Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery Plan for Guadalupe Fescue, 24656-24658 [2021-09709]
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24656
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 87 / Friday, May 7, 2021 / Notices
Dated: May 3, 2021.
Aswathi Zachariah,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021–09619 Filed 5–6–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7025–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–2020–0120;
FF06E24000–212–FXES11140600000]
Incidental Take Permit Application;
Habitat Conservation Plan and
Categorical Exclusion for the
Gunnison Sage-Grouse; Gunnison
County, Colorado
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of
documents; request for comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of documents related to an
application for an incidental take permit
(permit) under the Endangered Species
Act. The City of Gunnison, Colorado,
has applied for a permit, which, if
granted, would authorize take of the
federally threatened Gunnison sagegrouse that is likely to occur incidental
to proposed residential and commercial
development. The documents available
for review and comment are the
applicant’s habitat conservation plan,
which is part of the permit application,
and our draft environmental action
statement and low-effect screening form,
which support a categorical exclusion
under the National Environmental
Policy Act. We invite comments from
the public and Federal, Tribal, State,
and local governments.
DATES: We will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before
June 7, 2021. Comments submitted
online at Regulations.gov (see
ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59
p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The
documents this notice announces, as
well as any comments and other
materials that we receive, will be
available for public inspection online in
Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–2020–0120 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: You may
submit comments by one of the
following methods:
• Online: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments on Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–
2020–0120.
• U.S. mail: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R6–
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:55 May 06, 2021
Jkt 253001
ES–2020–0120; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W;
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA
22041–3803.
We request that you send comments
by only one of the methods described
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Terry Ireland, by phone at 970–628–
7188, by email at Terry_Ireland@
fws.gov, or via the Federal Relay Service
at 800–877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
have received an application from the
City of Gunnison for a 20-year
incidental take permit (permit) under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
The application addresses the potential
for take of the federally threatened
Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus
minimus) that is likely to occur
incidental to proposed residential and
commercial development.
The documents available for review
and comment are the applicant’s habitat
conservation plan (HCP), which is part
of the permit application, and our draft
environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form. These
documents helped inform our
conclusion that the activities proposed
by the permit application will have a
low effect on the species and the human
environment. Accordingly, our issuance
of a permit qualifies for a categorical
exclusion under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Applicant’s Habitat Conservation Plan
The City of Gunnison has submitted
a low-effect HCP in support of an
application for a permit to address take
of the species that is likely to occur as
the result of proposed residential and
commercial development (covered
activities) of approximately 637 acres
(ac) in Gunnison County, Colorado. The
covered activities are anticipated to
affect 597 ac of Gunnison sage-grouse
habitat. The requested permit duration
is for 20 years from permit issuance.
The covered activities are within
Gunnison sage-grouse habitat in the
Gunnison Basin population. The
biological goals and objectives are to
maintain higher quality and more
productive Gunnison sage-grouse
habitat within the Gunnison Basin
population and minimize impacts from
development on the Gunnison sagegrouse. The proposed mitigation and
minimization measures include
protection of approximately 885 ac of
Gunnison sage-grouse habitat, reduction
of impacts from grazing, reduction of
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Sfmt 4703
disturbance from construction and
recreation via seasonal restrictions, and
the creation and distribution of
educational materials and signage to
reduce impacts.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become
part of the decision file associated with
this action. 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 request in your comment that
we withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public disclosure in
their entirety.
Authority
We provide this notice under section
10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
and its implementing regulations (50
CFR 17.32) and under NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR
46.305).
Stephen Small,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological
Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior Regions 5 and 7.
[FR Doc. 2021–09651 Filed 5–6–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2020–0093;
FXES11130200000–201–FF02ENEH00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; Draft Recovery Plan for
Guadalupe Fescue
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comment.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of our draft recovery plan
for Guadalupe fescue, a plant endemic
to high mountains in the Chihuahuan
desert, in the Trans-Pecos region of
Texas and in Coahuila, Mexico, and
listed as endangered under the
Endangered Species Act. We provide
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\07MYN1.SGM
07MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 87 / Friday, May 7, 2021 / Notices
this notice to seek comments from the
public and Federal, Tribal, State, and
local governments.
