[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36566-36567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14425]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2013-N118; FXES11130400000C2-134-FF04E00000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Technical Agency 
Draft Recovery Plan for Golden Sedge

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability 
of the technical agency draft recovery plan for the endangered golden 
sedge, a species endemic to the coastal plain in North Carolina. The 
draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria 
to be met in order to downlist this species to threatened or delist it 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We solicit 
review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and 
Federal agencies, and the public.

DATES: In order to be considered, comments on the draft recovery plan 
must be received on or before August 19, 2013.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to review the draft recovery plan, you may 
obtain a copy by contacting the Raleigh Ecological Services Field 
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 551-F Pylon Drive, Raleigh, NC 
27606; tel. 919-856-4520, 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:

[[Page 36567]]

    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 Raleigh Field 
Office, at the above address, or fax them to 919-856-4556.
    3. You may send comments by email to [email protected].
    For additional information about submitting comments, see the 
``Public Comments Solicited'' section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dale Suiter at the above address or by 
telephone at 919-856-4520, ext. 18.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    We listed golden sedge (Carex lutea) as an endangered species under 
the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), on January 23, 2002 (67 FR 3120). 
This species is a rare perennial member of the sedge family 
(Cyperaceae) endemic to the coastal plain of North Carolina. It is 
currently known from only 21 extant occurrences (specific locations or 
sites) located within a 16-by-5-mile area in Pender and Onslow 
Counties. All eight populations of this plant occur in the Northeast 
Cape Fear River watershed in North Carolina.
    Factors contributing to its endangered status are an extremely 
limited range and loss of habitat. The primary threat is the loss or 
alteration of habitat from fire suppression; residential, commercial, 
or industrial development; livestock grazing; and woody or invasive 
encroachment.
    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 prepare 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.
    Golden sedge will be considered for reclassification to threatened 
status when:
    1. There are 10 protected Carex lutea sites in the wild that are 
distributed across the range of the species. Note: Sites will be 
considered permanently protected when they are placed under a 
conservation easement, or other binding land agreement, and a 
management agreement, and are ranked as an A or B population by the 
North Carolina Natural Heritage Program (NCNHP).
    2. All 10 protected sites are composed of at least 90 percent 
native vegetation, and nonnative plant species that have the potential 
to displace Carex lutea are maintained at or below 10 percent of both 
total number of species and percent cover for at least 5 years.
    3. All 10 protected sites demonstrate stable or increasing 
population trends for 5 consecutive years.
    4. Habitat management plans are actively being implemented for at 
least 7 of the 10 protected sites.
    5. A prescribed fire regime has been developed and is being 
conducted at all protected sites to mimic historical frequency and 
timing (the frequency will be determined through recovery actions in 
this plan).
    We define ``protected'' to mean the site has been fee simple 
acquired and put into long-term conservation by a local or State 
agency, or a conservation easement or other binding land agreement has 
been placed on the site by a landowner that shows a commitment to its 
conservation in perpetuity and it is represented in a CPC-approved seed 
bank. In addition, each site should have a management agreement/plan 
developed. These plans should include monitoring according to protocols 
developed collaboratively by the USFWS, NCDACS, NCDPR, TNC, and other 
interested parties and should occur annually at each protected site. 
Each site should contain an A or B ranked occurrence (see Appendix C). 
For delisting to be considered, we would like to have at least seven of 
the protected sites to be ``A-ranked'' occurrences.
    Carex lutea will be considered for removal from the List of 
Endangered and Threatened Species (delisting) when:
    1. There are 15 protected sites in the wild that are distributed 
across the range of the species. Note: Sites will be considered 
permanently protected when they are placed under a conservation 
easement or other binding land agreement and a management agreement, 
and are ranked as an A or B population by the North Carolina Natural 
Heritage Program (NCNHP).
    2. All 15 protected sites are composed of at least 90 percent 
native vegetation, and nonnative plant species that have the potential 
to displace Carex lutea are maintained at or below 10 percent of both 
total number of species and percent cover for at least 5 years within 
the recovery site.
    3. All 15 protected sites demonstrate stable or increasing 
population trends for 10 consecutive years.
    4. Habitat management plans are actively being implemented for all 
protected sites and are showing evidence that actions are proving 
effective for this plant.
    5. A prescribed fire regime is being conducted at all protected 
sites to mimic historical frequency and timing (which will be 
determined through recovery actions in this plan).
    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 Species.

Request for Public Comments

    We request written comments on the draft recovery plan. We will 
consider all comments received by the date specified in DATES section 
above prior to final approval of the plan.

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.

Authority

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

    Dated: April 26, 2013.
Mike Oetker,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-14425 Filed 6-17-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P