Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery Plan for Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis (La Graciosa thistle), 31334-31336 [2021-12304]
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31334
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 111 / Friday, June 11, 2021 / Notices
Application No.
Applicant
Species
TE054237–4 .......
U.S. Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Region, Lakewood, CO.
PER0004552 ......
U.S. National Park Service,
Zion National Park, Springdale, UT.
PER0005119 ......
U.S. National Park Service
Heartland Network, Republic, MO.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.
CS0076731 ........
• Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis)
• Gray bat (Myotis
grisescens).
• Ozark big-eared bat
(Corynorhinus townsendii
ingens).
AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA,
IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME,
MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO,
MT, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC,
ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC,
SD, TA, TX, VT, VA, WV,
WI, WY.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Written comments we receive become
part of the administrative record. 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.
Fish and Wildlife Service
If we decide to issue permits to any
of the applicants listed in this notice,
we will publish a notice in the Federal
Register.
Authority
We publish this notice under section
10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.).
Stephen Small,
Assistant Regional Director, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service Department of the Interior
Unified Regions 5 and 7.
[FR Doc. 2021–12262 Filed 6–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
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Take activity
• Southwestern willow
CO .........................................
flycatcher (Empidonax
traillii extimus).
• Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly (Boloria acrocnema).
• Shivwits milkwetch
UT ..........................................
(Astragalus ampullarioides).
• Southwestern willow
flycatcher (Empidonax
traillii extimus).
• Topeka shiner (Notropis to- KS, MO ..................................
peka).
Public Availability of Comments
Next Steps
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Location
[FWS–R8–ES–2020–N150; FXES11130000–
212–FF08E00000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; Draft Recovery Plan for
Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis (La
Graciosa thistle)
AGENCY:
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
Notice of document availability.
ACTION:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of the Draft Recovery Plan
for Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis
(La Graciosa thistle) for public review
and comment. The draft recovery plan
includes objective, measurable criteria,
and site-specific management actions as
may be necessary to ameliorate threats,
such that the species can be removed
from the Federal List of Endangered and
Threatened Plants.
DATES: We must receive any comments
on the draft recovery plan on or before
July 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: You
may obtain a copy of the recovery plan
from our website at https://www.fws.gov/
endangered/species/recoveryplans.html. Alternatively, you may
contact the Ventura Fish and Wildlife
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA
93003 (telephone 805–644–1766).
Comment submission: If you wish to
comment on the draft recovery plan,
you may submit your comments in
writing by any one of the following
methods:
• U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, at the
above address; or
• Email: r8venturarecoverycomments@fws.gov.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Permit action
Pursue to survey, capture,
banding, presence/absence
surveys.
Amend/renew.
Remove and reduce to possession; seeds, fruits, tissue, and voucher specimens; presence/absence
surveys.
Harass by survey/monitor,
capture, handle.
Amend/renew.
Capture with mist-nets and
harp traps, handle, band.
New.
Amend/renew.
For additional information about
submitting comments, see the Request
for Public Comments section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Henry, Field Supervisor, at the
above street address above or telephone
805–644–1766.
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 necessary 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.
Pursuant to section 4(f) of the Act, a
recovery plan must, to the maximum
extent practicable, include (1) a
description of site-specific management
actions as may be necessary to achieve
the plan’s goals for the conservation and
survival of the species; (2) objective,
measurable criteria which, when met,
would support a determination under
section 4(a)(1) that the species should be
removed from the List of Endangered
and Threatened Species; and (3)
estimates of the time and costs required
to carry out those measures needed to
achieve the plan’s goal and to achieve
intermediate steps toward that goal.
The Service has revised its approach
to recovery planning; the revised
process is called Recovery Planning and
Implementation (RPI). The RPI process
is intended to reduce the time needed
to develop and implement recovery
E:\FR\FM\11JNN1.SGM
11JNN1
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 111 / Friday, June 11, 2021 / Notices
plans, increase recovery plan relevancy
over a longer timeframe, and add
flexibility to recovery plans so they can
be easily adjusted to accommodate new
information or circumstances. Under
RPI, a recovery plan will include
statutorily required elements (objective,
measurable criteria; site-specific
management actions; and estimates of
time and costs), along with a concise
introduction and our strategy for how
we plan to achieve species recovery.