DATES: We must receive written
comments on or before July 6, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Reviewing documents: You
may obtain a copy of the draft revised
recovery plan, recovery implementation
strategy, and species status assessment
in Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2020–0093
at https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: You may
submit comments by one of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments
on Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2020–0093.
• U.S.: Public Comments Processing;
Attn: Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2020–
0093; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–
3803.
For additional information about
submitting comments, see Request for
Public Comments and Public
Availability of Comments under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Adam Zerrenner, Austin Ecological
Services Field Office, by phone at 512–
490–0057, by email at adam_zerrenner@
fws.gov, or via the Federal Relay Service
at 800–877–8339 for TTY service.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
announce the availability of our draft
recovery plan for Guadalupe fescue
(Festuca ligulata), listed as endangered
under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.). Guadalupe fescue is a plant
endemic to montane ‘‘sky island’’
habitats in the Chihuahuan Desert in
Trans-Pecos Texas and in Coahuila,
Mexico. The draft recovery plan
includes specific recovery objectives;
site-specific management actions;
objective, measurable criteria that, when
achieved, will enable us to remove
Guadalupe fescue from the list of
endangered and threatened plants; and
an estimated time and cost to recovery.
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 Guadalupe fescue
throughout its range to assist in
finalizing the recovery plan.
Background
Recovery of endangered or threatened
animals and plants to the point at which
they are again secure, self-sustaining
members of their ecosystems is a
primary goal of our endangered species
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:55 May 06, 2021
Jkt 253001
program and the ESA. 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 ESA. The
ESA requires the development of
recovery plans for listed species, unless
such a plan would not promote the
conservation of a particular species.
We used a streamlined approach to
recovery planning and implementation
by first conducting a species status
assessment (SSA) of Guadalupe fescue
(Service 2016), which is a
comprehensive analysis of the taxon’s
needs, current condition, threats, and
future viability. The information in the
SSA report provides the biological
background, a threats assessment, and a
basis for a strategy for recovery of
Guadalupe fescue. We then used this
information to prepare an abbreviated
draft recovery plan for Guadalupe
fescue that includes objective,
measurable recovery criteria, prioritized
and site-specific recovery actions, and
the estimated time and cost to recovery
(Service 2020a). We have also prepared
a separate recovery implementation
strategy that includes the specific tasks
necessary to implement recovery actions
(Service 2020b).
Summary of Species Information
Guadalupe fescue (Festuca ligulata) is
a perennial, rhizomatous (horizontal
stems below ground) bunchgrass within
the Poaceae (grass) family. The species
occurs in scattered patches in the
understory of conifer-oak woodlands in
the high mountains of the Chihuahuan
Desert, above 1,800 m (5,905 ft)
elevations. Guadalupe fescue flowers
mostly during the late summer and early
autumn, in response to the region’s
monsoon rains. The breeding system of
Guadalupe fescue is currently unknown;
however, since widely dispersed
populations have persisted, Guadalupe
fescue is likely capable of selffertilization as well as outcrossing
(USFWS 2015). The species has a short
lifespan, with relatively low fecundity.
The average lifespan for Gualdalupe
fescue ranges from 3.1 to 3.9 years, and
estimated annual survival rates range
from 0.62 to 0.75. About 41 percent of
individuals die before they are able to
reproduce (USFWS 2015).
Historically, the distribution of
Guadalupe fescue was limited to six
small sites, ranging from Guadalupe
Mountains National Park, Texas, in the
north, to El Fraile, Coahuila, in the
south. Currently, there are only two
known extant populations within the
species’ historical range: One in Boot
Canyon within Big Bend National Park,
Texas; and one in the Maderas del
PO 00000
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24657
Carmen Area de Proteccio´n de Flora y
Fauna (APFF; Protected Area for Plants
and Animals), Coahuila. Two
populations of Guadalupe fescue are
considered extirpated, as no plants were
located during recent survey efforts
(McKittrick Canyon in Texas and Sierra
el Jardin in Mexico), and two other
populations in Mexico (northwest of El
Fraile and Sierra de la Madera) have not
been surveyed since 1941 and 1977,
respectively, and thus their status is
unknown.
