[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35819-35821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14464]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R6-ES-2019-N156; FXES11140600000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Recovery 
Plan for Mosquito Range Mustard

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability for review and comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of a draft recovery plan for Mosquito Range mustard, a 
plant species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. We 
are requesting review and comment from the public on this draft plan.

[[Page 35820]]


DATES: We must receive any comments on the draft recovery plan on or 
before September 7, 2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Document availability: Copies of the draft recovery plan are 
available at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html. 
Alternatively, you may request a copy by U.S. mail from the Western 
Colorado Ecological Services Field Office; 445 W Gunnison Ave. #240; 
Grand Junction, CO 81501; or by telephone at 970-243-2778. Persons who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay 
Service at 800-877-8339.
    Submitting comments: If you wish to comment on the draft recovery 
plan, you may submit your comments in writing by email to Ann 
Timberman, at [email protected], or by U.S. mail to Ann Timberman, 
Western Slope Field Supervisor, at the above U.S. mail address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Timberman, Western Slope Field 
Supervisor, at the above U.S. mail address or by telephone at 970-243-
2778. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call 
the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), announce the availability of a draft recovery plan for 
Mosquito Range mustard (Eutrema penlandii), a plant listed as 
threatened under the Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.). The draft recovery plan includes objective, measurable 
criteria, and site-specific management actions as may be necessary to 
remove the species from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened 
Plants. We are requesting review and comment from the public on this 
draft recovery plan.

Species Information

    On August 12, 1993, we listed Mosquito Range mustard as a 
threatened plant (July 28, 1993; 58 FR 40539). We did not designate 
critical habitat due to risk associated with vandalism.
    Mosquito Range mustard is a small, herbaceous plant in the mustard 
family (Brassicaceae), with white flowers and stout leaves. The species 
is found in high-elevation, alpine habitats of the Mosquito Mountain 
Range, in Lake, Park, and Summit Counties in central Colorado. The 
Mosquito Mountain Range is one of the driest and highest elevation 
mountain ranges in Colorado; therefore, temperatures are cold, winds 
are strong, and winters are long. The alpine areas where Mosquito Range 
mustard lives range in elevations from 3,600 to 4,050 meters (11,800 to 
13,280 feet) and are generally moist, fed by melting snowbanks, and 
contain a diverse and abundant moss community. Mosquito Range mustard 
is found primarily on public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service 
(approximately 51 percent) and the Bureau of Land Management (17 
percent). Approximately 31 percent of the overall range is privately 
owned, with the remaining 1 percent owned by the State of Colorado. 
There is no overlap of occupied habitat with Tribal lands.
    Currently, there are 26 known populations of the mosquito range 
mustard, distributed across approximately 100 hectares (246 acres) of 
habitat. Only 11 out of the 26 total known populations are 
characterized as relatively large, with high or moderate resiliency, 
each with 200 or more individuals. These 11 populations account for 
over 95 percent of the known number of individuals across the species' 
range and are considered to be the most resilient populations. The 
remaining 15 populations have fewer than 200 individuals and are 
considered to have low resiliency.
    The primary threats to Mosquito Range mustard, both at the time of 
listing and currently, are small and geographically isolated 
populations, climate change, the inadequacy of regulatory mechanisms, 
disturbances related to recreation, such as hiking, biking, camping, 
and off-highway vehicle use, disturbances related to mining, and 
alteration of hydrology. Please refer to our biological report for 
additional discussion and full analyses of the life history, ecology, 
and biological status for Mosquito Range mustard (Service 2021, 
entire).

Recovery Planning Process

    Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point 
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is 
a primary goal of the Service's endangered species program. Recovery 
means improving the status of a listed species to the point at which 
listing is no longer necessary according to the criteria specified 
under section 4(a)(1) of the Act. The Act requires recovery plans for 
listed species unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of 
a particular species. To help guide recovery efforts, we prepare 
recovery plans to promote the conservation of the species.
    The purpose of a recovery plan is to provide a recommended 
framework for the recovery of a species so that protection of the Act 
is no longer necessary. Pursuant to section 4(f) of the Act, a recovery 
plan must, to the maximum extent possible, include:
    (1) A description of site-specific management actions as may be 
necessary to achieve the plan's goal for the conservation and survival 
of the species;
    (2) Objective, measurable criteria which, when met, would support a 
determination under section 4(a)(1) of the Act that the species should 
be removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species; and
    (3) Estimates of 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 our new recovery planning and implementation (RPI) process 
to develop the draft recovery plan for Mosquito Range mustard. The RPI 
process helps reduce the time needed to develop and implement recovery 
plans, increases the relevancy of the recovery plan over longer 
timeframes, and adds flexibility so that the recovery plan can be more 
easily adjusted to new information and circumstances. Under our RPI 
process, a recovery plan will include the three statutorily required 
elements for recovery plans--objective and measurable criteria, site-
specific management actions, and estimates of time and cost--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 
biological report for Mosquito Range mustard (Service 2021, entire). 
The biological report is an in-depth, but not exhaustive, review of the 
species' biology and threats, an evaluation of its biological status, 
and an assessment of the resources and conditions needed to maintain 
long-term viability. The biological report provides the scientific 
background and threats assessment for Mosquito Range mustard, which are 
key to the development of the recovery plan. A third, separate working 
document, called the recovery implementation strategy (RIS), steps down 
the more general descriptions of actions in the recovery plan to detail 
the specifics needed to implement the recovery plan, which improves the 
flexibility of the recovery plan. The RIS will be adaptable, with new 
information on actions incorporated, as needed, without requiring a 
concurrent revision to the recovery plan, unless changes to the three 
statutory elements are required.