The RPI recovery plan is supported by
a separate Species Status Assessment, or
in some cases, a species biological
report that provides the background
information and threat assessment,
which are key to recovery plan
development. The essential component
to flexible implementation under RPI is
producing a separate working document
called the Recovery Implementation
Strategy (implementation strategy). The
implementation strategy steps down
from the more general description of
actions described in the recovery plan to
detail the specific, near-term activities
needed to implement the recovery plan.
The implementation strategy is
adaptable, so that new information can
easily be incorporated without having to
concurrently revise the recovery plan,
unless changes to the statutory elements
are required.
The Service listed Cirsium scariosum
var. loncholepis (La Graciosa thistle) as
endangered in 2000 (65 FR 14888), and
critical habitat was revised for the
species in 2009 (74 FR 56978). Cirsium
scariousum var. loncholepis is
considered to be a biennial or shortlived perennial species, but has proven
to be an annual under certain
environmental conditions. The species
is in the Asteraceae (daisy and
sunflower) family and is restricted to
coastal dune wetland, marsh and
riparian habitats on sandy soils, along a
small portion of the Central Coast of
California. Its current geographic range
is restricted to several sites within the
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Complex
located in southwestern San Luis
Obispo and northwestern Santa Barbara
Counties.
Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis
occurs in wetland habitats with sandy
soils, within arid and semiarid
landscapes, including coastal dune
wetlands, lakes, marshes, ponds, seeps
and swales. It also occurs along the
upper margins and floodplains of
intermittent and perennial coastal
streams within its range. Most
occurrences are associated with wetland
features scattered throughout the
backdunes of two coastal sand dune
complexes; the Callender Dunes, which
are located south of the City of Arroyo
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:14 Jun 10, 2021
Jkt 253001
Grande, and the contiguous Guadalupe
Dunes that are found immediately north
of the Santa Maria River.
Characteristically, these coastal dune
wetlands occur where the groundwater
table is at or near the surface and the
local hydrology varies annually with
seasonal rainfall.
The primary threats the species
include (1) reduced water/lack of water,
with groundwater decline as the likely
major cause, along with hydrological
alteration and climate change, including
severe drought and increased
temperatures (Factors A and E), and (2)
flooding resulting from hydrological
alteration (Factor A). Several other
threats also affect the species, with the
most notable being stochastic events
(Factor E), reproductive failure due to a
variety of issues, including inbreeding
and other genetic factors associated with
small population size (Factor E),
invasive species (Factor E), and loss of
connectivity among occurrences and
between populations (Factor E).
Recovery Strategy
The purpose of a recovery plan is to
provide a framework for the recovery of
a 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 is
warranted. Furthermore, recovery plans
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.
The goal of this recovery plan is to
control or ameliorate impacts from
current threats to Cirsium scariosum
var. loncholepis such that the taxon no
longer requires protections afforded by
the Act and, therefore, warrants
delisting. The site-specific management
actions identified in the draft recovery
plan are as follows:
1. Habitat restoration at all extant
sites, which may include invasive weed
treatments, woody debris removal, and
renovation of local hydrologic regimes.
2. Supplemental watering when
necessary during drought or lack of
water, specifically to ensure survival of
particular individual plants and/or
colonies.
3. Installation of exclusionary fencing
and/or cages around individuals and
colonies to prevent herbivory from
mammals.
4. Propagation and outplanting at
locations that are extirpated, that have
extremely low numbers of individuals
and could become extirpated, or at
PO 00000
Frm 00071
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
31335
appropriate sites located within close
proximity to the extant occurrences.
5. Annual monitoring and reporting to
assess the effectiveness of the near-term
actions, track and census the numbers of
individuals at each occurrence and to
both guide and determine future
recovery actions.
