[Federal Register: March 18, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 52)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 13068-13071]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18mr10-27]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2010-0011]
[MO 92210-0-0008-B2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on
a Petition to List the Berry Cave Salamander as Endangered
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of petition finding and initiation of status review.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a 90-day
finding on a petition to list the Berry Cave salamander (Gyrinophilus
gulolineatus) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended. Based on our review, we find that the petition presents
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that
listing this species may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication
of this notice, we are initiating a review of the status of the species
to determine if listing the Berry Cave salamander is warranted. To
ensure that this status review is comprehensive, we are requesting
scientific and commercial data and other information regarding this
species. Based on the status review, we will issue a 12-month finding
on the petition, which will address whether the petitioned action is
warranted, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act.
DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request
that we receive information on or before May 17, 2010. After this date,
you must submit information directly to the Field Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below). Please note that we may not
be able to address or incorporate information that we receive after the
above requested date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit information by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Search for Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2010-0011 and follow the instructions
for submitting comments.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: FWS-R4-ES-2010-0011; Division of Policy and Directives
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will post all information received on http://
www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Information Requested
section below for more details).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary E. Jennings, Field Supervisor,
Cookeville Ecological Services Field Office, 446 Neal Street,
Cookeville, TN, 38501; by telephone (931-528-6481); or by facsimile
(931-528-7075). Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Information Requested
When we make a finding that a petition presents substantial
information indicating that listing a species may be warranted, we are
required to promptly review the status of the species (status review).
For the status review to be complete and based on the best available
scientific and commercial information, we request information on the
Berry Cave salamander from governmental agencies, Native American
Tribes, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested
parties. We seek information on:
(1) The species' biology, range, and population trends, including:
(a) Habitat requirements for feeding, breeding, and sheltering;
(b) Genetics and taxonomy;
(c) Historical and current range, including distribution patterns;
(d) Historical and current population levels, and current and
projected trends; and
(e) Past and ongoing conservation measures for the species, its
habitat, or both.
(2) The factors that are the basis for making a listing determination
for a species under section 4(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), which are:
(a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or
curtailment of its habitat or range;
(b) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes;
(c) Disease or predation;
(d) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or
(e) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued
existence.
(3) The potential effects of climate change on this species and its
habitat.
If, we determine that listing the Berry Cave salamander is
warranted, it is our intent to propose critical habitat to the maximum
extent prudent and determinable at the time we propose to list the
species. Therefore, with regard to areas within the geographical range
currently occupied by the Berry Cave salamander, we also request data
and information on what may constitute physical or biological features
essential to the conservation of the species, where these features are
currently found, and whether any of these features may require special
management considerations or protection.
In addition, we request data and information regarding whether
there are areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species
that are essential for the conservation of the species. Please provide
specific comments and information as to what, if any, critical habitat
you think we should propose for designation if the species is proposed
for listing, and why such habitat meets the requirements of the Act.
Please include sufficient information with your submission (such as
scientific journal articles, other supporting publications, or data) to
allow us to
[[Page 13069]]
verify any scientific or commercial information you include.
Submissions merely stating support for or opposition to the action
under consideration, without providing supporting information, although
noted, will not be considered in making a determination. Section
4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs that determinations as to whether any
species is an endangered or threatened species must be made ``solely on
the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available.''
You may submit your information concerning this status review by
one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. If you submit
information via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire submission--
including any personal identifying information--will be posted on the
website. If you submit a hardcopy that includes personal identifying
information, you may request at the top of your document that we
withhold this personal identifying information from public review.
However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will
post all hardcopy submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.
Information and supporting documentation that we received and used
in preparing this finding will be available for public inspection on
http://www.regulations.gov, or you may make an appointment during
normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Cookeville Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act requires that we make a finding on
whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species presents
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the
petitioned action may be warranted. We are to base this finding on
information provided in the petition, supporting information submitted
with the petition, and information otherwise available in our files. To
the maximum extent practicable, we are to make this finding within 90
days of our receipt of the petition and publish our notice of the
finding promptly in the Federal Register.
