[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49422-49440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19632]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2013-0089; 4500030113]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding
on a Petition to List the Rattlesnake-Master Borer Moth (Papaipema
eryngii) as an Endangered or Threatened Species
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition finding.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
12-month finding on a petition to list the rattlesnake-master borer
moth (Papaipema eryngii) as an endangered or a threatened species under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After review of
the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that
listing the rattlesnake-master borer moth is warranted. Currently,
however, listing the rattlesnake-master borer moth is precluded by
higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife and Plants. Upon publication of this 12-month petition
finding, we will add the rattlesnake-master borer moth to our candidate
species list. We will develop a proposed rule to list the rattlesnake-
master borer moth as our priorities allow. In any interim period, we
will address the status of the candidate taxon through our annual
Candidate Notice of Review (CNOR).
DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on August 14,
2013.
ADDRESSES: This finding is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS-R3-ES-2013-0089. Supporting
documentation we used in preparing this finding is available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1511 47th Ave, Moline, IL 61265. Please
submit any new information, materials, comments, or questions
concerning this finding to the above street address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard C. Nelson, Field Supervisor,
Rock Island Field Office (see ADDRESSES); by telephone at 309-757-5800;
or by facsimile at 309-757-5807. If you use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires
that, for any petition to revise the Federal Lists of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife and Plants that contains substantial scientific or
commercial information that listing a species may be warranted, we make
a finding within 12 months of the date of receipt of the petition. In
this finding, we will determine that the petitioned action is: (1) Not
warranted; (2) warranted; or (3) warranted, but the immediate proposal
of a regulation implementing the petitioned action is precluded by
other pending proposals to determine whether species are endangered or
threatened, and expeditious progress is being made to add or remove
qualified species from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife and Plants. Section 4(b)(3)(C) of the Act requires that we
treat a petition for which the requested action is found to be
warranted but precluded as though resubmitted on the date of such
finding, that is, requiring a subsequent finding to be made within 12
months. We must publish these 12-month findings in the Federal
Register.
Previous Federal Actions
On June 25, 2007, we received a formal petition dated June 18,
2007, from Forest Guardians (now WildEarth Guardians), requesting that
the rattlesnake-master borer moth be listed as either endangered or
threatened under the Act with critical habitat.
The petitioner incorporated into the petition all analyses,
references, and documentation provided by NatureServe in its online
database at http://www.natureserve.org/. The petition clearly
identified itself as a petition and included the appropriate
identification information, as required in 50 CFR 424.14(a). We sent a
letter to the petitioner dated July 11, 2007, acknowledging receipt of
the petition and stating that the petition was under review by staff in
our Southwest Regional Office. On March 19, 2008, WildEarth Guardians
filed a complaint indicating that the Service failed to
[[Page 49423]]
comply with its mandatory duty to make a preliminary 90-day finding on
the June 18, 2007, petition to list 475 southwest species. We
subsequently published an initial 90-day finding for 270 of the 475
petitioned species on January 6, 2009, concluding that the petition did
not present substantial information that listing of those species may
be warranted (74 FR 419). On March 13, 2009, the Service and WildEarth
Guardians filed a stipulated settlement agreement, agreeing that the
Service would submit to the Federal Register a finding as to whether
WildEarth Guardians' petition presents substantial information
indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for the
remaining southwestern species by December 9, 2009. On December 16,
2009, we published a 90-day finding that the petition presented
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that
listing may be warranted for 67 species, including the rattlesnake-
master borer moth (74 FR 66866).
This notice constitutes the 12-month finding on the WildEarth
Guardians' petition to list the rattlesnake-master borer moth as an
endangered or threatened species.
Species Information
Taxonomy and Species Description
The rattlesnake-master borer moth is a member of the family
Noctuidae (owlet moths) and was first described in 1917 from
individuals collected near Chicago, Illinois (Bird 1917, pp. 125-128).
The genus Papaipema contains 53 species, all of which are found in
North America and are root or stem boring (Schweitzer et al. 2011, p.
349; Panzer 1998, p. 48). Rattlesnake-master borer moth is the accepted
common name for Papaipema eryngii.
