[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 197 (Thursday, October 10, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54542-54543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22097]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0018; 4500030115]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding for 
the Bone Cave Harvestman

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notification of petition finding and initiation of status 
review.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 
90-day finding on a petition to delist the Bone Cave harvestman as an 
endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (Act). Based on our review, we find that the petition 
presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating 
that delisting the Bone Cave harvestman may be warranted. Therefore, 
with the publication of this document, we announce that we plan to 
initiate a review of the status of the Bone Cave harvestman to 
determine whether delisting the species is warranted. To ensure that 
the status review is comprehensive, we are requesting scientific and 
commercial data and other information regarding the species. Based on 
the status review, we will issue a 12-month finding that will address 
whether or not delisting the Bone Cave harvestman is warranted, in 
accordance with the Act.

DATES: This finding was made on October 10, 2019. As we commence work 
on the status review, we seek any new information concerning the status 
of, or threats to, the species or its habitat and relevant conservation 
measures in place. We will consider any relevant information that we 
receive during our work on the status review.

ADDRESSES: Supporting documents: A summary of the basis for the 
petition finding is available on http://www.regulations.gov under 
docket number FWS-R2-ES-2017-0018. In addition, this supporting 
information is available for public inspection, by appointment, during 
normal business hours by contacting the person specified in FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Submitting information: If you have new scientific or commercial 
data or other information concerning the status of, or threats to, the 
Bone Cave harvestman, please provide those data or information by one 
of the following methods:
    (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter docket number FWS-R2-ES-
2017-0018. Then, click on the ``Search'' button. After finding the 
correct document, you may submit information by clicking on ``Comment 
Now!'' If your information will fit in the provided comment box, please 
use this feature of http://www.regulations.gov, as it is most 
compatible with our information review procedures. If you attach your 
information as a separate document, our preferred file format is 
Microsoft Word. If you attach multiple comments (such as form letters), 
our preferred format is a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2017-0018, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, MS: JAO/1N, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    We request that you send information only by the methods described 
above. We will post all information we receive on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any 
personal information you provide us.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Zerrenner, telephone: 505-761-
4781, email: [email protected]. If you use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf, please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) and its implementing 
regulations in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR part 
424) set forth the procedures for adding a species to, or removing a 
species from, the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 
and Plants (Lists) in 50 CFR part 17. Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act 
requires that we make a finding on whether a petition to add a species 
to the Lists (i.e., ``list'' a species), remove a species from the 
Lists (i.e., ``delist'' a species), or change a listed species' status 
from endangered to threatened or from threatened to endangered (i.e., 
``reclassify'' a species) presents substantial scientific or commercial 
information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. To 
the maximum extent practicable, we are to make this finding within 90 
days of our receipt of the petition and publish the finding promptly in 
the Federal Register.
    The Service and National Marine Fisheries Service revised the 
regulations at 50 CFR 424.14 to clarify the procedures under which the 
Services evaluate petitions effective October 27, 2016 (81 FR 66462; 
September 27, 2016). We originally received the petition that is the 
subject of this document on June 2, 2014, with supplemental information 
received on October 6, 2016. We therefore evaluated this petition under 
the 50 CFR 424.14 requirements that were in effect prior to October 27, 
2016, as those requirements applied when the petition and supplemental 
information were received. At that time, our standard for substantial 
scientific or commercial information within the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) with regard to a 90- day petition finding was ``that 
amount of information that would lead a reasonable person to believe 
that the measure proposed in the petition may be warranted'' (50 CFR 
424.14(b)(1)).
    A species may be determined to be an endangered species or a 
threatened species because of one or more of the five factors described 
in section 4(a)(1) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(1)). The five factors 
are:
    (a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or 
curtailment of its habitat or range (Factor A);
    (b) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes (Factor B);
    (c) Disease or predation (Factor C);
    (d) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms (Factor D); or
    (e) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued 
existence (Factor E).
    These factors represent broad categories of natural or human-caused 
actions or conditions that could have an effect on a species' continued 
existence. In evaluating these actions and conditions, we look for 
those that may have a negative effect on individuals of the species, as 
well as other actions or conditions that may ameliorate any negative 
effects or may have positive effects.
    We use the term ``threat'' to refer in general to actions or 
conditions that are known to, or are reasonably likely to, affect 
individuals of a species negatively. The term ``threat'' includes 
actions or conditions that have a direct impact on individuals (direct 
impacts), as well as those that affect individuals through alteration 
of their habitat or

