[PCA] Fw: [epa-species] Draft Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan for Eggert's

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

----- Forwarded by Patricia De Angelis/ARL/R9/FWS/DOI on 08/18/2005 04:35
PM -----

http://epa.gov/EPA-SPECIES/2005/August/Day-18/
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[Federal Register: August 18, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 159)]
[Notices]
[Page 48577-48579]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18au05-54]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

Draft Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan for Eggert's Sunflower
(Helianthus eggertii)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we) announces the
availability of the Draft Post-delisting Monitoring Plan for Eggert's
Sunflower (Helianthus eggertii) (PDM). We propose to monitor the status
of Eggert's sunflower over a 5-year period, from the date of final
delisting under the Endangered Species Act (Act) in 2005 through 2010.
Monitoring will be through (1) annual evaluation of information already
routinely being collected by 7 agencies that have entered into long-
term management agreements with us covering 27 populations of H.
eggertii, and (2) a total census of these populations during the 2nd
and 5th year of the monitoring period. We solicit review and comment on
this Monitoring Plan from local, State and Federal agencies, and the
public.

DATES: We will accept and consider all public comments received on or
before September 19, 2005.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment on this proposed PDM, you may submit
your comments by any one of several methods:
    1. You may submit written comments and information to the Field
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 446 Neal Street,
Cookeville, TN 38501.
    2. You may hand-deliver written comments to our Tennessee Field
Office at the above address or fax your comments to 931/528-7075.
    Comments and materials received, as well as supporting
documentation used in preparation of this draft PDM, are available for
public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the
Tennessee Field Office at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Merritt at the above address
(telephone 931/528-6481, extension 211).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comments Solicited

    We intend that the final PDM for H. eggertii will be accurate and
effective in helping us assess whether removal of the protections of
the Act leads to a deterioration of the status, and potential need for
emergency relisting, of H. eggertii. Therefore, we solicit comments or
suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the
scientific community, industry, or any other interested parties
concerning this proposed PDM.
    Comments may be submitted as indicated under ADDRESSES. Our
practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours.
A respondent may request that we withhold their home address from the
rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law.
There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the
rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you
wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not
consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses available for public inspection in their
entirety.
    In making a final decision on the PDM, we will take into
consideration the comments and any additional information we receive.
Comments and materials received, as well as supporting information used
to write the PDM, will be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business hours at the address indicated in
the ADDRESSES section.

Background

    The 1988 amendments to the Act require us to implement a system, in
cooperation with the States, to monitor all species that have been
delisted, or removed from the list of endangered and threatened species
listed under the Act, due to recovery efforts for at least 5 years
following delisting (section 4(g)(1)). The purpose of this PDM is to
verify that a species that is delisted, due to recovery, remains secure
from risk of extinction after it no longer has the protections of the
Act. If the species does not remain secure, we can use the emergency
listing authorities under section 4(b)(7) of the Act. Section 4(g) of
the Act explicitly requires cooperation with the States in development
and implementation of PDM programs. However, we are responsible for
compliance with section 4(g) and must remain actively engaged in all
phases of the PDM.
    By a separate rulemaking being published elsewhere in today's issue
of the Federal Register, the Service is delisting Eggert's sunflower, a
perennial herb found in Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee, due to
recovery and new information. The Service has drafted a

[[Page 48578]]

