[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 118 (Thursday, June 19, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33390-33391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16010]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Notice of 
Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Lee County Cave Isopod 
for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability 
for public review of a draft Recovery Plan for the Lee County Cave 
Isopod (Lirceus usdagalun). The Lee County cave isopod, a subterranean 
freshwater crustacean, is endemic to southwestern Virginia, where it 
has been documented from two cave systems and two resurgence springs in 
Lee County. The Lee County cave isopod was listed as endangered in 
1992. The draft recovery plan sets recovery objectives and recommends 
recovery activities that, if implemented on schedule, may lead to 
delisting of this species by the year 2005. The Service solicits review 
and comment from the public on this draft plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received August 4, 
1997.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan can obtain 
a copy from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Virginia 
Field Office, P.O. Box 2345, Abingdon, Virginia (telephone 540/623-
1233; fax 540/623-1185) or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region Five, 
300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035, (telephone 413/
253-8628; fax 413-253-8482). Comments should be sent to the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Field Office at the above mailing 
address, to the attention of Leroy Koch.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leroy Koch at 540/623-1233 (see ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point 
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is 
a primary goal of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered 
species program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is 
working to prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native 
to the United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered 
necessary for conservation of

[[Page 33391]]

the species, establish criteria for the recovery levels for 
reclassifying or delisting them, and estimate time and cost for 
implementing the recovery measures needed.
    The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.) requires the development of recovery plans for listed species 
unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular 
species. Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in 1988, requires that 
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be 
provided during recovery plan development. The Service will consider 
all information presented during a public comment period prior to 
approval of each new or revised recovery plan. The Service and other 
Federal agencies will also take these comments into account in the 
course of implementing recovery plans.
    The document submitted for review is the draft Lee County Cave 
Isopod (Lirceus usdagalun) Recovery Plan. The Lee County cave isopod is 
a cave-dwelling freshwater crustacean listed as an endangered species. 
It is endemic to southwestern Virginia, where it has been documented 
from only cave systems and two resurgence springs (presumably 
associated with undiscovered cave systems) in Lee County. The aquatic 
habitat of this isopode occurs in the central Lee County Karst, a 
gently rolling region characterized by exposed limestone ridges with 
karren development, numerous sinkholes, blind valleys, sinking streams, 
subterranean drainage, and caves. The historic distribution of the 
species within the four cave systems comprises six known site 
occurrences, one which is considered extirpated due to massive organic 
pollution of the cave stream ecosystem. The primary threat to the 
remaining sites is potential degration of groundwater quality resulting 
from surrounding land uses. All known Lee County cave isopod sites are 
on private land, and many landowners in the region are unaware of the 
critical link between surface water and groundwater quality, as is 
evident by the use of sinkholes as disposal areas for household, 
industrial, and agricultural waste products. Logging and sawmill 
operations are prominent uses of the lands surrounding the cave systems 
in Lee County; such operations represent a potentially significant 
threat to karst ecosystems because leachate from organic decomposition 
of the sawdust material can travel from surface to groundwater. Other 
potential threats to the species' habitat include non-point-source 
pollution, inadequate or failing septic systems, toxic spills along 
roadways, and accelerating development along U.S. Route 58.
    To facilitate protection and recovery of this rare species, the 
following objectives and conditions for meeting objectives are 
recommended. To reclassify the Lee County cave isopod from endangered 
to threatened status: (1) Completely delineate the likely range, 
current and historical, of the species' distribution; (2) gain a 
sufficient understanding of the surface and subterranean drainage 
patterns with the species' known range to enable monitoring and 
management; (3) show that populations of the isopod in at least four 
cave systems are improving or stable over a two-year monitoring period; 
and (4) establish a groundwater monitoring program in systems known to 
contain the isopod, with results over a two-year period showing the 
groundwater quality and quantity are being maintained at levels needed 
to ensure the survival of this species. To delist the Lee County cave 
isopod in addition to the preceding conditions: (1) Show that 
populations of the isopod in at least four cave systems are stable over 
an additional three-year monitoring period; (2) demonstrate that 
groundwater quality and quantity are being maintained over an 
additional three-year monitoring period at levels needed to ensure the 
survival of this species; (3) achieve permanent protection from 
significant groundwater contamination for all sites known to support 
the Lee County cave isopod.
    The Lee County cave isopod draft recovery plan also recommends a 
number of activities needed to achieve these recovery objectives. 
Ongoing and proposed recovery activities include: surveys to determine 
the location and extent of all area supporting this isopod; monitoring 
of Lee County cave isopod populations; life history and other research 
to determine what constitutes a viable and/or stable population of Lee 
County cave isopod; further studies and mapping of the surface and 
subterranean drainage systems in which the isopod occurs; monitoring of 
water quality and quantity and isopod habitat at selected sites; 
identification of those factors that adversely affect the species and 
actions to eliminate or minimize such impacts; implementation of 
habitat protection measures for known populations of Lee County cave 
isopod; educational and awareness programs for landowners, governmental 
agencies, and nongovernmental organizations; if and as needed, 
restoration of populations of the Lee County cave isopod to former 
habitat; and monitoring of recovery progress.
    The draft recovery plan revision is being submitted for agency 
review. After consideration of comments received during the review 
period, the plan will be submitted for final approval.

Public Comments Solicited

    The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan 
described. All comments received by the date specified above will be 
considered prior to approval of the plan.

Authority

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

    Dated: June 10, 1997.
Adam O'Hara,
Acting Regional Director, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 97-16010 Filed 6-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M