All known populations of the
Guadalupe fescue consist of multiple
small groups of individuals. Prior to
listing, the Boot Canyon population in
Big Bend National Park was protected
through a candidate conservation
agreement established in 2008, and has
been monitored almost every year since
1993. The total estimated population
size within Boot Canyon is 1,787
individuals, scattered over an area of
about 22.7 ha (56.1 ac) (Whiting et al.
2020). The population at APFF Maderas
del Carmen, although privately owned,
is protected from development through
the Mexican federal system of Protected
Natural Areas (Areas Naturales
Protegidas). This population was
observed in 2003, 2007, 2009, and most
recently in 2019 and 2020 when
approximately 140 individuals were
documented. However, botanists have
not yet determined the size of this
population due to the difficult access,
remote location, and rugged terrain of
this 208,381-ha (514,910-ac) protected
area.
To ensure the long-term viability of
Guadalupe fescue in the wild, the
species requires the conservation of
multiple resilient and genetically
diverse populations that represent the
full range of the species’ ecological
adaptations to the sky island habitats of
the Chihuahuan Desert in both Texas
and Mexico. Currently, there are only
two known extant populations of
Guadalupe fescue within the species’
historical range. The most important
factors that may affect the continued
survival of Guadalupe fescue within
these populations include changes in
the wildfire cycle and vegetation
structure, competition from invasive
species, and the demographic and
genetic consequences of small, isolated
populations. Within the Chisos
Mountains in Texas, the conifer-oak
woodlands had experienced relatively
frequent, low-intensity wildfires for
centuries, and Guadalupe fescue is
believed to have evolved with this fire
ecology. However, wildfire has been
suppressed at Big Bend National Park
since the park’s establishment in 1944
and there have been no recent natural or
E:\FR\FM\07MYN1.SGM
07MYN1
24658
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 87 / Friday, May 7, 2021 / Notices
prescribed fires within Boot Canyon.
The absence of wildfire in Boot Canyon
has resulted in the accumulation of leaf
litter and small-diameter trees, which
increases the risk of a much more
intense wildfire that would potentially
be catastrophic to the vegetation within
the Chisos Mountains and to the
Guadalupe fescue population there. For
these reasons, reducing fuel loads in the
Chisos Mountains and conducting
small-scale experimental prescribed
burns in collaboration with personnel of
Big Bend National Park are high priority
recovery actions.
Horehound (Marrubium vulgare),
King Ranch bluestem (Bothriochloa
ischaemum), and other invasive plant
species potentially threaten Guadalupe
fescue through competition for water,
nutrients, and light. The 2008 candidate
conservation agreement calls for
periodic monitoring of the Guadalupe
fescue population and control of
invasive species, and Big Bend National
Park has also proposed a programmatic
management plan to carefully monitor
and control invasive species in the
Chisos Mountains. Therefore, the
magnitude of this threat is currently low
within the Boot Canyon population. We
have no information on introduced
invasive species in the known Mexican
sites or their impacts on Guadalupe
fescue (Service 2016).
In general, the physical clustering of
numerous genetically diverse plants in
close proximity is necessary for effective
fertilization, out-crossing, seed
production, and the maintenance of
genetically diverse populations.
However, considering the small
population size and low population
density of the Chisos Mountains site,
this population is very likely to be
highly inbred as a result of extensive
self-fertilization. Currently, we cannot
project what the net results of beneficial
and detrimental effects of climate
changes will be (Service 2016).
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
ESA is no longer necessary. A recovery
plan includes scientific information
about the species and provides objective
and measurable criteria and site-specific
management actions necessary for us to
be able to reclassify the species to
threatened status or remove it from the
lists of 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.