6. Establish and maintain a
conservation seed bank at a facility that
is certified by the Center for Plant
Conservation.
7. Conduct research to evaluate the
seed viability and pursue efforts to bulk
the seed for outplanting.
8. Facilitate outplanting efforts at
numerous sites that are likely to have
cooperative recovery partners based on
the current land ownership status and
land use practices and/or that are
conducive to these efforts because
conservation easements are already
established.
9. Continue attempts to gain access to
other sites and occurrences within the
historic range to conduct census surveys
and assessments for potentially suitable
habitat f or additional outplanting
efforts.
10. Fulfill research needs, including
the following: Best management
practices and methods for the various
life stages of the species; species
response to disturbance from grazing, to
thatch removal and to other vegetation
management techniques; demographic
studies, pollination ecology research,
genetics research, habitat suitability
analyses and modeling, groundwater
testing and mapping and other
hydrologic modeling for evaluating
variable climate change scenarios.
Request for Public Comments
We request written comments on the
draft recovery plan described in this
notice. All comments received by the
date specified in DATES will be
considered in development of a final
recovery plan for Cirsium scariosum
var. loncholepis. You may submit
written comments and information by
mail, email, or in person to the Ventura
Fish and Wildlife Office at the above
address (see ADDRESSES).
Public Availability of Comments
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 ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
E:\FR\FM\11JNN1.SGM
11JNN1
31336
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 111 / Friday, June 11, 2021 / Notices
Authority
We developed this recovery plan and
publish this notice under the authority
of section 4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C.
1533(f).
Martha Maciel,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Southwest
Region.
[FR Doc. 2021–12304 Filed 6–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–HQ–MB–2021–N159; FF09M20200
FGMB123109CITY0 (212); OMB Control
Number 1018–NEW]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Urban Bird Treaty Program
Requirements
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service), are proposing a new
information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before August
10, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the
information collection request (ICR) by
mail to the Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/
3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church,
VA 22041–3803 (mail); or by email to
Info_Coll@fws.gov. Please reference
OMB Control Number ‘‘1018–UBT’’ in
the subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum,
Service Information Collection
Clearance Officer, by email at Info_
Coll@fws.gov, or by telephone at (703)
358–2503. Individuals who are hearing
or speech impaired may call the Federal
Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 for
TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.) and its implementing regulations
at 5 CFR 1320, all information
collections require approval under the
PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor
and you are not required to respond to
a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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19:14 Jun 10, 2021
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As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other
Federal agencies to comment on new,
proposed, revised, and continuing
collections of information. This helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. It also
helps the public understand our
information collection requirements and
provide the requested data in the
desired format.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of response.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Abstract: The Urban Bird Treaty
Program (UBT Program) is administered
through the Service’s Migratory Bird
Program, under the authority of the Fish
and Wildlife Coordination Act (16
U.S.C. 661–667e). The UBT Program
aims to support partnerships of public
and private organizations and
individuals working to conserve
migratory birds and their habitats in
urban areas for the benefit of these
species and the people that live in urban
areas. The UBT partners’ habitat
conservation activities help to ensure
that more natural areas, including
forests, grasslands, wetlands, and
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Frm 00072
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
meadows, are available in urban areas,
so that underserved communities can
have improved access to green space
and opportunities to engage in habitat
restoration and community science as
well as bird-related recreation and
educational programs. These habitat
restoration activities, especially urban
forest conservation, also contribute to
climate resiliency by reducing the
amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. Lights-out programs in
UBT cities help reduce energy costs and
greenhouse gas emissions by reducing
the use of electricity when people and
businesses turn off their lights between
dusk and dawn during the fall and
spring periods of bird migration in order
to reduce bird collisions with building
glass.