The adult rattlesnake-master borer moth measures 3.5-4.8
centimeters (cm) (1.4-1.9 inches) (Bird 1917, p. 125). It has a smooth
head with simple antennae and a tufted body (Forbes 1954, p. 191, Bird
1917, p. 125). The forewing is rich purple brown to red brown becoming
lighter and showing yellow powderings near the inner margin, a
yellowish white dot at the base, and a powdery yellow patch at the apex
(Bird 1917, p. 125). The middle of the forewing contains several
distinct white and yellow spots (Bird 1917, p. 125). The hind wing is
duller than the forewing and is described by Bird (1917, p. 125) as
smoky fawn overlaid with dark purplish powderings becoming darker at
the margin. Male rattlesnake-master borer moths have distinctively
identifiable genitalia, which allow distinction from other Papaipema
moths of similar appearance (Forbes 1954, p. 193; Bird 1917, p. 126).
Rattlesnake-master borer moth larvae develop in five instars, all of
which have a yellowish head and are deep purplish brown with
longitudinal white lines that are broken over the first four abdominal
segments (Hessel 1954, p. 62; Bird 1917, p. 127).
Life History
Rattlesnake-master borer moths are univoltine (having a single
flight per year) with adults emerging from mid-September to mid-
October, and flying through mid- to late October or when the weather
becomes too cold (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.; Hessel 1954, p. 59;
Forbes 1954, p. 198; Bird 1917, p. 128). Their nocturnal habits make
them hard to observe, thus adults feeding habits are unknown. Based on
their short adult flight span, their underdeveloped mouth parts, and
the large amount of stored fat, researchers postulate that they likely
do not need much for nectar sources and likely use dew or oozing sap
for imbibing moisture (Wiker 2013, pers. comm.). Adults will drink from
sugar water when held in captivity (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). Based
on their coloring, researchers believe the moths likely spend their
days attached to plants or on the bottom of leaves, where their
presence is camouflaged (Wiker 2013, pers. comm.).
In mid-October, females drop their eggs in the vicinity of the food
plant, Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake-master), where the eggs
overwinter in the duff; young larvae emerge between mid-May and early
June (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4; Bird
1917, p. 126). Rattlesnake-master borer moths are monophagous (have
only one food source), with larvae feeding exclusively on rattlesnake-
master (Panzer 2003, p. 18; Hessel 1954, p. 59; Forbes 1954, p. 198;
Bird 1917, p. 124). When larvae first emerge, they feed on the leaves
of the host plant and the second instars burrow into the stem (or root)
and on into the root where they remain until they pupate in mid- to
late August (Derkovitz, pers. comm. 2013; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4;
Bird 1917, p. 127). During the time that the larvae are actively boring
into the host plant, researchers have detected cannibalistic behavior
with some caterpillars moving into already occupied bore holes, killing
the occupant and pushing them back out (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4).
Rattlesnake-master borer moths diapause in the chamber they create in
the host plant and pupation appears to take place either inside the
chamber or in the soil and lasts 2-3 weeks (Derkovitz 2013, pers.
comm.; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4; Bird 1917, p. 127). The boring
activities of the rattlesnake-master borer moth generally result in the
plant not producing a flower and can be fatal to the host plant (Wiker
2013, pers. comm.; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4).
Although there are no specific data on their home range,
rattlesnake-master borer moths are not thought to disperse widely and
have been described as ``relatively sedentary'' (LaGesse et al. 2009,
p. 4; Panzer 2003, p. 18). Panzer (2003, p. 19) found that female
rattlesnake-master borer moths dispersed up to 120 meters (m) (394 feet
(ft)) from where they were released and some traversed a 25-m (82-ft)
gap that was devoid of host plants. LaGesse et al. (2009, p. 4)
indicate that rattlesnake-master borer moths will disperse up to 2
miles (3-6 kilometers (km)) if the number of host plants is limiting.