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19:55 May 06, 2021
Jkt 253001
The primary objectives of this
recovery plan are to: (1) Increase
population resilience by managing
habitats to promote population growth,
and controlled propagation to augment
population sizes to attain and sustain
minimum viable population (MVP)
levels within each population or
metapopulation; (2) increase species
redundancy through searches for
undiscovered populations in areas of
potential habitat, and through
propagation and reintroduction into
potential habitats; and (3) sustain
species representation through
conservation of populations throughout
the species’ range, and investigate the
potential benefits and risks of genetic
augmentation of extant populations. The
recovery plan provides objective,
measurable recovery criteria aimed at
managing or eliminating threats to meet
the goal of delisting Guadalupe fescue.
These recovery criteria are based on the
conservation of habitat, natural
recruitment of new individuals, their
growth to maturity, and the increase of
populations to a viable level that is
sustained without further human
intervention (other than appropriate
habitat management). The time frame
required to assess the species viability
trends of Guadalupe fescue is
influenced largely by its life history and
climate cycles.
Site specific management actions
include: Investigating changes in
wildfire frequency and evaluating the
response of Guadalupe fescue to
prescribed burns; monitoring and
management of introduced invasive
plants; public education and
management of sensitive habitat in
recreational areas of Boot Canyon;
preventing grazing from pack animals
and livestock in Boot Canyon;
improving knowledge of the species’
abundance, distribution and
demographic trends in known
populations and surveying other
potential habitats in Texas and Mexico;
investigating gene flow, genetic
diversity and conservation genetics;
developing a propagation and
reintroduction program; and
investigating responses to climate
factors and projecting future responses
of known populations to climate
changes.
Request for Public Comments
Section 4(f) of the ESA 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,
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Frm 00077
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 implementation of the
recommended recovery actions.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments received, including
names and addresses, will become part
of the administrative record and will be
available to the public. 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. If you submit a
hardcopy comment that includes
personal identifying information, you
may request at the top of your document
that we withhold this information from
public review. However, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Authority
We developed our draft recovery plan
and publish this notice under the
authority of section 4(f) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Interior Region 6,
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2021–09709 Filed 5–6–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2021–0038;
FXES11140400000–212–FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit
Application and Proposed Habitat
Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink,
Lake County, FL; Categorical
Exclusion
AGENCY:
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
E:\FR\FM\07MYN1.SGM
07MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 87 (Friday, May 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24656-24658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09709]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2020-0093; FXES11130200000-201-FF02ENEH00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery
Plan for Guadalupe Fescue
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of our draft recovery plan for Guadalupe fescue, a plant
endemic to high mountains in the Chihuahuan desert, in the Trans-Pecos
region of Texas and in Coahuila, Mexico, and listed as endangered under
the Endangered Species Act. We provide
[[Page 24657]]
this notice to seek comments from the public and Federal, Tribal,
State, and local governments.
DATES: We must receive written comments on or before July 6, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Reviewing documents: You may obtain a copy of the draft
revised recovery plan, recovery implementation strategy, and species
status assessment in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2020-0093 at https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R2-
ES-2020-0093.
U.S.: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No. FWS-R2-
ES-2020-0093; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W;
5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
For additional information about submitting comments, see Request
for Public Comments and Public Availability of Comments under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Zerrenner, Austin Ecological
Services Field Office, by phone at 512-490-0057, by email at
[email protected], or via the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-
8339 for TTY service.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce the availability of our draft recovery plan for
Guadalupe fescue (Festuca ligulata), listed as endangered under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). Guadalupe fescue is a plant endemic to montane ``sky island''
habitats in the Chihuahuan Desert in Trans-Pecos Texas and in Coahuila,
Mexico. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives;
site-specific management actions; objective, measurable criteria that,
when achieved, will enable us to remove Guadalupe fescue from the list
of endangered and threatened plants; and an estimated time and cost to
recovery. 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 Guadalupe fescue throughout its range
to assist in finalizing the recovery plan.