[[Page 54543]]

required resources (stressors). The term ``threat'' may encompass--
either together or separately--the source of the action or condition or 
the action or condition itself. However, the mere identification of any 
threat(s) or amelioration of any threat(s) may not be sufficient to 
compel a finding that the information in the petition is substantial 
information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. For 
a petition to delist a species, the information presented in the 
petition must include evidence sufficient to suggest that these threats 
affecting the species may have been ameliorated to the point that the 
species may no longer meet the definition of an endangered species or 
threatened species under the Act.
    If we find that a petition presents such information, our 
subsequent status review will evaluate all identified threats by 
considering the individual-, population-, and species-level effects and 
the expected response by the species. We will evaluate individual 
threats and their expected effects on the species, then analyze the 
cumulative effect of the threats on the species as a whole. We also 
consider the cumulative effect of the threats in light of those actions 
and conditions that are expected to have positive effects on the 
species--such as any existing regulatory mechanisms or conservation 
efforts that may ameliorate threats. It is only after conducting this 
cumulative analysis of threats and the actions that may ameliorate 
them, and the expected effect on the species now and in the foreseeable 
future, that we can determine whether the species meets the definition 
of an endangered species or threatened species under the Act (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.).
    If we find that a petition presents substantial scientific or 
commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be 
warranted, the Act requires that we promptly commence a review of the 
status of the species, and we will subsequently complete a status 
review in accordance with our prioritization methodology for 12-month 
findings (81 FR 49248; July 27, 2016).

Summary of Finding

Species and Range

    Bone Cave harvestman (Texella reyesi); Texas.

Petition History

    On June 2, 2014, we received a petition dated June 2, 2014, from 
John Yearwood, Kathryn Heidemann, Charles and Cheryl Shell, the Walter 
Sidney Shell Management Trust, the American Stewards of Liberty, and 
Steven W. Carothers requesting that the endangered Bone Cave harvestman 
be delisted due to recovery and error in information. The petition 
clearly identified itself as a petition and included the requisite 
identification information for the petitioners, as required at that 
time at 50 CFR 424.14(a). We evaluated this petition under the 50 CFR 
424.14 requirements that were in effect prior to October 27, 2016, as 
explained above under Background.
    On June 1, 2015, the Service published a 90-day finding in the 
Federal Register (80 FR 30990) that the petition did not present 
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the 
petitioned action was warranted. On December 15, 2015, the American 
Stewards of Liberty, Charles and Cheryl Shell, Walter Sidney Shell 
Management Trust, Kathryn Heidemann, and Robert V. Harrison, Sr., 
challenged the June 1, 2015, 90-day finding in Federal district court. 
The Service subsequently sought the court's permission to reconsider 
the 90-day finding after concluding that certain materials accompanying 
the petition were inadvertently not considered in the 2015 90-day 
finding. On December 22, 2016, the court granted the Service's request 
and ordered the Service to deliver a new 90-day finding to the Federal 
Register on or before March 31, 2017. That deadline was subsequently 
extended to May 1, 2017. On May 4, 2017, the Service published a new 
90-day finding in the Federal Register (82 FR 20861) that the petition 
did not present substantial scientific or commercial information 
indicating that the petitioned action was warranted.
    On October 5, 2017, the American Stewards of Liberty, Charles and 
Cheryl Shell, Walter Sidney Shell Management Trust, Kathryn Heidemann, 
and Robert V. Harrison, Sr., challenged the May 4, 2017, 90-day finding 
in Federal district court. On March 28, 2019, the court vacated the 
2017 90-day finding and remanded that 90-day finding to the Service for 
further consideration consistent with the court's opinion. This finding 
addresses the 2014 petition in light of the court's order.

Finding

    Based on our review of the petition and sources cited in the 
petition, we find that the petition presents substantial scientific or 
commercial information indicating the petitioned action may be 
warranted for the Bone Cave harvestman due to potential reduction or 
amelioration of threats associated with development (Factor A) and 
predation (Factor C). The petition also presents substantial 
information that the existing regulatory mechanisms may be adequate to 
address impacts of these threats (Factor D).
    The basis for our finding on this petition, and other information 
regarding our review of the petition, can be found as an appendix at 
http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0018 under 
``Supporting Documents.''

Conclusion

    On the basis of our evaluation of the information presented in the 
petition under section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act, we have determined that 
the petition summarized above for the Bone Cave harvestman presents 
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that 
delisting the species may be warranted. Therefore, we are initiating a 
status review to determine whether delisting the species is warranted 
under the Act. At the conclusion of the status review, we will issue a 
finding, in accordance with section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act, as to 
whether delisting the Bone Cave harvestman is not warranted, warranted, 
or warranted but precluded by pending proposals to determine whether 
any species is an endangered species or a threatened species.

Authors

    The primary authors of this document are staff members of the 
Ecological Services Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Authority

    The authority for these actions is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: September 9, 2019.
Margaret E. Everson,
Principal Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Exercising 
the Authority of the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-22097 Filed 10-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P