Our standard for substantial scientific or commercial information
within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with regard to a 90-day
petition finding is ``that amount of information that would lead a
reasonable person to believe that the measure proposed in the petition
may be warranted'' (50 CFR 424.14(b)). If we find that substantial
scientific or commercial information was presented, we are required to
promptly review the status of the species, which is subsequently
summarized in our 12-month finding.
Petition History
On January 22, 2003, we received a petition dated January 15, 2003,
from Dr. John Nolt, University of Tennessee - Knoxville, requesting
that we list the Berry Cave salamander as endangered under the Act. The
petition clearly identified itself as such and included the requisite
identification information for the petitioner, as required in 50 CFR
424.14(a). In a February 24, 2003, letter to the petitioner, we
responded that we had reviewed the petition but that, due to court
orders and settlement agreements for other listing and critical habitat
actions that required nearly all of our listing and critical habitat
funding for fiscal year 2003, we would not be able to further address
the petition at that time.
Species Information
The Berry Cave salamander (Gyrinophilus gulolineatus) was
recognized as a distinct aquatic cave-dependant taxon when it was
originally described as a subspecies (G. palleucus gulolineatus) of the
Tennessee cave salamander (G. palleucus) by Brandon (1965, pp. 346-
352). The Tennessee cave salamander is found in eastern and middle
Tennessee, northern Alabama, and northwestern Georgia. The Tennessee
cave salamander is related to the spring salamander (G. porphyriticus);
however, unlike the spring salamander, it is usually found in caves and
is neotenic, meaning that it normally retains larval characteristics as
an adult. Individuals occasionally metamorphose and lose their larval
characters (Simmons 1976, p. 256; Yeatman and Miller 1984, pp. 305-
306), and metamorphosis can be induced by subjecting them to hormones
(Dent and Kirby-Smith 1963, p. 123).
Three taxonomic entities have been formally described within the
Tennessee cave salamander species complex. The pale salamander (G. p.
palleucus) is the most widely distributed member of the group and is
found in middle Tennessee, northern Alabama, and northwestern Georgia.
The Big Mouth Cave salamander (G. p. necturoides) is restricted to one
cave in middle Tennessee, and the Berry Cave salamander has been
recorded from five locations in eastern Tennessee.
The Berry Cave salamander is differentiated from other members of
the group by a distinctive dark stripe on the upper portion of the
throat, a wider head, a flatter snout, and possibly larger size
(Brandon 1965, p. 347). Based on these differences and its apparent
isolation from other members of the group, Collins (1991, p. 43)
recommended that this subspecies be recognized as a distinct species
(G. gulolineatus).
The Berry Cave salamander is restricted to the Ridge and Valley
Physiographic Province of eastern Tennessee. It has been reported from
Berry Cave, which is located south of Knoxville, Tennessee; from Mud
Flats, Meades Quarry, and Cruze Caves in Knoxville; and from an unknown
cave in the Athens, Tennessee, area. The Athens record is based solely
on three specimens collected in a roadside ditch that are presumed to
have washed out of a cave during flooding (Brandon 1965, pp. 348-349).
The species has not been observed in the Athens area since 1953.
Evaluation of Information for This Finding
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) and its implementing
regulations at 50 CFR 424 set forth the procedures for adding species
to, or removing a species from, the Federal Lists of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife and Plants. A species may be determined to be an
endangered or threatened species due to one or more of the five factors
described in section 4(a)(1) of the Act: (A) The present or threatened
destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (B)
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes; (C) disease or predation; (D) the inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms; or (E) other natural or manmade factors
affecting its continued existence.
In making this 90-day finding, we evaluated whether information
regarding threats to the Berry Cave salamander, as presented in the
petition and other information available in our files, is substantial,
thereby indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. Our
evaluation of this information is presented below.
A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment
of the Species' Habitat or Range
Information Provided in the Petition
The petitioner stated that the Berry Cave salamander is known from
only four populations, all in eastern Tennessee, and that all but one
of these populations are immediately threatened or already extirpated.