The Service designates Urban Bird
Treaty cities or municipalities through a
process in which applicants submit a
nomination package, including a letter
of intention and an implementation
plan, for approval by the Service’s
Migratory Bird Program. Within 3
months, the Service reviews the
package, makes any necessary
recommendations for changes, and then
decides to either approve or reject the
package. If rejected, the city can reapply
the following year. In most cases, when
the Service designates a new city
partner, the Service and the new city
partner hold a signing ceremony, during
which a representative from both the
Service and the city sign a nonbinding
document that states the importance of
conserving birds and their habitats to
the health and well-being of people that
live in and visit the city. To maintain
this city partner designation, the city
must submit information on the
activities it has carried out to meet the
goals of the UBT program, including
those related to bird habitat
conservation, bird hazard reduction,
and bird-related community education
and engagement. By helping make cities
healthier places for birds and people,
the UBT Program contributes to the
Administration’s priorities of justice
and racial equity, climate resiliency,
and the President’s Executive Order
14008 to protect 30 percent of the
Nation’s land and 30 percent of its
ocean areas by 2030.
The UBT program benefits city
partners in many ways, including:
• Helps city partners achieve their
goals for making cities healthier places
for birds and people.
• Provides opportunities to share and
learn from other city partners’ tools,
tactics, successes, and challenges, to
advance city partners’ urban bird
conservation efforts.
E:\FR\FM\11JNN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 111 (Friday, June 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31334-31336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12304]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2020-N150; FXES11130000-212-FF08E00000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery
Plan for Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis (La Graciosa thistle)
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of the Draft Recovery Plan for Cirsium scariosum var.
loncholepis (La Graciosa thistle) for public review and comment. The
draft recovery plan includes objective, measurable criteria, and site-
specific management actions as may be necessary to ameliorate threats,
such that the species can be removed from the Federal List of
Endangered and Threatened Plants.
DATES: We must receive any comments on the draft recovery plan on or
before July 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain a copy of the recovery
plan from our website at https://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html. Alternatively, you may contact the Ventura Fish
and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road,
Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003 (telephone 805-644-1766).
Comment submission: If you wish to comment on the draft recovery
plan, you may submit your comments in writing by any one of the
following methods:
U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, at the above address; or
Email: [email protected].
For additional information about submitting comments, see the
Request for Public Comments section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Henry, Field Supervisor, at the
above street address above or telephone 805-644-1766.
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 necessary 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.
Pursuant to section 4(f) of the Act, a recovery plan must, to the
maximum extent practicable, include (1) a description of site-specific
management actions as may be necessary to achieve the plan's goals for
the conservation and survival of the species; (2) objective, measurable
criteria which, when met, would support a determination under section
4(a)(1) that the species should be removed from the List of Endangered
and Threatened Species; and (3) estimates of the time and costs
required to carry out those measures needed to achieve the plan's goal
and to achieve intermediate steps toward that goal.
The Service has revised its approach to recovery planning; the
revised process is called Recovery Planning and Implementation (RPI).
The RPI process is intended to reduce the time needed to develop and
implement recovery
[[Page 31335]]
plans, increase recovery plan relevancy over a longer timeframe, and
add flexibility to recovery plans so they can be easily adjusted to
accommodate new information or circumstances. Under RPI, a recovery
plan will include statutorily required elements (objective, measurable
criteria; site-specific management actions; and estimates of time and
costs), along with a concise introduction and our strategy for how we
plan to achieve species recovery. The RPI recovery plan is supported by
a separate Species Status Assessment, or in some cases, a species
biological report that provides the background information and threat
assessment, which are key to recovery plan development. The essential
component to flexible implementation under RPI is producing a separate
working document called the Recovery Implementation Strategy
(implementation strategy). The implementation strategy steps down from
the more general description of actions described in the recovery plan
to detail the specific, near-term activities needed to implement the
recovery plan. The implementation strategy is adaptable, so that new
information can easily be incorporated without having to concurrently
revise the recovery plan, unless changes to the statutory elements are
required.
