[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11098-11099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03778]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-ES-2018-N131; FXES11130300000-189-FF03E00000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery 
Plan for the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of the draft recovery plan for the threatened eastern 
massasauga rattlesnake. 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, comments must be received on or 
before March 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain a copy of the draft 
recovery plan by one of the following methods:
     U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Chicago 
Ecological Services Field Office, Attention: Louise Clemency; 230 South 
Dearborn, Suite 2398, Chicago, IL 60604.
     Telephone: Louise Clemency, 312-216-4720.
     Internet: Download the document at the Service's Midwest 
Region website at https://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/reptiles/eama/index.html.
    Comment Submission: You may submit comments by one of the following 
methods:
     Mail or Hand-Delivery: Submit written comments to the 
above U.S. mail address.
     Fax: 312-837-1788, Attention: Louise Clemency. Please 
include ``Eastern Massasauga DRP'' in the subject line.
     Email: [email protected]. Please include ``Eastern 
Massasauga DRP'' in the subject line.
    For additional information about submitting comments, see 
Availability of Public Comments in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louise Clemency, by one of the methods 
in ADDRESSES.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), announce the availability of the draft recovery plan for the 
threatened eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus, 
``EMR'') for public review and comment. The draft recovery plan 
includes objective, measurable criteria and management actions as may 
be necessary for removal of the species from the Federal List of 
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. We request review and comment on 
this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, and 
the public.

Recovery Planning

    Section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act), requires the development of recovery plans for listed species, 
unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular 
species. Also pursuant to section 4(f) of the Act, a recovery plan 
must, to the maximum extent practicable, include (1) a description of 
site-specific management actions as may be necessary to achieve the 
plan's goals for the conservation and survival of the species; (2) 
objective, measurable criteria that, when met, would support a 
determination under section 4(a)(1) that the species should be removed 
from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species; and (3) estimates 
of the time and costs required to carry out those measures needed to 
achieve the plan's goal and to achieve intermediate steps toward that 
goal.
    The Service has revised its approach to recovery planning. The 
revised process is intended to reduce the time needed to develop and 
implement recovery plans, increase recovery plan relevancy over a 
longer timeframe, and add flexibility to recovery plans so they can be 
adjusted to new information or circumstances. A recovery plan will 
include statutorily required elements (objective, measurable criteria, 
site-specific management actions, and estimates of time and costs), 
along with a concise introduction and our strategy for how we plan to 
achieve species recovery. The recovery plan is supported by a separate 
Species Status Assessment. The essential component to flexible 
implementation under this recovery process is producing a separate 
working document called the Recovery Implementation Strategy 
(implementation strategy). The implementation strategy steps down from 
the more general description of actions in the recovery plan to detail 
the specific, near-term activities needed to implement the recovery 
plan. The implementation strategy will be adaptable by being able to 
incorporate new information without having to concurrently revise the 
recovery plan, unless changes to statutory elements are required. The 
implementation strategy will be developed following publication of the 
final recovery plan and will be made available on the Service's website 
at that time.

Species Background

    The EMR is a small pit viper that occurred historically in 10 
States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New 
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) and in Ontario, Canada. It is 
believed that populations have been extirpated in at least two States 
(Minnesota and Missouri). The species is impacted by a number of 
threats. The loss of habitat was historically, and continues to be, the 
threat with greatest impact to the species, either through loss of 
habitat to development or through changes in habitat structure due to 
vegetative succession. Poaching, either by persecution or illegal 
collection for the pet trade, is also a continuing threat. Disease, new 
or increasingly prevalent, is another emerging threat to the EMR. 
Additionally, this species is vulnerable to the effects of climate 
change through increasing intensity of winter droughts and increasing 
risk of summer floods,

[[Page 11099]]

particularly in the southwestern part of its range. (Refer to the 
Species Status Assessment Report (Szymanski et al. 2016) for a full 
discussion of the species' biology and threats.) Under the Act, the 
Service added the eastern massasauga rattlesnake as a threatened 
species to the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife on 
September 30, 2016 (81 FR 67193).

Recovery Plan

Recovery Strategy

    The recovery strategy for the EMR includes addressing the threats 
of habitat loss due to development, conversion of habitat to 
agriculture, changes to land cover due to succession by invasive woody 
species, persecution or poaching, effects of climate change (flooding 
or drought), and emerging diseases. Maintaining healthy populations 
will require protecting sufficient quantity of high-quality habitat and 
the reduction or management of threats where these populations occur. 
To maximize use of limited resources, we need to identify, then focus 
management and protection on, specific populations that will ensure 
that the species' breadth of adaptive diversity is maintained. The 
strategy also includes increasing public tolerance and support for EMR 
conservation by working with landowners, partners, and the public. 
Lastly, successful recovery will necessitate an adaptive management 
approach. Using an adaptive management framework and monitoring during 
recovery implementation will allow us to evaluate how to best manage 
for suitable habitat conditions, protect against disease epidemics, and 
lessen the effects of climate change to ensure that the recovery 
actions are effective in recovering the EMR.

Recovery Criteria

    The ultimate recovery goal is to remove the eastern massasauga 
rattlesnake from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 
(delist) by ensuring the long-term viability of the species in the 
wild. In the recovery plan, we define the following delisting criteria 
based on the best available information on the species:
    1. The probability of continued persistence over 50 years is 95 
percent within each of 3 conservation units.
    2. An adequate quantity and configuration of land is being managed 
and is expected to continue to be managed in a way that will support 
EMR populations such that a probability of persistence of 95 percent 
over 50 years in each of the 3 conservation units is maintained.
    3. Threats from climate change and disease are addressed such that 
a probability of persistence of 95 percent over 50 years in each of the 
3 conservation units is maintained.
    The map showing the three species conservation units is available 
on the internet at https://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/reptiles/eama/index.html.

Availability of Public 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

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

Lori H. Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2020-03778 Filed 2-25-20; 8:45 am]
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