These four locations include Berry Cave in Roane County; Mud Flats Cave
in Knox County; an unknown location in the
[[Page 13070]]
town of Athens, McMinn County; and Meades Quarry/Cruze Cave complex in
South Knoxville, Knox County (treated as two separate localities in
discussion above). The petitioner stated that Berry Cave was the only
location containing a pure and unthreatened population of the species.
The petitioner stated that the only record of Berry Cave
salamanders from the town of Athens was based on a 1953 collection of
three specimens from a roadside ditch that was flooded by Oostanaula
Creek. These specimens were collected near a hole in the ground,
presumably an opening into a cave out of which the animals had been
washed, but the exact location was unknown. The petitioner concluded
that this population, if it still exists, is potentially under
pressures from development and pollution that affected other sites in
urban areas.
The petitioner also stated that the habitat in Mud Flats Cave was
degraded several years prior to the petition date, due to siltation
from a nearby housing development, and that efforts to find the Berry
Cave salamander subsequent to this development have failed, suggesting
this population might be extirpated. The petitioner also asserted that
if the species has survived at this location, it is subjected to
continued pollution and siltation from this development.
In addition, the petitioner asserted that Meades Quarry Cave and
Cruze Cave are connected, forming one system. Evidence of a connection
included: (1) Information on the position of Meades Quarry Cave, which
is thought to extend southwest in the general direction of Cruze Cave;
(2) the location of both caves within the Holston Formation, a long
band of relatively soluble marble-like limestone known as ``Tennessee
marble'' that is found in an area only a few hundred yards or meters
wide; and (3) genetic studies that suggest that salamanders from both
caves are part of the same population. The petitioner stated that if
the two caves are part of the same system, the proposed James White
Parkway, which would be located midway between the entrance to Meades
Quarry Cave and the entrance to Cruze Cave, must pass directly over the
system and constitutes a significant threat to the Meades Quarry/Cruze
Cave habitat of the Berry Cave salamander. In addition, the petitioner
stated that a proposed interchange for the James White Parkway would be
located on a hillside immediately above a sinkhole complex that lies in
the Holston formation, approximately midway between the entrances to
Cruze and Meades Quarry Caves. The sinkhole is presumably connected to
this cave system. The petitioner concluded that the proposed
construction project and resulting road would threaten the Berry Cave
salamander population by disrupting the food chain upon which the
species depends, increasing siltation in the cave system, and altering
the hydrologic and thermal regimes of the stream system. Other road-
related impacts to this site that the petitioner stated would threaten
the species either directly or by reducing its prey included filling of
cave passages with concrete, collapse of cave passages, pollution from
toxic runoff, and toxic chemical spills.
Evaluation of Information Provided in the Petition and Available in
Service Files
Information in Service files supports the petitioner's claim that
the Berry Cave salamander is known from only 4 populations in eastern
Tennessee (Wynn and Jacobs 1988, pers. comm.). In addition, we have no
information in our files indicating that Berry Cave salamanders have
been collected from the vicinity of Athens, Tennessee, since the
initial discovery there in 1953.
The source of much of the information included in the petition was
notes taken by the petitioner during a meeting about the Berry Cave
salamander and related taxa within the G. palleucus species complex,
which was held by the Service on December 10, 2002. Several persons
knowledgeable about the distribution, status, and ongoing taxonomic
studies of the species were present at that meeting. During this
meeting, Ron Caldwell reported that he visited Mud Flats Cave in 1994
and did not observe any salamanders. At the time of the visit, the mud
in the cave was hip deep whereas the mud was only ankle deep during
prior visits he made to the cave. He also reported that a housing
development had filled in a sinkhole overlaying the cave and that lawn
runoff from the development and from a golf course may be impacting the
cave (Caldwell 2002, pers. comm.).
If the James White Parkway is constructed as the petitioner
describes, the habitat of the Berry Cave salamander may be negatively
impacted. Construction of the parkway has the potential to cause
erosion of surrounding land and cause excessive siltation to enter the
Meades Quarry/Cruze Cave complex, which in turn could cause a
disruption in the amount of organic matter (salamander food source)
entering the cave complex. It could also cause fluctuations in water
flow through the cave system, fluctuations in temperature of water
entering the cave system, and an increase in pollution from toxic
runoff. We believe that these factors could lead to a decline in the
population in the Meades Quarry/Cruze Cave complex, given the apparent
decline at Mud Flats Cave in the face of similar threats, primarily
excessive siltation. Because the Berry Cave salamander is restricted to
no more than four localities, one of which might already be extirpated
(see discussion above concerning Mud Flats Cave), we believe the
petitioner presents substantial information to suggest the species
could be placed at risk of becoming extinct in the foreseeable future.