The Service listed Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis (La Graciosa
thistle) as endangered in 2000 (65 FR 14888), and critical habitat was
revised for the species in 2009 (74 FR 56978). Cirsium scariousum var.
loncholepis is considered to be a biennial or short-lived perennial
species, but has proven to be an annual under certain environmental
conditions. The species is in the Asteraceae (daisy and sunflower)
family and is restricted to coastal dune wetland, marsh and riparian
habitats on sandy soils, along a small portion of the Central Coast of
California. Its current geographic range is restricted to several sites
within the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Complex located in southwestern San
Luis Obispo and northwestern Santa Barbara Counties.
Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis occurs in wetland habitats with
sandy soils, within arid and semiarid landscapes, including coastal
dune wetlands, lakes, marshes, ponds, seeps and swales. It also occurs
along the upper margins and floodplains of intermittent and perennial
coastal streams within its range. Most occurrences are associated with
wetland features scattered throughout the backdunes of two coastal sand
dune complexes; the Callender Dunes, which are located south of the
City of Arroyo Grande, and the contiguous Guadalupe Dunes that are
found immediately north of the Santa Maria River. Characteristically,
these coastal dune wetlands occur where the groundwater table is at or
near the surface and the local hydrology varies annually with seasonal
rainfall.
The primary threats the species include (1) reduced water/lack of
water, with groundwater decline as the likely major cause, along with
hydrological alteration and climate change, including severe drought
and increased temperatures (Factors A and E), and (2) flooding
resulting from hydrological alteration (Factor A). Several other
threats also affect the species, with the most notable being stochastic
events (Factor E), reproductive failure due to a variety of issues,
including inbreeding and other genetic factors associated with small
population size (Factor E), invasive species (Factor E), and loss of
connectivity among occurrences and between populations (Factor E).
Recovery Strategy
The purpose of a recovery plan is to provide a framework for the
recovery of a 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 is warranted. Furthermore,
recovery plans 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.
The goal of this recovery plan is to control or ameliorate impacts
from current threats to Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis such that
the taxon no longer requires protections afforded by the Act and,
therefore, warrants delisting. The site-specific management actions
identified in the draft recovery plan are as follows:
1. Habitat restoration at all extant sites, which may include
invasive weed treatments, woody debris removal, and renovation of local
hydrologic regimes.
2. Supplemental watering when necessary during drought or lack of
water, specifically to ensure survival of particular individual plants
and/or colonies.
3. Installation of exclusionary fencing and/or cages around
individuals and colonies to prevent herbivory from mammals.
4. Propagation and outplanting at locations that are extirpated,
that have extremely low numbers of individuals and could become
extirpated, or at appropriate sites located within close proximity to
the extant occurrences.
5. Annual monitoring and reporting to assess the effectiveness of
the near-term actions, track and census the numbers of individuals at
each occurrence and to both guide and determine future recovery
actions.
6. Establish and maintain a conservation seed bank at a facility
that is certified by the Center for Plant Conservation.
7. Conduct research to evaluate the seed viability and pursue
efforts to bulk the seed for outplanting.
8. Facilitate outplanting efforts at numerous sites that are likely
to have cooperative recovery partners based on the current land
ownership status and land use practices and/or that are conducive to
these efforts because conservation easements are already established.
9. Continue attempts to gain access to other sites and occurrences
within the historic range to conduct census surveys and assessments for
potentially suitable habitat f or additional outplanting efforts.
10. Fulfill research needs, including the following: Best
management practices and methods for the various life stages of the
species; species response to disturbance from grazing, to thatch
removal and to other vegetation management techniques; demographic
studies, pollination ecology research, genetics research, habitat
suitability analyses and modeling, groundwater testing and mapping and
other hydrologic modeling for evaluating variable climate change
scenarios.
Request for Public Comments
We request written comments on the draft recovery plan described in
this notice. All comments received by the date specified in DATES will
be considered in development of a final recovery plan for Cirsium
scariosum var. loncholepis. You may submit written comments and
information by mail, email, or in person to the Ventura Fish and
Wildlife Office at the above address (see ADDRESSES).
Public Availability of Comments
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
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
[[Page 31336]]
Authority
We developed this recovery plan and publish this notice under the
authority of section 4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Martha Maciel,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2021-12304 Filed 6-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P