[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 243 (Thursday, December 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70523-70526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31255]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding for 
a Petition to Delist the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse in Colorado and 
Wyoming

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 90-
day finding for a petition to delist the Preble's meadow jumping mouse 
(Zapus hudsonius preblei) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended. We find that the petition and additional information in our 
files did not present substantial scientific or commercial information 
indicating that delisting may be warranted. We will not be initiating a 
further status review in response to this petition. We ask the public 
to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning 
the status of or threats to this species. This information will help us 
monitor and encourage the conservation of this species.

DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on December 11, 
2003. You may submit new information concerning this species for our 
consideration at any time.

ADDRESSES: Questions or information concerning this petition should be 
sent to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Ecological Services, 755 Parfet, Lakewood, Colorado 80215. The separate 
petition finding, supporting data, and comments are available for 
public review, by appointment, during normal business hours at the 
above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Susan Linner at 303-275-2370 (see 
ADDRESSES section).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that the Service make a 
finding on whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species 
presents substantial scientific or commercial information to 
demonstrate that the petitioned action may be warranted. This finding 
is to be based on all information readily available to the Service at 
the time the finding is made. To the maximum extent practicable, the 
finding shall be made within 90 days following receipt of the petition 
and promptly published in the Federal Register. Following a positive 
finding, section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act requires the Service to promptly 
commence a status review of the species.
    The Preble's meadow jumping mouse is a small rodent in the family 
Zapodidae and is 1 of 12 recognized subspecies of the species Zapus 
hudsonius, the meadow jumping mouse. Preble's is native only to the 
Rocky Mountains-Great Plains interface of eastern Colorado and 
southeastern Wyoming. This shy, largely nocturnal mouse is 8 to 9 
inches long (its tail accounts for 60 percent of its length) with hind 
feet adapted for jumping. It occurs in foothills riparian habitat from 
southeastern Wyoming to south central Colorado. Preble's meadow jumping 
mice regularly use upland grasslands adjacent to riparian habitat, and 
they may be dependent upon some amount of open water. The species 
hibernates near riparian zones from mid-October to early May. Loss of 
riparian habitats and other factors associated with urbanization appear 
to be the major threat to the species.
    On August 16, 1994, the Service received a petition from the 
Biodiversity Legal Foundation to list the Preble's

[[Page 70524]]

meadow jumping mouse. On March 15, 1995, the Service published a notice 
of the 90-day finding that the petition presented substantial 
information indicating that listing the Preble's may be warranted, and 
requested comments and biological data on the status of the mouse (60 
FR 13950). On March 25, 1997, the Service issued a 12-month finding on 
the petition action along with a proposed rule to list Preble's as an 
endangered species and announced a 90-day public comment period (62 FR 
14093), with subsequent reopenings of the comment period to gather 
additional information (62 FR 24387, 62 FR 67041). The Service added 
the Preble's meadow jumping mouse to the List of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife in 50 CFR 17.11 as a threatened species on May 13, 
1998 (63 FR 26517).
    On July 27, 1999, the Service received a petition to delist the 
Preble's, dated July 20, 1999. The Service subsequently received two 
other petitions to delist the Preble's--one dated July 26, 1999, and 
one dated August 27, 2000. These petitions are being treated as second 
petitions for the requested delisting action, and both have been 
considered in this 90-day finding.

