[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 25, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61671-61673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28294]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8977-7; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0816]
A Framework for Categorizing the Relative Vulnerability of
Threatened and Endangered Species to Climate Change
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 30-day public comment period for the draft
document titled, ``A Framework for Categorizing the Relative
Vulnerability of Threatened and Endangered Species to Climate Change''
(EPA/600/R-09/011). The document was prepared by the National Center
for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and
Development. This draft document describes an evaluative framework that
may be used to categorize the relative vulnerability of species to
climate change. To illustrate the use of this framework, it was applied
to five U.S. threatened and endangered species: The golden-cheeked
warbler, the salt marsh harvest mouse, the Mount Graham red squirrel,
the Lahontan cutthroat trout, and the desert tortoise. A sixth species,
the bald eagle which is no longer listed as threatened or endangered,
except for the southwest population, was also evaluated.
An external peer review of this report has been completed. The
public comment period and the external peer review are separate
processes. The public comment period provides an opportunity for all
interested parties to comment on the document. When finalizing the
draft document, EPA will consider any public comments received in
accordance with this notice.
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination review and comment under applicable information quality
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA and
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency
policy or determination. The first draft of this report was reviewed in
2002 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within the Department of the
Interior. This final draft is being released to the public as well as
to other federal agencies who may wish to comment.
DATES: The 30-day public comment period begins November 25, 2009, and
ends December 28, 2009. Technical comments should be in writing and
must be received by EPA by December 28, 2009.
ADDRESSES: The draft ``A Framework for Categorizing the Relative
Vulnerability of Threatened and Endangered Species to Climate Change''
is available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for
Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and the
Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited
number of paper copies are available from the Information Management
Team, NCEA; telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-8691. If you
are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, your mailing
address, and the document title, ``A Framework for Categorizing the
Relative Vulnerability of Threatened and Endangered Species to Climate
Change.''
[[Page 61672]]
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail:
[email protected].
For technical information, contact Susan Julius, NCEA; telephone:
703-347-8619; facsimile: 703-347-8694; or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Project/Document
The document, ``A Framework for Categorizing the Relative
Vulnerability of Threatened and Endangered Species to Climate Change''
describes an evaluative framework that may be used to categorize the
relative vulnerability of species to climate change. It is intended
that the results of applying the framework be regarded as indications
of the comparative vulnerabilities of species, not estimates of a
species' absolute vulnerability to climate change. Four modules compose
this framework: Module 1 categorizes baseline vulnerability to
extinction or major population reduction by scoring those elements of
the species' life history, demographics, and conservation status that
influence the likelihood of its survival or extinction (excluding
climatic changes); Module 2 scores the likely vulnerability of a
species to future climate change, including the species' potential
physiological, behavioral, demographic, and ecological response to
climate change; Module 3 combines the results of Modules 1 and 2 into a
matrix to produce an overall score of the species' vulnerability to
climate change, which maps to an adjectival category, such as
``critically vulnerable,'' ``highly vulnerable,'' ``less vulnerable,''
and ``least vulnerable;'' Module 4 is a qualitative determination of
uncertainty of overall vulnerability (high, medium, and low) based on
evaluations of uncertainty done in each of the first 3 modules.
To illustrate the use of this framework, it was applied to six U.S.
species that were listed as threatened or endangered at the time the
framework was developed. Based on the framework, four of those species
were categorized as ``critically vulnerable'' to climate change: The
golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia), the salt marsh harvest
mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris), the Mount Graham red squirrel
(Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis), and the Lahontan cutthroat trout
(Oncorhyncus clarki henshawi). The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
was characterized as ``highly vulnerable'' and the bald eagle
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was categorized as ``less vulnerable.''
Certainty scores in Module 4 ranged between medium and high and reflect
the amount and quality of information available.
This framework was developed by EPA's Global Change Research
Program and is offered as one of a number of potential approaches for
prioritizing those species most vulnerable to climate change. It is not
intended to serve as a tool for determining whether a species is
endangered or threatened under the Section 4 listing process of the
Endangered Species Act.
EPA's Global Change Research is an assessment-oriented program
committed to developing frameworks and tools to assist decision-makers
in evaluating the impacts of climate change to air quality, water
quality and ecosystems.
II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov.
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2009-
0816, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-1753.
Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center's Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit
three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number
pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original
and three copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2009-0816. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous
access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials,
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.
[[Page 61673]]
Dated: October 21, 2009.
Rebecca Clark,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E9-28294 Filed 11-24-09; 8:45 am]
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