Habitat
Rattlesnake-master borer moths are obligate residents of
undisturbed prairie and woodland openings that contain their only food
plant, rattlesnake-master (Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 351; LaGesse et
al. 2009, p. 4; Panzer 2002, p. 1298; Molano-Florez 2001, p. 1; Panzer
et al. 1995, p. 115; Mohlenbrock 1986, p. 34; Hessel 1954, p. 59;
Forbes 1954, p. 198; Bird 1917, p. 124). Although common in remnant
prairies, rattlesnake-master occurs in low densities; it is a
conservative species and has been found to have relative frequencies in
restored and relict prairies of less than 1 percent (Danderson and
Molano-Flores 2010, p. 235; Molano-Flores 2001, p. 1). The range of
rattlesnake-master covers much of the eastern United States and spans
from Minnesota south to Texas, east to Florida and back north to
Connecticut (U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plants Web site
2013, http://plants.usda.gov/java/; Danderson and Molano-Flores 2010,
p. 235). Although the plant has an expansive range, the loss of its
tallgrass prairie habitat within that area is estimated to be between
82-99 percent (Samson and Knopf 1994, p. 418). Most high-quality
prairies that remain are small and scattered across the landscape
(Robertson et al. 1997, p. 63). In 1997, Robertson et al. (1997, p. 63)
cited the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, which found that of the 253
grade A and B (high-quality) prairies identified, 83 percent were
smaller than 10 acres (4 hectares) and 30 percent were smaller than 1
acre (0.4 hectares). Most prairie destruction occurred between 1840 and
1900 (Robertson et al. 1997, p. 63).
[[Page 49424]]
Distribution and Status
All but one of the currently known rattlesnake-master borer moth
sites have been identified since 1994. Little historical data exists
for this species from before 1994. Some, but not all, of the sites have
had some subsequent survey work to monitor individual populations.
Surveys for rattlesnake-master borer moths are conducted for both
the adult and larval stage. Surveying for adult moths can be limiting,
due to their sedentary nature, relatively short flight time, and the
potential difficulties of surveying at night when the moths are active
(LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.; Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 19; LaGesse et
al. 2009, p. 7; Metzler et al. 2005, p. 59). The usual survey method
for Papaipema moths is with blacklight traps, although some researchers
have found that rattlesnake-master borer moth may not be attracted to
blacklights (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4). It
is difficult to determine population size based on capture of adults,
due to their irregular attraction to blacklights and the difficulty of
designing a study that would factor in how many adults may be flying at
a given time and how far they may range (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.;
Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 19; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 7).
Larval surveys are conducted by searching the host plant for signs
of boring (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 7). Rattlesnake-master show signs of
stress that indicate the occupancy of the root by rattlesnake-master
borer larvae, which usually leave a pile of frass (excrement) below the
bore hole (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.; Hall 2012, pers. comm.). One
benefit of larval surveys is that these surveys can be conducted for a
longer time because evidence of larval infestation remains even after
emergence (Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 13). Researchers will often
collect rattlesnake-master borer moth larvae and rear them to adulthood
to confirm identification, as other similar species have been found in
rattlesnake-master (such as the silphium borer moth (Papaipema
silphii)) (Wiker 2013, pers. comm.). Much of the available census data
for rattlesnake-master borer moths does not indicate the size or
stability of the populations, but indicate only the continued presence
or absence of the species in a specific area.
The rattlesnake-master borer moth is currently known to occur in
five States: Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and
Oklahoma. Given that its food plant ranges across 26 States (USDA
Plants Web site 2013, http://plants.usda.gov/java/), it is likely the
rattlesnake-master borer moth's historical range was larger than at
present; however, not much data supports its presence in other Midwest
States. There are no historical records and no known records of
rattlesnake-master borer moth in Indiana, although surveys have been
conducted at several sites where the host plant occurs (Okajima 2012,
pers. comm.). In Missouri, experts have examined numerous Papaipema
specimens without finding any collections of rattlesnake-master borer
moth (McKenzie 2012, pers. comm.). Experts indicate that, given the
abundance of the host plant in Missouri, the species possibly occurs in
Missouri and has not been detected (McKenzie 2012, pers. comm.). There
are also no historical or known records for Iowa (Howell 2013, pers.
comm.). Below we present specific occurrence information across the 5
States where the species is currently known to occur.
Illinois
The State of Illinois has the most rattlesnake-master borer moth
sites. At this time, 10 known sites contain rattlesnake-master borer
moths in 8 Illinois counties (Will, Cook, Grundy, Livingston, Kankakee,
Marion, Effingham, and Fayette). Nine of the known sites are thought to
have extant populations and one is unknown. When Bird (1917, p. 124)
first described the species, specimens were collected from the Chicago
area, and five of the sites with extant populations are still found
close to the city of Chicago (Will, Cook, Grundy, Livingston, and
Kankakee Counties). There are two known sites in Will County--one of
these sites is owned by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
(IDNR) and is extant, and the other is in railroad siding in private
and State ownership and its population status is unknown. The
population of rattlesnake-master borer moths within the IDNR site is
thought to be stable (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.). Surveys of both
adults and larvae have been conducted on this site, with the most
recent larval survey in 2012 (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.). This Will
County site is protected and managed with prescribed burning to control
woody species (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.). Although researchers have
not found a decline of the moths within this site, poachers have
removed individuals in the past and the location of the population is
kept undisclosed for this reason (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.). Based
on this information, we consider the status of the species to be extant
on this site.
