[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31726-31728]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12455]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2020-N041; FXES11130400000C2-201-FF04E00000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery 
Plan for White Fringeless Orchid

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 for public review and comment of the draft recovery plan 
for the Platanthera integrilabia (white fringeless orchid), a plant 
listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. We request 
review and comment on the draft recovery plan

[[Page 31727]]

from local, State, and Federal agencies, Tribes, nongovernmental 
organizations, and the public.

DATES: We must receive comments by August 16, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining documents: You may obtain or request a copy by any 
of the following methods:
     Internet: http://www.fws.gov/cookeville/;
     Telephone: Geoff Call, 931-525-4983; or
    Submitting comments: If you wish to comment, you may submit your 
comments by the following method:
     Email: [email protected]. Please include ``White 
Fringeless Orchid Draft Recovery Plan Comments'' in the subject line.
    For additional information about submitting comments, see Public 
Comments below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Geoff Call, [email protected], 931-
525-4983. 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 for public review and comment of 
the draft recovery plan for the Platanthera integrilabia (white 
fringeless orchid), a plant listed as threatened under the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The draft recovery plan 
includes specific recovery objectives and criteria we have identified 
to better assist us in determining when the protections of the ESA are 
no longer necessary. We request review and comment on this draft 
recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, nongovernmental 
organizations, and the public.

Background

    White fringeless orchid is a perennial herb of the Orchidaceae 
family (orchid family). The species is restricted to 48 populations in 
6 southeastern states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South 
Carolina, and Tennessee. White fringeless orchid habitat has 
historically been described as partially shaded areas with sandy and 
acidic soils in wet areas like seeps, bogs, or swamps; however, the 
species also occurs in areas that differ in light and moisture 
availability.
    The ESA states that a species may be listed as endangered or 
threatened based on one or more of the five factors outlined in section 
4(a)(1). The white fringeless orchid is threatened primarily by 
destruction and modification of habitat (Listing Factor A) resulting in 
excessive shading, soil disturbance, altered hydrology, and 
proliferation of invasive plant species; collecting for recreational or 
commercial purposes (Listing Factor B); herbivory (Listing Factor C); 
and small population sizes and dependence on specific pollinators and 
fungi to complete its life cycle (Listing Factor E). Existing 
regulatory mechanisms have not reduced or removed the threats posed to 
the species from these factors (Listing Factor D). As a result of these 
threats, white fringeless orchid was listed as threatened under the ESA 
on September 13, 2016 (81 FR 62826).

Recovery Plan

    Section 4(f)(1) 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. The purpose of a recovery plan is 
to provide an effective and feasible roadmap for a species' recovery, 
with the goal of improving its status and managing its threats to the 
point where the protections of the ESA are no longer needed. The ESA 
requires that, to the maximum extent practicable, recovery plans 
incorporate the following:
     Objective, measurable criteria which, when met, would 
result in a determination that the species is no longer threatened or 
endangered;
     Site-specific management actions necessary to achieve the 
plan's goal for conservation and survival of the species; and
     Estimates of the time required and costs to implement 
recovery plans.
    Recovery plans provide important guidance to the Service, States, 
other partners, and the general public on methods for minimizing 
threats to listed species and objectives against which to measure the 
progress towards recovery. A recovery plan identifies, organizes, and 
prioritizes recovery actions and is an important guide that ensures 
sound scientific decision-making throughout the recovery plan, which 
can take decades.
    Section 4(f)(4) of the ESA requires us to provide public notice and 
an opportunity for public review and comment during recovery plan 
development. We will consider all information presented during a public 
comment period prior to approval of each new or revised recovery plan. 
We and other Federal agencies will take these comments into 
consideration in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
    The draft recovery plan for the white fringeless orchid describes 
actions necessary for the recovery of the species, establishes criteria 
for its delisting, and estimates the time and cost for implementing 
specific measures needed to recover the species. The ultimate goal of 
this draft recovery plan is to ensure the long-term viability of the 
white fringeless orchid in the wild to the point that it can be removed 
from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants in title 50 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 17.12).

Recovery Criteria

    The draft recovery plan proposes that the white fringeless orchid 
will be considered for delisting when:
    1. Monitoring over a 10-year period demonstrates stable or 
increasing population growth rates for at least 26 protected 
populations with resilience levels of moderate to very high (as 
described in the Species Status Assessment). To ensure adequate 
representation and redundancy, these populations must be distributed 
among Environmental Protection Agency Level III Ecoregions as shown in 
the following table (addresses Factors A and E):

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                                                                         Resilience level
                                                                 --------------------------------
                       Level III ecoregion                                         High or  very       Total
                                                                     Moderate          high
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Blue Ridge......................................................               2               1               3
Piedmont........................................................               2               2               4
Ridge and Valley................................................  ..............               1               1
Southeastern Plains.............................................               1               1               2
Southwestern Appalachians *.....................................              10               6              16
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* At least two of the resilient populations in the Southwestern Appalachians should be located in Georgia or
  Alabama to ensure representation in the southern portion of the ecoregion.


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    2. Written management agreements have been reached with partners/
landowners that allow for sustained monitoring and management of white 
fringeless orchid populations that demonstrate moderate to very high 
resilience (addresses Factor A).
    3. The species could be considered for delisting if 40 populations 
with resilience levels of moderate to very high (as described in the 
SSA), protected or unprotected, are distributed among the EPA Level III 
Ecoregions where the species occurs. At least half of these populations 
must have resilience levels of high or very high (addresses Factor A 
and E).

Request for Public Comments

    We request written comments on the draft recovery plan. We will 
consider all comments we receive by the date specified in DATES prior 
to final approval of the plan.
    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, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Leopoldo Miranda-Castro,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-12455 Filed 6-14-21; 8:45 am]
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