Review of the Petition

    In requesting that the Service delist the Preble's, the first 
petitioner stated that the information available to the Service did not 
justify a listing and asked the Service to ``set aside'' the Act 
relative to the Preble's to allow time to gather more information. The 
third petitioner stated that, because the information available on the 
Preble's is limited, the Service's listing of the subspecies was 
``precipitate and uninformed.'' The Service is mandated to use the best 
scientific information available at the time we make a decision to list 
a species (50 CFR 424.11(b)). Once petitioned to list a species, we are 
under statutory obligations as stated in the Act to complete the 
petition process. We did extend or reopen the comment period twice and 
held three public hearings to seek factual reports or information that 
might contribute to the development of the final rule (63 FR 26517).
    The first petitioner stated that additional information was 
available on trapping conducted by private landowners, the Forest 
Service, and the State Department of Transportation that the Service 
did not consider in its 1998 listing and that the Service should set 
aside the listing to evaluate this new information. The third 
petitioner stated that the information coming to light in 1999 
indicated a plenitude of this subspecies. Trapping conducted by private 
landowners, the Forest Service, and the Wyoming Department of 
Transportation in a number of potential habitat sites in the North 
Platte drainage occurred after the species was listed as threatened in 
1998. Although the Service did not have this trapping information 
available for consideration during preparation of the 1998 listing 
rule, we did consider in the listing rule that the Preble's likely 
occurred in these areas because the species historically had been 
collected there and these areas have suitable habitat for the Preble's. 
Therefore, the Service took into consideration the likely presence of 
the Preble's in these surveyed locations in the 1998 listing rule.
    The second petitioner stated that the reason for the delisting 
request was the inability to identify the mouse. We interpret this 
concern, that is the difficulty in differentiating Preble's from the 
western jumping mouse in the field, as either a concern that (1) the 
listing is invalid or (2) the taxonomic entity is not valid. The range 
of the western jumping mouse (Zapus princeps) in Wyoming and Colorado 
overlaps that of Preble's (Hall 1981), and the two species are similar 
in their appearance. Despite difficulties in field identification, the 
Preble's can be differentiated from the western jumping mouse. Compared 
to the western jumping mouse, the Preble's is generally smaller and has 
a more distinctly bicolored tail and a less obvious dorsal (back) 
stripe. A better technique for identification of the Preble's requires 
skulls of specimens housed in natural history museums, where dental 
characteristics (such as the presence or absence of a tooth fold on the 
first lower molar (Klingener 1963, Hafner 1993) or the shape of a tooth 
cusp) can be seen and used in combination with distribution and 
elevation. These techniques have been useful scientific tools for 
almost half a century. A third and more recent technique to identify 
Preble's uses a combination of skull measurements in addition to the 
tooth fold (which may not always be reliable by itself due to tooth 
wear) (Conner and Shenk in press). These techniques accurately identify 
most of the Preble's specimens. A fourth technique is genetic analysis. 
Future DNA studies, including a current study being conducted at the 
Denver Museum of Nature and Science, will go a long way towards 
resolving some of the few remaining identification inconsistencies.
    In addition, ease of field identification is not a threat to be 
evaluated when making a listing determination. The Act requires that 
the Service evaluate five factors in determining whether to list a 
taxon as endangered or threatened. Under section 4(a)(1) of the Act, we 
must determine whether a species should be listed as threatened or 
endangered due to one or more of the following five factors--(1) 
present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of 
habitat or range; (2) overutilization for commercial, recreational, 
scientific, or educational purposes; (3) disease or predation; (4) the 
inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and (5) other natural or 
manmade factors affecting the species' continued existence. Our 
determination is statutorily limited to an evaluation of these five 
factors.
    In response to whether the taxonomic entity is valid, the Code of 
Federal Regulations (50 CFR 424.11) states that in listing entities as 
endangered or threatened under the Act, the Service will rely on 
standard scientifically accepted taxonomy. The Preble's meadow jumping 
mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei) is a valid, scientifically accepted 
subspecies of meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius) (Krutzch 1954; 
Clark and Stromberg 1987; Fitzgerald et al. 1994).
    The third petitioner disagreed with the use of information 
available on Zapus hudsonius and the application of this information to 
Zapus hudsonius preblei. When information specific to a subspecies is 
lacking, information on the parent species may be the best information 
available for the Service to use. We must base our determination on the 
best available scientific information. Many characteristics of the 
species Z. hudonius would generally be applicable to all its 
subspecies, including Z. h. preblei.
    The third petitioner stated that the original petition to list the 
Preble's should not have been given credence because it lacked 
sufficient information on the Preble's. Under the Code of Federal 
Regulations (50 CFR 424.13 and 424.14), the Service is required to 
seriously consider all petitions and utilize all available information, 
not just the petitioner's, when making its determination. In the 1998 
listing rule, we relied on a host of scientific information available 
on the species concerning the threats it faced and did not make our 
determination based solely on the information provided in the original 
petition.
    The third petitioner stated that the 1998 listing is inappropriate 
because of errors in the subspecies' geographical distribution. The 
third petitioner stated that the Service did not accept the 
identification of an individual Preble's reportedly found in Las Animas 
County, Colorado, because it would have raised

[[Page 70525]]

