, p. 153). Others (Oberholser 1974, p. 312; Johnsgard 1981, pp.
191-192; Jacobs 1986, p. 3; Gore 1996, p. 74) have stated that C. a.
tenuirostris includes birds in coastal Texas and northeastern Mexico,
as well as birds of the interior Great Plains.
Gorman (2000, pp. 36-38) performed genetic studies that concluded
the Greater Antillean snowy plovers, represented only by samples from
Puerto Rico, were clearly differentiated from mainland birds in
Florida. Furthermore, Florida birds were much more closely related to
other continental populations of Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus than
to Puerto Rican C. a. tenuirostris. Among birds east of the Rocky
Mountains, Texas coastal and Great Plains birds appeared to be more
closely related to other eastern birds than birds west of the Rocky
Mountains.
Gorman (2000, pp. 36-38) admits that, in the absence of further
sampling, it is not clear whether all snowy plover populations in the
West Indies and Bahamas would be grouped with birds from Puerto Rico or
with birds from east of the Rocky Mountains. Differentiation among the
eastern continental U.S. populations is apparently insufficient to
warrant separate populations. Thus, these results suggest that snowy
plovers east of Louisiana, including Florida, along the Gulf Coast may
be grouped with Great Plains and other Gulf Coast birds. The Service
accepts the characterization of the snowy plover as two subspecies in
North America, Charadrius alexandrinus nirvosus and C. a. tenuirostris.
It is not clear which demarcation the petitioners relied upon for
the petition request, because neither a species nor subspecies
scientific name was provided for the snowy plover in the petition. At
times, the petitioners reference inclusion of the Texas coastline as
part of the ``Gulf Coast'' snowy plover range; yet most references to
population data are from Florida and, possibly, Alabama. No reference
is made to the Caribbean population. The genetic studies performed by
Gorman were reported earlier in the same year as the petition, and may
not have been available to the petitioners prior to submission of the
petition. Gorman (2000, pp. 36-38) made a recommendation that small
management units based on demographic considerations might be adopted.
Regardless of the petitioners' intention, they failed to provide a
scientific name and to clearly identify the petitioned entity of the
snowy plover.
[[Page 55640]]
Previous Federal Actions
The Pacific Coast vertebrate population segment of Charadrius
alexandrinus nivosus, the Western snowy plover, was listed as
threatened under the Act on March 5, 1993 (58 FR 12864). The Pacific
coast population is defined as those individuals that nest within 50
miles of the Pacific Ocean on the mainland coast, peninsulas, offshore
islands, bays, estuaries, or rivers of the United States and Baja
California, Mexico. No other populations of the snowy plover are
currently federally listed as threatened or endangered species.
Evaluation of Listable Entity
Upon receipt of a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a
species, we are to consider whether such petition ``clearly indicates
the administrative measure recommended and gives the scientific and any
common name of the species involved'' (50 CFR 424.14(b)(2)(i)).
Throughout the subject petition, the term ``snowy plover'' is used with
references to the ``Gulf Coast'' without providing a scientific name or
distinguishing the snowy plover as a species, subspecies, or
population. At the time of receipt of the petition, the Pacific Coast
population of the Western snowy plover was listed as a threatened
species (March 5, 1993; 58 FR 12864). The snowy plover breeding and
wintering ranges provided in the petition identified ranges of both the
Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus and C. a. tenuirostris. Thus, the
petition did not fully identify what constituted the entity and as
petitioned, did not, therefore, meet the ``listable entity''
requirement for a substantial finding.
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)
Species Information
The piping plover is a small (6.7 to 7.1 inches (17 to 18 cm))
pale-colored migratory shorebird that breeds in three separate areas of
North America: The Northern Great Plains, the Great Lakes, and the
Atlantic Coast. The piping plover winters in coastal areas of the
United States from North Carolina to Texas, along the coast of eastern
Mexico, on Caribbean islands from Barbados to Cuba, and the Bahamas
(Plissner and Haig 1997, pp. 8-9). Information from observation of
color-banded piping plovers indicates that the winter ranges of the
breeding populations overlap to a significant degree (Plissner and Haig
1997, pp. 9-11; Wemmer 2000, p. 47). The source breeding population of
a given wintering individual bird cannot be determined in the field
unless the individual bird has been banded or otherwise marked.
Piping plovers spend about two-thirds of the year on migratory and
wintering grounds. Piping plovers begin arriving on the wintering
grounds in July, with some late-nesting birds arriving in September. A
few individuals can be found on the wintering grounds throughout the
year, but sightings are rare in late May, June, and early July.
Migration is poorly understood, but preliminary data suggest that
plovers use inland and coastal stopover sites when migrating from
interior breeding areas to wintering grounds (McConnaughey et al. 1990,
p. 19). Observations of color-marked birds in Alabama indicated
wintering plovers were least mobile from late November through late
January (Johnson and Baldassarre 1988, p. 221). Concentrations of
spring and fall migrants also have been observed along the Atlantic
Coast (Service 1996, pp. 129-138). In late February, piping plovers
begin leaving the wintering grounds to migrate back to breeding sites.
