[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 88 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24881-24882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09810]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2020-0122; FXES11130200000-212-FF02ENEH00]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery 
Plan for Kuenzler Hedgehog Cactus

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of our draft recovery plan for Kuenzler hedgehog cactus, a 
small cactus found in New Mexico. Kuenzler hedgehog cactus is listed as 
threatened under the Endangered Species Act. We provide this notice to 
seek comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local 
governments.

DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive written comments on or 
before July 9, 2021. However, we will accept information about any 
species at any time.

ADDRESSES: Reviewing documents: You may obtain a copy of the draft 
recovery plan, recovery implementation strategy, and species status 
assessment by any one of the following methods:
     Internet: Go to one of the following sites:
    [cir] http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2020-0122;
    [cir] https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=Q1VW; 
or
    [cir] https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/NewMexico/.
     U.S. mail: Send a request to U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office (NMESFO), 2105 
Osuna NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113.
     Telephone: 505-346-2525 or 800-299-0196.
    Submitting comments: Submit your comments on the draft recovery 
plan in writing by either of the following methods:
    [cir] Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R2-
ES-2020-0122; or
    [cir] U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No. FWS-
R2-ES-2020-0122; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/
3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803
    For additional information about submitting comments, see Request 
for Public Comments and Public Availability of Comments under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shawn Sartorius, Field Supervisor, at 
the above address and phone number, or by email at [email protected]. 
Individuals who are hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal 
Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), announce the availability of our draft recovery plan for 
Kuenzler hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus fendleri var. kuenzleri), listed 
as endangered in 1979 and reclassified to threatened in 2018 under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.). We request review and comment on this plan from local, State, 
and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public. We will also accept any 
new information on the status of Kuenzler hedgehog cactus throughout 
the species' range to assist in finalizing the recovery plan.
    Kuenzler hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus fendleri var. kuenzleri) is 
a small cactus that is endemic to the Sacramento Mountains in Lincoln 
County, New Mexico, and the Guadalupe Mountains in Eddy County, New 
Mexico. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objective, 
measurable criteria and management actions that, when achieved, will 
enable us to consider removing the Kuenzler hedgehog cactus from the 
Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List).

Background

    Section 4(f) of the ESA 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 ESA, 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

[[Page 24882]]

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.
    We used a streamlined approach to recovery planning and 
implementation by first conducting a species status assessment (SSA) of 
Kuenzler hedgehog cactus (Service 2017). An SSA is a comprehensive 
analysis of the species' needs, current condition, threats, and future 
viability. The information in the SSA provides the biological 
background, a threats assessment, and a basis for a strategy for 
recovery of Kuenzler hedgehog cactus. We then used this information to 
prepare an abbreviated draft recovery plan for Kuenzler hedgehog cactus 
that includes prioritized recovery actions, criteria for removing the 
species from the List, and the estimated time and cost to recovery.

Species Background

    Kuenzler hedgehog cactus was federally listed as endangered in 1979 
(October 26, 1979; 44 FR 61924) as Echinocereus kuenzleri, and 
downlisted to threatened in 2018 (May 11, 2018; 83 FR 21928). No 
critical habitat was designated, due to threat of collection. At the 
time of listing, fewer than 200 individuals had been documented at 11 
locations. Biologists and botanists have since found at least 4,330 
individual plants through inventories conducted from 1976 to 2015.
    This endemic cactus occurs primarily on Federal lands in New 
Mexico, ranging from the northwest side of the Sacramento Mountains in 
Lincoln County to the middle of the Guadalupe Mountains in Eddy County. 
The Kuenzler hedgehog cactus occupies gentle slopes (0.3-30.6 degrees) 
or benches with gravelly to rocky soils and southern, eastern, and 
western exposures (New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources 
Department 1989: pp. 93-94) in shrubby grassland and juniper savanna 
habitat types with tree cover varying from 2 to 25 percent, with 
grasses being the dominant vegetative cover (Sivinski 1999: pp. 1-2).
    The factors influencing the current and future health of 
populations include wildfire, livestock grazing, illegal collection, 
climate change, and small population size and low densities. These 
influences pose the greatest risks to the future viability of this 
species and are largely related to direct impacts such as mortality or 
removal, and habitat changes exacerbated by changing climatic 
conditions.

Recovery Criteria

    The draft recovery criteria are summarized below. For a complete 
description of the rationale behind the criteria, the recovery 
strategy, management actions, and estimated time and costs associated 
with recovery, refer to the Draft Recovery Plan for Kuenzler Hedgehog 
Cactus (see ADDRESSES for document availability).
    The ultimate recovery goal is to remove the Kuenzler hedgehog 
cactus from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 
(i.e., ``delist'' the species) by ensuring the long-term viability of 
the species in the wild. In the recovery plan, we define the following 
criteria for ``delisting,'' or removal of the species from the List, 
based on the best available information on the species.

Delisting Criteria

    Criterion 1 (Resiliency): Demonstrate a stable or increasing trend 
in abundance for the northern Sacramento, southern Sacramento, and 
Guadalupe Mountains core sites (Fort Stanton, Elk, Texas Hills) over a 
20-year period.
    Criterion 2 (Redundancy): Maintain a minimum of three 
geographically separated core sites over a 20-year period.
    Criterion 3 (Representation):
    3a. Maintain presence of Kuenzler hedgehog cactus at 80 percent of 
all known subpopulations (element occurrences) outside of the core 
sites over a 20-year period, with any extirpations compensated for by 
newly identified or colonized subpopulations.
    3b. Maintain genetic diversity within all core sites as measured by 
the inbreeding coefficient for individuals within subpopulations 
(FIS) at or within one standard deviation of the 
FIS from viable populations of a closely related cactus 
species with similar reproductive strategies.

Request for Public Comments

    Section 4(f) of the ESA requires us to provide public notice and an 
opportunity for public review and comment during recovery plan 
development. It is also our policy to request peer review of recovery 
plans (July 1, 1994; 59 FR 34270). In an appendix to the final recovery 
plan, we will summarize and respond to the issues raised by the public 
and peer reviewers. Comments may or may not result in changes to the 
recovery plan; comments regarding recovery plan implementation will be 
forwarded as appropriate to Federal or other entities so that they can 
be taken into account during the course of implementation of recovery 
actions. Responses to individual commenters will not be provided, but 
we will provide a summary of how we addressed substantive comments in 
an appendix to the final recovery plan.
    We invite written comments on this draft recovery plan. In 
particular, we are interested in additional information regarding the 
current threats to the species, ongoing beneficial management efforts, 
and the costs associated with implementing the recommended recovery 
actions. The species status assessment and recovery implementation 
strategy are accessible as supporting documents for the draft recovery 
plan, but we are not seeking comments on those documents.

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments received, including names and addresses, will become 
part of the administrative record and will be available to the public. 
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--will be publicly available. If you submit a hard copy 
comment that includes personal identifying information, you may request 
at the top of your document that we withhold this information from 
public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do 
so. Comments and materials we receive will be available, by 
appointment, for public inspection during normal business hours at our 
office (see ADDRESSES).

Authority

    We developed our draft recovery plan and publish this notice under 
the authority of section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-09810 Filed 5-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P