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Draft Recovery Plan

    Below, we summarize components from our draft recovery plan. Please 
reference the draft recovery plan for full details.
    The draft recovery plan describes the recovery goal for the 
Mosquito Range mustard as its long-term viability in the wild. For 
recovery, the species needs at least 11 (redundant) persistent 
(resilient) populations across the species' range, where population 
trends are stable or increasing and ecological and genetic diversity 
are maintained (representation). This would be achieved by implementing 
recovery actions, such as protecting, conserving, and monitoring known 
populations, surveying for additional populations, and coordinating 
with stakeholders.
    The draft recovery plan includes recovery criteria for delisting. 
The delisting criteria include:
    (1) Maintaining population trends for the Mosquito Range mustard 
that are stable or increasing, according to objective measures that are 
described in the draft recovery plan; and
    (2) Maintaining existing regulatory mechanisms or other 
conservation plans that currently provide protections for Mosquito 
Range mustard and including protections in any new or amended land 
management plans on Federal lands.

Peer Review

    In accordance with our July 1, 1994, peer review policy (59 FR 
34270; July 1, 1994); our August 22, 2016, Director's Memo on the Peer 
Review Process; and the Office of Management and Budget's December 16, 
2004, Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review (revised June 
2012), we will seek the expert opinion of at least three appropriate 
and independent specialists regarding scientific data and 
interpretations contained in the species biological report and the 
draft recovery plan. We will send copies of both documents to the peer 
reviewers immediately following publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register. We will ensure that the opinions of peer reviewers 
are objective and unbiased by following the guidelines set forth in the 
Director's Memo, which updates and clarifies Service policy on peer 
review (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2016). The purpose of such 
review is to ensure that our decisions are based on scientifically 
sound data, assumptions, and analysis. Accordingly, our final species 
biological report and recovery plan may differ from the draft 
documents. We will post the results of this structured peer review 
process on our website at https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/science/peerReview.php. We also submitted our biological report to our Federal 
and State partners for their scientific review. The biological report 
is the scientific foundation for the draft recovery plan.

Request for Public Comments

    All comments we receive by the date specified (see DATES) will be 
considered prior to approval of the recovery plan. Written comments and 
materials regarding the recovery plan should be sent via one of the 
means in the ADDRESSES section.
    We will consider all information we receive during the public 
comment period, and particularly look for comments that provide 
scientific rationale or factual background. The Service and other 
Federal agencies and partners will take these comments into 
consideration in the course of implementing an approved final recovery 
plan. We are specifically seeking comments and suggestions on the 
following questions:
     Understanding that the time and cost presented in the 
draft recovery plan will be fine-tuned when localized recovery 
implementation strategies are developed, do you think that the 
estimated time and cost to recovery are realistic? Is the estimate 
reflective of the time and cost of actions that may have already been 
implemented by Federal, State, county, or other agencies? Please 
provide suggestions or methods for determining a more accurate 
estimation.
     Do the draft recovery criteria provide clear direction to 
partners on what is needed to recover Mosquito Range mustard? How could 
they be improved for clarity?
     Are the draft recovery criteria both objective and 
measurable given the information available for Mosquito Range mustard 
now and into the future? Please provide suggestions.
     Understanding that specific, detailed, and area-specific 
recovery actions will be developed in the RIS, do you think that the 
draft recovery actions presented in the draft recovery plan generally 
cover the types of actions necessary to meet the recovery criteria? If 
not, what general actions are missing? Are any of the draft recovery 
actions unnecessary for achieving recovery? Have we prioritized the 
actions appropriately?

Public Availability of Comments

    We will summarize and respond to the issues raised by the public in 
an appendix to the approved final recovery 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. You may request at the top of your 
comment that we withhold this information from public review; however, 
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).

Matthew Hogan,
Deputy Regional Director, Lakewood, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 2021-14464 Filed 7-6-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P