Habitat on the wintering grounds consists of exposed sandflats,
beaches, washovers and algal flats. Mudflats and sandflats provide
foraging areas where piping plovers feed primarily on marine and
freshwater invertebrates. Foraging accounted for about 75 percent of
observed piping plover behavior in an Alabama study (Johnson and
Baldassarre 1988, p. 217). The number of plovers foraging in an area
may be dependent on density of food sources (Zonick 2000, p. 90).
Two subspecies of piping plover, Charadrius melodus melodus
(Atlantic Coast of North America) and C. m. circumcinctus (Northern
Great Plains of North America), were recognized by the American
Ornithological Union (AOU) in 1957 (5th edition of its Check-list 1957,
pp. 167-168) and in 1983 (6th edition of its Check-list 1983, pp. 170-
171). However, the AOU has not conducted a review of this subspecies
distinction since that time. The Service accepts the characterization
of the piping plover as two subspecies in North America, C. m. melodus
and C. m. circumcinctus.
Previous Federal Actions
On December 11, 1985 (50 FR 50726; effective January 10, 1986), the
piping plover (Charadrius melodus) was listed as endangered in the
Great Lakes watershed of both the United States and Canada, and as
threatened in the remainder of its range in the United States (Northern
Great Plains, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands),
Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, and the West Indies. The threatened status
included all piping plover when on their wintering grounds.
Protection of the entire species Charadrius melodus under the Act
reflects its status range wide. However, the Service has consistently
recognized three separate breeding populations of piping plovers, on
the Atlantic Coast, Great Lakes, and Northern Great Plains. A recovery
plan established delisting criteria for the Atlantic Coast breeding
population (Service 1996, pp. 57-58). A joint recovery plan specified
separate delisting criteria for the Great Lakes and Northern Great
Plains breeding populations (Service 1988, pp. 54-55). After the
September 4, 2000, petition was submitted to the Service, critical
habitat was designated for the Great Lakes (66 FR 22938; May 7, 2001)
and Northern Great Plains breeding populations (67 FR 57637; September
11, 2002), and for piping plovers from the three breeding populations
while on the wintering grounds (66 FR 36038; July 10, 2001).
Evaluation of Listable Entity
The petition asserts the ``Need to Designate the Wintering Gulf
Population of Piping Plover as Endangered'' (petition, p. 6). The
petition focused solely on conditions along the Gulf coast and the
status of the piping plover along the Gulf coast. The petition did not
differentiate between species, subspecies, and distinct population
segments, nor did the petition include a scientific name in its
recommendation to change the status of the piping plover to endangered
within the Gulf of Mexico. However, the petitioners were responding to
a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the piping plover
(Charadrius melodus) while on its wintering grounds (65 FR 41782; July
6, 2000) in the same document as the petition. The Service accepts the
petition as a request to reclassify wintering piping plover of the
listed entity (C. melodus) from a threatened to an endangered species.
Upon receipt of a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a
species, we are to consider whether such petition ``clearly indicates
the administrative measure recommended and gives the scientific and any
common name of the species involved'' (50 CFR 424.14(b)(2)(i)). Under
the Act, a species is defined as including any subspecies of fish or
wildlife of plants, and any distinct population segment of any species
of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature (16 U.S.C.
1532).
[[Page 55641]]
Piping plovers on their wintering or migration grounds, such as the
Gulf coast, do not constitute a valid entity. The listing (50 FR 50726;
December 11, 1985) of the species classified all piping plovers on the
Great Lakes watershed breeding grounds as endangered and all other
piping plover as threatened including on their breeding grounds in the
Northern Great Plains and Atlantic Coast and on their migration and
wintering grounds. This, along with the proposed designation of
critical habitat for wintering piping plover, may have given the
impression that the piping plover constitutes a listable entity while
on its wintering grounds. However, this is not the case. Birds from all
three of the recognized breeding grounds use and share the same Gulf
coast wintering habitats. Thus, the birds on the wintering grounds are
all of the listed entity (C. melodus) but from three separate
recognized breeding grounds. Thus, the petition's identification of a
``Gulf wintering population of piping plover'' is, therefore, not a
listable entity.
Finding
In summary, on the basis of our determination under section
4(b)(3)(A) of the Act, the petition does not present substantial
information indicating that listing the snowy plover as threatened or
endangered is warranted, because the entity as petitioned is not
listable. No scientific name of the petitioned entity was provided, and
there are two subspecies of the snowy plover accepted for North
America.
The petition also does not present substantial information
indicating that reclassifying piping plover while wintering on the Gulf
coast as endangered is warranted, because the entity as petitioned is
not listable. The piping plover, as currently listed, represents all of
the three recognized breeding entities wherever they reside or winter
in their life cycle. The petition does not specify a listable entity
for the requested reclassification.
Although we will not review the status of the snowy plover or the
piping plover at this time, we encourage interested parties to continue
to gather data that will assist with the conservation of these species.
If you wish to provide information regarding the snowy plover or piping
plover, you may submit your information or materials to the Project
Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Panama City Field Office (see
ADDRESSES), at any time.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited is available on the Internet at
https://www.regulations.gov and upon request from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Panama City Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Panama City Field Office (see
ADDRESSES).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: August 22, 2011.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-22900 Filed 9-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