PDM for Eggert's sunflower and, by this Notice of Availability, we are
making it available for review. Following the end of the comment
period, any comments will be incorporated as appropriate into the final
PDM.
    There are currently 7 populations of Eggert's sunflower in Alabama,
18 populations in Kentucky, and 48 populations in Tennessee, for a
total of 73, that have more than 100 flower stems. This encompasses a
total of 287 currently known sites, far exceeding the 34 known at the
time of the species' listing, and we continue to find more sites. As
defined by the recovery plan for this plant, only 20 populations are
required for this plant to be considered for delisting.
    The Federal, State, and private conservation group landowners
involved in recovery activities for this species (see the final
delisting rule for H. eggertii elsewhere in this issue of the Federal
Register) are already monitoring the status of this species, either
through existing agreements or voluntarily. Kentucky Transportation
Cabinet (KTC), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Mammoth Cave National
Park (MCNP) have signed management agreements with us, covering 5
populations in Kentucky, to protect this species and monitor its status
for a period of 7 years for KTC and 10 years for TNC and MCNP. We also
have Cooperative Management Agreements with the Tennessee Wildlife
Resources Agency (TWRA), A.G. Beaman Park (AGBP), and Arnold Air Force
Base (AAFB) covering 21 populations in Tennessee, bringing the total
number of populations managed under long-term conservation agreements
to 27, considerably more than the 20 populations required for recovery
in the H. eggertii recovery plan. These landowners will protect these
populations and monitor their status for a period of 10 years. We will
seek active participation of all the entities that signed Cooperative
Management Agreements to assist us with the post-delisting
responsibilities for H. eggertii.
    Given the protection afforded by landowners, the current range of
this sunflower, and the number of newly discovered populations, we
believe what is needed for recovery of this plant has been achieved and
that the landowners involved will continue to assist us and likely
extend their management agreements to protect this plant past 7 to 10
years.
    Our Tennessee Field Office will coordinate with AAFB, TWRA, AGBP,
MCNP, KTC, TNC, and State resource agencies to implement an effective
5-year monitoring program to track the population status of H.
eggertii. We will annually evaluate the effectiveness of the
Cooperative Management Agreements in protecting H. eggertii
populations. To detect any changes in the status of H. eggertii, we
will use, to the fullest extent possible, information routinely
collected by these agencies on a yearly basis. In addition, we will
ensure that a total population census that includes both flowering
stems and total stems will be conducted during the second and fifth
years of the monitoring period for the 27 populations that are
protected on public lands. Based on the recovery criteria of needing 20
geographically distinct, self-sustaining populations that are secure
and have stable or increasing populations for 5 years, we believe that
monitoring the 27 populations that occur on public lands is sufficient
to determine if threats have been reduced or removed to a point at
which listing under the Act is no longer required.
    Monitoring for H. eggertii should ideally be performed between
August 15 and September 15, although the season may begin as early as
August 1 and end as late as October 15 depending on environmental
conditions (e.g., amount of rain during the growing season, etc.). The
following protocol will be used to monitor the 27 populations that are
protected on public lands.
    (1) Find the monitoring location using a combination of directions
and a GPS unit.
    (2) Evaluate the location for the presence/absence of Eggert's
sunflower.
    (3) Count to determine if there are ?100 flowering stems.
    (4) Count the total stems.
    (5) Search for evidence of any recruitment or juvenile plants and
note the relative abundance.
    (6) Take a GPS reading at the center of each colony and estimate
its width and length.
    (7) Draw the general shape of the colony and other land features.
    (8) Take digital pictures of the colony from a single point such as
one corner looking across the colony.
    (9) Perform a visual threats assessment of each occurrence using
the five following criteria: Invasive pest plants, habitat
modification, succession of woody species, disease, and herbivory/
insect damage. Assign ranks for each threat on the following scale: 1 =
no current threat, 2 = low current threat, 3 = moderate threat, 4 =
high threat, 5 = extreme immediate threat. A rank of ``1'' indicates
that the particular threat poses no impact at the time of observation
(e.g., there are no invasive pest plants present in the area). A low
threat rank (2) would indicate that the site may be impacted in the
future, but is not presently (e.g., occasional stems of an invasive
pest plant are present). A moderate threat rank (3) would indicate that
the threat is established at the occurrence, but does not appear to be
negatively impacting the occurrence at the time of observation. A high
threat rank (4) should be given when the threat is established at the
site and appears to be negatively impacting the occurrence. The extreme
rank (5) would be given when the threat is immediate and likely to
severely negatively impact the occurrence within the present or next
year's growing season.
    (10) Make qualitative notes on the general habitat conditions and
any land management. Describe the status of the occurrence in general.
    If we determine at the end of the 5-year post-delisting monitoring
period that ``recovered'' status is still appropriate and factors that
led to the listing of H. eggertii, or any new factors, remain
sufficiently reduced or eliminated, monitoring may be reduced or
terminated. If data show that the species is declining or if one or
more factors that have the potential to cause a decline are identified,
we will continue monitoring beyond the 5-year period and may modify the
PDM based on an evaluation of the results of the initial PDM, or
reinitiate listing if necessary.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)

    Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR 1320
implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.). The OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320.3 (c) define a ``collection of
information'' as the obtaining of information by or for an agency by
means of identical questions posed to, or identical reporting,
recordkeeping, or disclosure requirements imposed on, 10 or more
persons. Furthermore, 5 CFR 1320.3 (c)(4) specifies that ``10 or more
persons'' refers to the persons to whom a collection of information is
addressed by the agency within any 12-month period. For purposes of
this definition, employees of the Federal Government are not included.
A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number. The proposed PDM for Eggert's
sunflower requests that cooperating land owners/managers annually
provide the Service with population information they routinely collect.
These information requirements do not, however, require OMB approval
under the Paperwork Reduction Act, because

[[Page 48579]]

there are fewer than 10 non-Federal respondents.

Author

    The primary author of this proposed rule is Timothy Merritt (see
ADDRESSES section).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: July 5, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 05-16275 Filed 8-17-05; 8:45 am]
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