Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Recovery Plan for the Behren's Silverspot Butterfly, 18875-18876 [2016-07389]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 63 (Friday, April 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18875-18876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07389]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2015-N220; FXES11130000-156-FF08E00000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Recovery Plan for 
the Behren's Silverspot Butterfly

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of documents.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of the final recovery plan for the Behren's silverspot 
butterfly. The recovery plan includes recovery objectives and criteria, 
and it includes specific actions necessary to reclassify the species 
from endangered to threatened, and to achieve removal of the species 
from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and 
Plants.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the final recovery plan from our 
Web site at https://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html. 
Alternatively, you may contact the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521 
(telephone 707-822-7201).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Bingham, Field Supervisor, at 
the above street address or telephone number (see ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (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 
specified 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.
    The purpose of a recovery plan is to provide a framework for the 
recovery of species so that protection under the Act is no longer 
necessary. A recovery plan includes scientific information about the 
species and provides criteria that enable us to gauge whether 
downlisting or delisting the species may be warranted. Furthermore, 
recovery plans

[[Page 18876]]

help guide our recovery efforts by describing actions we consider 
necessary for each species' conservation and by estimating time and 
costs for implementing needed recovery measures.
    Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide an opportunity for 
public review and comment prior to finalization of recovery plans, 
including revisions to such plans. We made the draft recovery plan for 
Behren's silverspot butterfly available for public comment from January 
20, 2004, through March 22, 2004 (69 FR 2725). We did not receive any 
comments during the public comment period for the draft recovery plan.

Recovery Plan for Behren's Silverspot Butterfly (Speyeria zerene 
behrensii)

Species' History

    We listed Behren's silverspot butterfly throughout its entire range 
on December 5, 1997 (62 FR 64306). The species is endemic to the 
coastal prairie in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties, California. The 
current known range of the Behren's silverspot butterfly is limited to 
a small number of sites located from the Point Arena-Manchester State 
Park area south to the Salt Point area. The best available information 
on the life history of the Behren's silverspot butterfly comes from 
studies of a closely related coastal subspecies, the Oregon silverspot 
butterfly. Those studies found that females lay their eggs in the 
debris and dried stems of the larval food plant, the early blue violet 
(Viola adunca). The early blue violet is a small, native, perennial 
herb with pale to deep violet flowers. This violet typically blooms in 
late spring to early summer and dies back to the perennial rhizome 
during winter. Early blue violets occur widely in western North 
America; within the Behren's silverspot butterfly's range, they are 
associated with coastal grasslands.
    Upon hatching, the caterpillars (larvae) wander a short distance 
and spin a silk pad upon which they pass the fall and winter in 
diapause (dormancy). The larvae are dark-colored with many branching, 
sharp spines on their backs. Upon ending diapause in the spring, the 
larvae immediately seek out the violet food plant. During the spring 
and early summer they pass through five instars (stages of development) 
before forming a pupa within a chamber of leaves that they draw 
together with silk. The adult butterflies emerge in about two weeks and 
live for approximately three weeks, during which time they feed on 
nectar and reproduce. Depending upon environmental conditions, the 
flight period ranges from about July through August or early September.
    Behren's silverspot butterfly flight behavior is moderately erratic 
and swift in windy places, 0.3 to 1.8 meters (2 to 6 feet) above ground 
surface. Flights usually occur by late morning when temperatures are 
above about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Adults may feed on nectar for as 
long as 5 minutes, returning to the same plant repeatedly. Butterflies 
may rest on bare ground, in grasses, or on ferns (bracken) and other 
foliage.
    Adult Behren's silverspot butterflies feed on nectar, which is 
their only food source, besides internal reserves present when they 
emerge from the pupae. Observations of nectar feeding are few, but 
based on observations of this and closely related silverspot 
subspecies, plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) dominate as 
nectar sources, including thistles (Cirsium spp); gumplant (Grindelia 
stricta); goldenrods (Solidago spp.); tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), 
California aster (Aster chilensis), pearly everlasting (Anaphalis 
margaritacea), seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus), and yarrow (Achillea 
millefolium). Reported nectar species from other plant families include 
yellow sand verbena (Abronia latifolia), sea-pink (Armeria maritima), 
and western pennyroyal (Monardella undulata).

Recovery Plan Goals

    The ultimate goal of this recovery plan is to recover Behren's 
silverspot butterfly so that it can be delisted. To meet the recovery 
goal, the following objectives have been identified:

    1. Secure self-sustaining wild metapopulations throughout the 
historic range of the subspecies.
    2. Determine metapopulation and range-wide population numbers 
and monitor them to determine long-term trends.
    3. Reduce and eliminate threats, to the extent possible.
    4. Protect, conserve, and restore healthy butterfly ecosystems 
and their function.

    As Behren's silverspot butterfly meets reclassification and 
recovery criteria, we will review its status and consider it for 
removal from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 
and Plants.

Authority

    We developed our 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) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.).

Alexandra Pitts,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-07389 Filed 3-31-16; 8:45 am]
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