[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]
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