In summary, we find that the information provided in the petition,
as well as other information in our files, presents substantial
scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned
action may be warranted due to present or threatened destruction,
modification, or curtailment of the species' habitat or range.
Specifically, the petitioner's claims that (1) the Mud Flats Cave
population of Berry Cave salamander may be extirpated and that habitat
in this location has been modified by siltation and other development-
related threats, and (2) the Meades Quarry/Cruze Cave complex may be
threatened by proposed road development in the vicinity of the cave,
indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted.
B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or
Educational Purposes
The petition presents no substantial scientific or commercial
information, nor do we have such information in our files, indicating
that the petitioned action may be warranted due to threats from
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes. However, we will evaluate all factors, including
threats from overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific,
or educational purposes, when we conduct our status review.
C. Disease or Predation
The petition presents no substantial scientific or commercial
information, nor do we have such information in our files, indicating
that the petitioned action may be warranted due to disease or
predation. However, we will evaluate all factors, including threats
from disease and predation, when we conduct our status review.
[[Page 13071]]
D. The Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
The petition presents no substantial scientific or commercial
information, nor do we have such information in our files, indicating
that the petitioned action may be warranted due to threats resulting
from the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms. However, we will
evaluate all factors, including the inadequacy of existing regulatory
mechanisms when we conduct our status review.
E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting the Species' Continued
Existence
Information Provided in the Petition
The petitioner stated that specimens so far collected from the
Meades Quarry/Cruze Cave complex have hybridized with the spring
salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus), which occurs near the cave
entrances.
Evaluation of Information Provided in the Petition and Available in
Service Files
The petitioner's claims concerning hybridization are supported by
correspondence in our files, which indicate that, based upon
electrophoretic data, populations in Meades Quarry and Cruze Caves
hybridize with spring salamanders (Wynn and Jacobs 1988, pers. comm.)
While this may be a natural occurrence that has gone on for quite some
time, there is a possibility that unique Berry Cave salamander genetic
material is being lost through interbreeding with spring salamanders,
threatening the genetic integrity of the species.
Therefore, we find that the information provided in the petition,
as well as other information in our files, presents substantial
scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned
action may be warranted due to the potential threat to the genetic
integrity of two of the four known populations of Berry Cave salamander
by hybridization with the spring salamander.
Finding
On the basis of our determination under section 4(b)(3)(A) of the
Act, we have determined that the petition presents substantial
scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the Berry
Cave salamander may be warranted. This finding is based on the
possibility of habitat loss and degradation from development, which has
been implicated in the reduction or possible loss of Berry Cave
salamanders in Mud Flats Cave. It is also based on the potential threat
of the loss of genetic diversity due to interbreeding between Berry
Cave and spring salamanders in Meades Quarry and Cruze caves. Because
we have found that the petition presents substantial information
indicating that listing the Berry Cave salamander may be warranted, we
are initiating a status review to determine whether listing the Berry
Cave salamander under the Act is warranted.
The ``substantial information'' standard for a 90-day finding
differs from the Act's ``best scientific and commercial data'' standard
that applies to a status review to determine whether a petitioned
action is warranted. A 90-day finding does not constitute a status
review under the Act. In a 12-month finding, we will determine whether
a petitioned action is warranted after we have completed a thorough
status review of the species, which is conducted following a
substantial 90-day finding. Because the Act's standards for 90-day and
12-month findings are different, as described above, a substantial 90-
day finding does not mean that the 12-month finding will result in a
warranted finding.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited is available on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov and upon request from the Cookeville
Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Author
The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the
Cookeville Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 9, 2010.
Rowan W. Gould,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5966 Filed 3-17- 10; 8:45 am]
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