Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Recovery Plan for Rogue and Illinois Valley Vernal Pool and Wet Meadow Ecosystems, 17709 [2013-06621]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 56 (Friday, March 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 17709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06621]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-ES-2012-N198; FXES11130100000C2-123-FF01E00000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Recovery Plan for 
Rogue and Illinois Valley Vernal Pool and Wet Meadow Ecosystems

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of the approved Recovery Plan for Rogue and Illinois 
Valley Vernal Pool and Wet Meadow Ecosystems. The recovery plan 
addresses two endangered plant species that are endemic to southern 
Oregon, and also includes some recommendations for other species in 
these ecosystems. The plan includes recovery objectives and criteria, 
and prescribes specific recovery actions necessary to achieve 
downlisting and delisting of the species from the Federal List of 
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants.

ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the recovery plan is available at 
https://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html and https://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/plans.html. Copies 
of the recovery plan are also available by request from the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Roseburg Field Office, 2900 NW. Stewart Parkway, 
Roseburg, Oregon 97470 (phone: 541-957-3474). Printed copies of the 
recovery plan will be available for distribution within 4 to 6 weeks of 
publication of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sam Friedman, Botanist, at the above 
Roseburg address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants is the 
primary goal of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Recovery means improvement of the status of a 
federally listed species to the point at which listing it is no longer 
required under the criteria set forth in section 4(a)(1) of the Act and 
its implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 424. The Act requires the 
development of recovery plans for listed species unless such a plan 
would not promote the conservation of a particular species. Recovery 
plans help guide the recovery effort by prescribing actions considered 
necessary for the conservation of the species, establishing criteria 
for downlisting or delisting listed species, and estimating time and 
cost for implementing the measures needed for recovery.
    Section 4(f) of the Act requires public notice and an opportunity 
for public review and comment during recovery plan development. From 
September 22, 2006, through November 21, 2006, we provided the draft of 
this recovery plan to the public and solicited comments (71 FR 55508). 
We considered information we received during the public comment period 
and comments from peer reviewers in our preparation of the final 
recovery plan, and have summarized that information and our responses 
to comments in Appendix G of the approved recovery plan. We welcome 
continuing public comment on this recovery plan, and we will consider 
all substantive comments on an ongoing basis to inform the 
implementation of recovery activities and future updates to the 
recovery plan.
    In this recovery plan, we describe our recovery strategies and 
objectives for two endangered plants: Lomatium cookii (Cook's desert-
parsley) and Limnanthes floccosa ssp. grandiflora (equivalent to 
Limnanthes pumila ssp. grandiflora in current taxonomy) (large-flowered 
woolly meadowfoam). The plan also provides recommendations for recovery 
of the threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi) within 
Oregon, supplementing the existing rangewide recovery plan for the 
species that was published on March 7, 2006 (71 FR 11441). In addition, 
site-specific information and recommendations for long-term 
conservation are provided for seven species of conservation concern.
    The species addressed in this recovery plan occur in vernal pool, 
swale, or seasonal wet meadow habitats within southern Oregon and are 
largely confined to limited areas by topographic constraints, soil 
types, and climatic conditions. Surrounding (or associated) upland 
habitat is critical to the proper ecological function of these vernal 
pool habitats. Most of the vernal pool plants and animals addressed in 
the recovery plan have life histories adapted to the short period for 
growth and reproduction within inundated or drying pools and meadows 
interspersed with long dormant periods and extreme year-to-year 
variation in rainfall. All of the species addressed in this recovery 
plan are threatened by the continued degradation, loss, and 
fragmentation of their native vernal pool or wet meadow ecosystems.
    The recovery actions described in this recovery plan include: (1) 
Protection, management, and restoration of vernal pool and wet meadow 
habitat; (2) population status surveys and monitoring; (3) research on 
biology and management of the species; and (4) enhancement of public 
awareness and participation in species recovery. The recovery strategy 
is oriented to adaptive management of vernal pool and wet meadow 
habitat, consistent with the Service's Strategic Habitat Conservation 
process, which calls for an iterative process of biological planning, 
conservation design, conservation delivery, and monitoring and 
research. The biological planning and conservation design set forth in 
this recovery plan lay out the criteria for recovery and identify 
localities for implementing actions, while the recovery actions 
describe a process for implementing conservation on the ground, 
outcome-based monitoring to assess success, and ongoing assumption-
driven research to test biological hypotheses important to management. 
The objective of this recovery plan is to recover the two endangered 
plants and the threatened animal species sufficiently to warrant 
delisting, and to ensure the long-term conservation of the seven taxa 
of concern. An interim goal is to downlist Lomatium cookii and 
Limnanthes floccosa ssp. grandiflora from endangered to threatened 
status.

Authority

    The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered 
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533 (f).

    Dated: November 6, 2012.
Richard R. Hannan,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-06621 Filed 3-21-13; 8:45 am]
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