Background
Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants to the
point at which they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their
ecosystems is a primary goal of our endangered species program and the
ESA. 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 ESA. The ESA requires the development of
recovery plans for listed species, unless such a plan would not promote
the conservation of a particular species.
We used a streamlined approach to recovery planning and
implementation by first conducting a species status assessment (SSA) of
Guadalupe fescue (Service 2016), which is a comprehensive analysis of
the taxon's needs, current condition, threats, and future viability.
The information in the SSA report provides the biological background, a
threats assessment, and a basis for a strategy for recovery of
Guadalupe fescue. We then used this information to prepare an
abbreviated draft recovery plan for Guadalupe fescue that includes
objective, measurable recovery criteria, prioritized and site-specific
recovery actions, and the estimated time and cost to recovery (Service
2020a). We have also prepared a separate recovery implementation
strategy that includes the specific tasks necessary to implement
recovery actions (Service 2020b).
Summary of Species Information
Guadalupe fescue (Festuca ligulata) is a perennial, rhizomatous
(horizontal stems below ground) bunchgrass within the Poaceae (grass)
family. The species occurs in scattered patches in the understory of
conifer-oak woodlands in the high mountains of the Chihuahuan Desert,
above 1,800 m (5,905 ft) elevations. Guadalupe fescue flowers mostly
during the late summer and early autumn, in response to the region's
monsoon rains. The breeding system of Guadalupe fescue is currently
unknown; however, since widely dispersed populations have persisted,
Guadalupe fescue is likely capable of self-fertilization as well as
outcrossing (USFWS 2015). The species has a short lifespan, with
relatively low fecundity. The average lifespan for Gualdalupe fescue
ranges from 3.1 to 3.9 years, and estimated annual survival rates range
from 0.62 to 0.75. About 41 percent of individuals die before they are
able to reproduce (USFWS 2015).
Historically, the distribution of Guadalupe fescue was limited to
six small sites, ranging from Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas,
in the north, to El Fraile, Coahuila, in the south. Currently, there
are only two known extant populations within the species' historical
range: One in Boot Canyon within Big Bend National Park, Texas; and one
in the Maderas del Carmen Area de Protecci[oacute]n de Flora y Fauna
(APFF; Protected Area for Plants and Animals), Coahuila. Two
populations of Guadalupe fescue are considered extirpated, as no plants
were located during recent survey efforts (McKittrick Canyon in Texas
and Sierra el Jardin in Mexico), and two other populations in Mexico
(northwest of El Fraile and Sierra de la Madera) have not been surveyed
since 1941 and 1977, respectively, and thus their status is unknown.
All known populations of the Guadalupe fescue consist of multiple
small groups of individuals. Prior to listing, the Boot Canyon
population in Big Bend National Park was protected through a candidate
conservation agreement established in 2008, and has been monitored
almost every year since 1993. The total estimated population size
within Boot Canyon is 1,787 individuals, scattered over an area of
about 22.7 ha (56.1 ac) (Whiting et al. 2020). The population at APFF
Maderas del Carmen, although privately owned, is protected from
development through the Mexican federal system of Protected Natural
Areas (Areas Naturales Protegidas). This population was observed in
2003, 2007, 2009, and most recently in 2019 and 2020 when approximately
140 individuals were documented. However, botanists have not yet
determined the size of this population due to the difficult access,
remote location, and rugged terrain of this 208,381-ha (514,910-ac)
protected area.
