[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 62 (Thursday, April 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16499-16500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7373]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2009-N287; 40120-1113-0000-C2]


Notice of Availability of a Technical Agency Draft Recovery Plan 
for Pyne's Ground-Plum (Astragalus bibullatus) for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability and opening of public comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability 
of the technical agency draft recovery plan for Pyne's ground-plum 
(Astragalus bibullatus), a species endemic to the Central Basin in 
Tennessee. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery 
objectives and criteria the species would have to meet in order for us 
to downlist it to threatened status or delist it under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We request review and comment on 
this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, and 
the public.

DATES: In order to be considered, we must receive comments on the draft 
recovery plan on or before June 1, 2010.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to review the draft recovery plan, you may 
obtain a copy by contacting the Tennessee Field Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 446 Neal Street, Cookeville, TN 38501 (telephone 931/
528-6481), or by visiting our recovery plan Web site at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans. If you wish to comment, 
you may submit your comments by any one of several methods:
    1. You may submit written comments and materials to the Field 
Supervisor, at the above address.
    2. You may hand-deliver written comments to our Tennessee Field 
Office at the above address, or fax your comments to 931/528-7075.
    3. You may send comments by e-mail to [email protected].
    For additional information about submitting comments, see the 
``Request for Public Comments'' section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Geoff Call at the above address 
(telephone 931/528-6481, ext. 213).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    We listed Pyne's ground-plum as an endangered species under the Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), on September 26, 1991 (56 FR 48748). This 
species is a rare perennial member of the pea family (Fabaceae) endemic 
to the limestone cedar glades in the Central Basin Section of the 
Interior Low Plateau (Tennessee). It is currently known from only eight 
extant occurrences (specific locations or sites) located within 90 
square miles in Rutherford County, Tennessee, within a short distance 
of the rapidly growing city of Murfreesboro.
    Factors contributing to its endangered status are an extremely 
limited range and loss of habitat. The primary threat is the loss of 
habitat from residential, commercial, or industrial development; 
livestock grazing; woody encroachment; and recreational uses such as 
all terrain vehicles.
    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 endangered species program. To help guide the 
recovery effort, we are preparing recovery plans for most listed 
species. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for 
conservation of the species, establish criteria for downlisting or 
delisting, and estimate time and cost for implementing recovery 
measures.
    The Act 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 requires us to provide a 
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment during 
recovery plan development. We will consider all information presented 
during a public comment period prior to approval of each new or revised 
recovery plan. We and other Federal agencies will take these comments 
into account in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
    The objective of this technical agency draft plan is to provide a 
framework for the recovery of this species so that protection under the 
Act is no longer necessary. Pyne's ground-plum will be considered for 
reclassification to threatened status when there are nine occurrences 
that are distributed throughout the cedar glade ecosystem of the Stones 
River Basin within Davidson, Rutherford, and Wilson Counties. Each 
occurrence should have at least 100 plants, be maintained for at least 
5 years, have a cooperative management agreement in place, and be 
located on lands owned and managed by a public agency, or located on 
private lands protected by a permanent conservation easement.
    Pyne's ground-plum will be considered for delisting when there are

[[Page 16500]]

12 occurrences that are distributed throughout the cedar glade 
ecosystem of the Stones River Basin within Davidson, Rutherford, and 
Wilson Counties. Each occurrence should have at least 100 plants, be 
maintained for at least 10 years, have a cooperative management 
agreement in place, and be located on lands owned and managed by a 
public agency or located on private lands protected by a permanent 
conservation easement.
    As reclassification and recovery criteria are met, the status of 
the species will be reviewed and it will be considered for 
reclassification or removal from the Federal List of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife and Plants.

Request for Public Comments

    We request written comments on the recovery plan. We will consider 
all comments we receive by the date specified in DATES prior to final 
approval of the plan.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 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.

Authority

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

    Dated: January 14, 2010.
Jeffrey M. Fleming,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-7373 Filed 3-31-10; 8:45 am]
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