questions regarding the subspecies' presence in Huerfano, Costilla, and 
Pueblo Counties of Colorado. As stated in the 1998 listing rule, the 
Service did not accept this identification because further 
morphological analysis determined this individual to be a different 
species of mouse, the western jumping mouse, not the Preble's.
    The third petitioner stated that favorable habitat may occur in 
other Colorado counties (Gilpin, Clear Creek, Fremont, Teller, 
Huerfano, and Costilla) that have not been surveyed. Since receipt of 
the third petitioner's petition, surveys have been undertaken in 
Fremont and Teller Counties. Gilpin, Clear Creek, and Teller are high-
elevation counties west of known Preble's distribution with almost no 
favorable habitat. The only favorable habitat would occur where these 
counties meet lower elevation neighboring counties. The lower elevation 
habitat within the South Platte River drainage in northern Teller 
County may be occupied by the Preble's near the Jefferson County line. 
Surveys identified one Preble's mouse at approximately the county line 
but none upstream within Teller County. The habitat in Teller County is 
very limited in extent because the elevation rapidly becomes too high 
upstream from Teller County's border with Jefferson County. Similarly, 
elevations in Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties are generally too high to 
support the Preble's. At the eastern edge of both counties, mountain 
drainages exit into Jefferson County to lower elevation streams 
characteristic of the subspecies' range. Surveys of lower elevation 
streams in Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties suggest that habitat is 
marginal, at best, for the Preble's. Any additional habitat in these 
counties would not significantly increase the size of the Preble's 
geographical distribution and, therefore, would not alter the threat 
analysis in the 1998 listing rule.
    Fremont, Costilla, and Huerfano Counties are not likely to support 
Preble's. Surveys of possibly suitable habitats in Fremont County have 
failed to document the Preble's (Christina Werner, Colorado Natural 
Heritage Program, in litt. 2003). While a portion of Huerfano County is 
within the Arkansas River drainage (where Preble's has been documented 
in the northernmost part), Huerfano County is even further south of 
known Preble's range and is even less likely to have suitable habitat 
for the Preble's. Costilla County is in the Rio Grande drainage. It 
lies far from known Preble's range, south and west of the Arkansas 
River drainage and separated by a mountain range.
    The third petitioner stated the use of Sherman live traps as a 
reason why the subspecies' geographical distribution cannot be fixed 
entirely. The geographical distribution of the subspecies was 
determined based on small mammal surveys conducted in Colorado and 
Wyoming over the past 100 years primarily using snaptraps, not Sherman 
live traps. Therefore, surveys using Sherman live traps were not the 
primary information used to determine the species' geographical 
distribution. The use of Sherman live traps in surveying for Preble's 
became standard methodology in the early 1990s, and information from 
these surveys has refined but not significantly altered the subspecies 
geographical distribution.
    Additionally, the third petitioner stated that the Service did not 
accurately identify the Preble's geographical range because of what the 
petitioner stated were errors in several citations (Whitaker 1972; 
Compton and Hugie 1993; Harrington et. al. 1995, and Meaney and 
Clippenger 1996). In defining the geographical distribution, the 
Service used all scientific information available; it did not rely only 
upon the citations mentioned by the third petitioner but used other 
citations as well to give a full picture of the species' range.
    The third petitioner cites Shenk (1998) as saying that there is 
insufficient information on Preble's range and ecology. While Shenk 
cites gaps in knowledge on the Preble's, Shenk's intent was to identify 
information needed to support a conservation strategy for the Preble's 
and was not related to the species' listing.
    The third petitioner stated that population declines have not been 
documented. The Preble's has been extirpated from some historically 
occupied areas. Surveys have identified various locations where the 
subspecies was historically present but is now absent (Ryon 1996). 
Since at least 1991, the Preble's has not been found in Denver, Adams, 
or Arapahoe Counties in Colorado. Its absence in these counties is 
likely due to urban development, which has altered, reduced, or 
eliminated riparian habitat (Compton and Hugie 1993; Ryon 1996).
    The third petitioner referred to statements made by unidentified 
parties about lack of historical information and about additional 
animals being found. We have addressed the issue of insufficient 
information in previous paragraphs. We address the issue of additional 
surveys and documentation of additional populations in response to 
additional statements by the third petitioner below.
    Based on information that (1) the Service has identified numerous 
known or potential population areas, and (2) there are large numbers of 
unsurveyed sites, the third petitioner concludes that the Preble's is 
abundant and has never been threatened.
    The Service did identify areas of known or potential Preble's 
populations to assist local governments and other entities in planning 
activities (63 FR 66777, December 3, 1998). The sites identified as 
``potential'' Preble's population areas had not been surveyed; the 
presence of Preble's in these locations was considered possible, but 
had not been verified. This list was a preliminary estimate of 
potential habitat; some of these potential sites have since been found 
not to have suitable habitat and/or not to support Preble's 
populations. The potential habitats since found to support Preble's 
continue to be subject to the threats listed in the 1998 listing rule.
    The third petitioner asserts that the numbers of known and 
potential Preble's habitat indicate its abundance. The list of known or 
potential populations identifies fragments of the original Preble's 
habitat. The number of fragments may appear high but represent only a 
small portion of the original whole. The number of separate sites 
reflects the amount of fragmentation that has occurred within historic 
habitat and is an indication of the previous and continuing threats to 
Preble's habitat described in the 1998 listing rule.
    Additional surveys have been undertaken since the 1998 listing rule 
in some locations throughout the subspecies' range where habitat was 
believed suitable and where the species was presumed to occur but had 
not been documented. Some of these surveys verified Preble's presence 
at the survey locations; others did not. While new populations have 
been documented and additional animals have been found, the threat 
analysis in the 1998 listing rule identified significant threats to the 
subspecies and its habitat throughout most of its range in both known 
and potentially occupied areas. The newly documented populations remain 
subject to the threats analyzed in the 1998 listing rule.
    The third petitioner stated that there is no rational definition of 
habitat. Typical habitat for the Preble's comprises well-developed 
plains riparian vegetation with adjacent undisturbed grassland 
communities and a nearby water source. Well-developed plains riparian 
vegetation typically includes a dense combination of grasses, forbs, 
and shrubs; a taller shrub and tree