To ensure the long-term viability of Guadalupe fescue in the wild,
the species requires the conservation of multiple resilient and
genetically diverse populations that represent the full range of the
species' ecological adaptations to the sky island habitats of the
Chihuahuan Desert in both Texas and Mexico. Currently, there are only
two known extant populations of Guadalupe fescue within the species'
historical range. The most important factors that may affect the
continued survival of Guadalupe fescue within these populations include
changes in the wildfire cycle and vegetation structure, competition
from invasive species, and the demographic and genetic consequences of
small, isolated populations. Within the Chisos Mountains in Texas, the
conifer-oak woodlands had experienced relatively frequent, low-
intensity wildfires for centuries, and Guadalupe fescue is believed to
have evolved with this fire ecology. However, wildfire has been
suppressed at Big Bend National Park since the park's establishment in
1944 and there have been no recent natural or
[[Page 24658]]
prescribed fires within Boot Canyon. The absence of wildfire in Boot
Canyon has resulted in the accumulation of leaf litter and small-
diameter trees, which increases the risk of a much more intense
wildfire that would potentially be catastrophic to the vegetation
within the Chisos Mountains and to the Guadalupe fescue population
there. For these reasons, reducing fuel loads in the Chisos Mountains
and conducting small-scale experimental prescribed burns in
collaboration with personnel of Big Bend National Park are high
priority recovery actions.
Horehound (Marrubium vulgare), King Ranch bluestem (Bothriochloa
ischaemum), and other invasive plant species potentially threaten
Guadalupe fescue through competition for water, nutrients, and light.
The 2008 candidate conservation agreement calls for periodic monitoring
of the Guadalupe fescue population and control of invasive species, and
Big Bend National Park has also proposed a programmatic management plan
to carefully monitor and control invasive species in the Chisos
Mountains. Therefore, the magnitude of this threat is currently low
within the Boot Canyon population. We have no information on introduced
invasive species in the known Mexican sites or their impacts on
Guadalupe fescue (Service 2016).
In general, the physical clustering of numerous genetically diverse
plants in close proximity is necessary for effective fertilization,
out-crossing, seed production, and the maintenance of genetically
diverse populations. However, considering the small population size and
low population density of the Chisos Mountains site, this population is
very likely to be highly inbred as a result of extensive self-
fertilization. Currently, we cannot project what the net results of
beneficial and detrimental effects of climate changes will be (Service
2016).
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 ESA is no longer
necessary. A recovery plan includes scientific information about the
species and provides objective and measurable criteria and site-
specific management actions necessary for us to be able to reclassify
the species to threatened status or remove it from the lists of
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.
The primary objectives of this recovery plan are to: (1) Increase
population resilience by managing habitats to promote population
growth, and controlled propagation to augment population sizes to
attain and sustain minimum viable population (MVP) levels within each
population or metapopulation; (2) increase species redundancy through
searches for undiscovered populations in areas of potential habitat,
and through propagation and reintroduction into potential habitats; and
(3) sustain species representation through conservation of populations
throughout the species' range, and investigate the potential benefits
and risks of genetic augmentation of extant populations. The recovery
plan provides objective, measurable recovery criteria aimed at managing
or eliminating threats to meet the goal of delisting Guadalupe fescue.
These recovery criteria are based on the conservation of habitat,
natural recruitment of new individuals, their growth to maturity, and
the increase of populations to a viable level that is sustained without
further human intervention (other than appropriate habitat management).
The time frame required to assess the species viability trends of
Guadalupe fescue is influenced largely by its life history and climate
cycles.
Site specific management actions include: Investigating changes in
wildfire frequency and evaluating the response of Guadalupe fescue to
prescribed burns; monitoring and management of introduced invasive
plants; public education and management of sensitive habitat in
recreational areas of Boot Canyon; preventing grazing from pack animals
and livestock in Boot Canyon; improving knowledge of the species'
abundance, distribution and demographic trends in known populations and
surveying other potential habitats in Texas and Mexico; investigating
gene flow, genetic diversity and conservation genetics; developing a
propagation and reintroduction program; and investigating responses to
climate factors and projecting future responses of known populations to
climate changes.
Request for Public Comments
Section 4(f) of the ESA 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 implementation of the
recommended recovery actions.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments received, including names and addresses, will become
part of the administrative record and will be available to the public.
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. If you submit a hardcopy
comment that includes personal identifying information, you may request
at the top of your document that we withhold this information from
public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do
so.
Authority
We developed our draft recovery plan and publish this notice under
the authority of section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Interior Region 6, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. 2021-09709 Filed 5-6-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-55-P
