[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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