[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 88 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24883-24884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09763]



[[Page 24883]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2020-N107; FXES11130000-190-FF08E00000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery 
Plan for Mount Charleston Blue Butterfly

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability; 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 Mount Charleston Blue 
Butterfly (Icaricia [Plebejus] shasta charlestonensis), an endangered 
butterfly species, for public review and comment. We request review and 
comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal 
agencies; nongovernmental organizations; and the public.

DATES: We must receive any comments on the draft recovery plan on or 
before July 9, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain a copy of the recovery 
plan from our website at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html. Alternatively, you may contact the Southern Nevada 
Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4701 North 
Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130 (telephone 702-515-5230).
    Comment submission: If you wish to comment on the draft recovery 
plan, you may submit your comments in writing by any one of the 
following methods:
     U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, at the above address;
     Email: [email protected].
    For additional information about submitting comments, see the 
Request for Public Comments and Public Availability of Comments 
sections below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glen Knowles, Field Supervisor, at 
[email protected] or telephone 702-515-5230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants to the 
point where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their 
ecosystems is a primary goal of our endangered species program and the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.). Recovery means improvement of the status of listed species to 
the point at which listing is no longer necessary under the criteria 
specified in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. The Act requires the 
development of recovery plans for listed species, unless such a plan 
would not promote the conservation of a particular species.
    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 which, 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 U.S. Fish had Wildlife Service (USFWS) has revised its approach 
to recovery planning; the revised process is called Recovery Planning 
and Implementation (RPI). The RPI 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. 
Under RPI, 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 RPI recovery 
plan is supported by a separate Species Status Assessment, or in cases 
such as this one, a species biological report that provides the 
background information and threat assessment, which are key to recovery 
plan development. The essential component to flexible implementation 
under RPI 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 
described 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.
    Mount Charleston blue butterfly was federally listed as endangered 
under the Act in 2013 (USFWS 2013). USFWS designated critical habitat 
for the species in 2015 (USFWS 2015). Mount Charleston blue butterfly 
is endemic to the Spring Mountains in southern Nevada. Evidence of 
decreasing range and population size and the presence of ongoing 
threats to Mount Charleston blue butterfly resulted in its listing as 
endangered. The majority of the historic range and all currently 
occupied locations of the Mount Charleston blue butterfly are on lands 
managed by the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, Humboldt-
Toiyabe National Forest, United States Department of Agriculture Forest 
Service (Forest Service). Therefore, close coordination and cooperation 
will need to occur between the USFWS and Forest Service for recovery to 
be successful. Here we describe a draft recovery plan for the 
conservation and survival of the Mount Charleston blue butterfly.
    Threats facing the Mount Charleston blue butterfly increase the 
risk of extinction of the subspecies, given its few occurrences in a 
small area. The largest threats to Mount Charleston blue butterfly are 
the loss and degradation of habitat due to changes in natural fire 
regimes and succession, the implementation of recreational development 
projects and fuels reduction projects, and the increases in nonnative 
plants. These threats are likely to be exacerbated by the impact of 
climate change, which is anticipated to increase drought and extreme 
precipitation events.

Recovery Strategy

    The purpose of a recovery plan is to provide a framework for the 
recovery of a species so that protection under the Act is no longer 
necessary. A recovery plan includes scientific information about the 
species and provides criteria that enable us to gauge whether 
downlisting or delisting the species may be warranted. Furthermore, 
recovery plans help guide our recovery efforts by describing actions we 
consider necessary for each species' conservation and by estimating 
time and costs for implementing needed recovery measures.
    The primary threats to be addressed through this recovery strategy 
are the loss and degradation of habitat due to changes in natural fire 
regimes and succession, the implementation of recreational development 
projects and fuels reduction projects, feral horses, and the increases 
in nonnative plants. Habitat for Mount Charleston blue butterfly may be 
increased through properly sited and implemented management actions to 
favor optimal habitat quantity, quality, and patch arrangement. Where 
appropriate, habitat

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that once existed may be restored; habitat that currently exists should 
be protected and may be enhanced or augmented; and, where conditions 
are suitable, new habitat may be created. After an evaluation is 
completed, population growth and connectivity may be assisted with 
translocation, if necessary, to ensure conservation and expedite 
recovery of the Mount Charleston blue butterfly. Evaluations, 
monitoring, and research will be implemented to inform decisions 
towards the recovery goal.
    To downlist to threatened status and ultimately delist the Mount 
Charleston blue butterfly will require active and ongoing protection of 
existing populations and occupied habitat, and discovered or 
established new habitat. Additional habitat and locations that can be 
categorized as known occupied are critical to ensure Mount Charleston 
blue butterfly life history processes, population growth, and 
connectivity will occur, thereby ensuring the genetic diversity of the 
species, sufficiently large populations to withstand stochastic events, 
and a sufficiently large number of populations to provide a safety 
margin to withstand catastrophic events.

Request for Public Comments

    We request written comments on the draft recovery plan described in 
this notice. All comments received by the date specified in DATES will 
be considered in development of a final recovery plan for Mount 
Charleston blue butterfly. You may submit written comments and 
information by mail or email to the Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife 
Office at the above address (see ADDRESSES).

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

    We developed this recovery plan and publish this notice under the 
authority of section 4(f) of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Paul Souza,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2021-09763 Filed 5-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P