[[Page 70526]]

canopy may be present (Bakeman 1997). When present, the shrub canopy is 
often Salix spp. (willow), although shrub species including 
Symphoricarpus spp. (snowberry), Prunus virginiana (chokecherry), 
Crataegus spp. (hawthorn), Quercus gambelli (Gambel's oak), Alnus 
incana (alder), Betula fontinalis (river birch), Rhus trilobata 
(skunkbrush), Prunus americana (wild plum), Amorpha fruticosa (lead 
plant), Cornus sericea (dogwood), and others also may occur (Bakeman 
1997; Shenk and Eussen 1998).
    Additional research on the species' habitat has supported and 
refined the definition of habitat used in the 1998 listing rule. This 
recent information indicates that, although Preble's have rarely been 
trapped in uplands adjacent to riparian areas (Dharman 2001), detailed 
studies of the Preble's movement patterns using radio-telemetry found 
Preble's feeding and resting in adjacent uplands and traveling 
considerable distances along streams, as far as 1.6 km (1.0 mi) in one 
evening (Shenk and Sivert 1999a; Shenk and Sivert 1999b; Ryon 1999; 
Schorr 2001). These studies suggest that the Preble's uses uplands at 
least as far out as 100 m (330 ft) beyond the 100-year floodplain (Ryon 
1999; Tanya Shenk, Colorado Division of Wildlife, in litt. 2002).
    The third petitioner also raised several issues specifically 
dealing with stated increased costs or private property takings or 
life, health, and safety issues, including disease carried by deer 
mice. The Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 424.11(b)) states that 
the Service must make determinations based on the basis of the best 
available scientific and commercial information regarding a species' 
status, without reference to possible economic or other impacts of such 
determination.

New Information Available in the Service's Files

    In addition to considering information provided by the petitioners, 
if any, the Service also must consider the information readily 
available at the time of this finding. Additional information on the 
Preble's has become available since the species was listed in 1998 and 
since the petitions were received. As cited earlier, numerous surveys 
have been undertaken throughout the species' range in suitable habitat 
areas where the species was presumed to occur but had not been 
documented. Some of these surveys provided verification of Preble's 
presence at the survey locations; others did not. The survey results 
indicate that the species may persist at or may have been extirpated 
from individual survey locations. Research has been conducted, such as 
radio-telemetry studies on habitat use and movements by Preble's that 
has added to current knowledge about the species' biology. There is new 
information verifying differences in morphological characteristics 
between Zapus hudsonius preblei and related taxa (Connor and Shenk, in 
press).
    Information is available on the presence of and possible increases 
in threats to Preble's and its habitat throughout a large portion of 
the species' range, as evidenced by--(1) section 7 consultations 
conducted to address adverse effects to the Preble's from Federal 
actions and (2) applications by private parties for permits to take 
Preble's. The Service is in the process of preparing a recovery plan 
for the Preble's and is involved in section 7 consultations on Federal 
activities as well as assisting with the development of Habitat 
Conservation Plans addressing many private activities. Through these 
efforts, we are continually reviewing and considering all newly 
available information regarding the species' abundance and the threats 
it faces.

Finding

    The Service has reviewed the petitions, the material submitted with 
the petitions and subsequent to the petitions, and additional 
information in the Service's files. On the basis of the best scientific 
and commercial data available, the Service finds that the petitions and 
information in the Service's files do not present substantial 
information that delisting the Preble's meadow jumping mouse in 
Colorado and Wyoming may be warranted.

References Cited

    A complete list of all references cited in this finding is 
available, upon request, from the Lakewood, Colorado Fish and Wildlife 
Office (see ADDRESSES section).

Authority

    The authority for this action is section 4 of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: December 11, 2003.
Steve Williams,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 03-31255 Filed 12-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P