Larval surveys were conducted at the second Will County site (the
railroad siding site), with presence last confirmed in 1997 (Illinois
Natural Heritage Database 2012). This site was described by researchers
as being very small and with few host plants when it was surveyed in
1997 (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.). The population of rattlesnake-
master borer moths on this site is under private ownership of the
railroad, however, it is contiguous with an Illinois State Nature
Preserve (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.). During a larval survey in 2008,
researchers found no signs of rattlesnake-master borer moths and
suggested they may be extirpated from the site (Illinois Natural
Heritage Database 2012). Based on this information, we consider the
status of the species on this site to be unknown.
The presence of rattlesnake-master borer moths was confirmed on
three other railroad siding prairies, one each in Livingston, Kankakee,
and Grundy Counties (Illinois Natural Heritage Database 2012). The
information on the Kankakee railroad siding is limited, although the
species was confirmed on the site in 1997 (Illinois Natural Heritage
Database 2012). Not much is known about the Livingston County site
since the presence of the moth was detected here in 2001, as there have
been no other known surveys of the site (Illinois Natural Heritage
Database 2012). Larvae were first detected on the Grundy County
railroad siding in 1997, and presence of the species at the site was
most recently confirmed in 2012 (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.). Like the
railroad siding prairie in Will County, these three sites are in
private ownership and the unmanaged-populations are considered extant
at these sites.
A second site owned by the Illinois DNR is located in Grundy
County. The rattlesnake-master borer moth was first found in this site
in 1990, with subsequent surveys in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, and 2003
(Illinois Natural Heritage Database 2012). Although an extensive survey
of the population has not been done on this site, it is protected and
managed, with the last prescribed burn occurring in 2011 (Derkovitz
2013, pers. comm.). Poaching of rattlesnake-master borer moths has
occurred on this site, and so the location of the population is kept
undisclosed (Illinois Natural Heritage Database 2012). The rattlesnake-
master borer moth population on this Grundy County site is considered
to be extant.
One other known population of rattlesnake-master borer moth close
to Chicago occurs in Cook County, with rattlesnake-master borer moths
[[Page 49425]]
introduced to the site in 1998 (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.; Illinois
Natural Heritage Database 2012). This site is owned and managed by
Northeastern Illinois University and larval surveys have been conducted
each year since it was introduced to the site (Derkovitz 2013, pers.
comm.). Area managers have found that the rattlesnake-master borer
moths within this area are scattered into several small populations
that have stayed approximately the same size since 1998 (Derkovitz
2013, pers. comm.). This site is considered to have an extant
population.
In 2008, populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths were found
for the first time in Marion and Effingham Counties in southern
Illinois (LaGesse and Wiker 2008, pp. 7-8). The presence of the moth
was confirmed at three sites through larval surveys; two sites within
IDNR prairie areas in Marion County, and one within scenic right-of-way
sections of a privately owned railroad siding that spans through Marion
and Effingham Counties (LaGesse and Wiker 2008, pp. 7-8). The railroad
prairie is a large, linear prairie that covers approximately 64
hectares (158 acres) (Dietrich et al. 1996, p. 2). Of the two IDNR
owned properties, one is a 65-hectare (160-acre) relict prairie area
and the other is a 16 hectare (40-acre) prairie restoration, which
contains the only known rattlesnake-master borer moth population that
is not in a relict habitat area (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 5). The number
of bored rattlesnake-master plants was estimated to be between 200-250
on one IDNR site and the other contained between 250-300 bored plants
(LaGesse and Wiker 2008, pp. 7-8). The railroad site contained between
5 and 10 bored plants (containing evidence of larval boring) and 15-20
bored plants (LaGesse and Wiker 2008, pp. 7-8).
In 2009, researchers returned to each of these sites to map and
estimate the populations and establish monitoring protocols (LaGesse et
al. 2009, p. 3). Survey methods included marking and outlining the
perimeter of each rattlesnake-master subpopulation, flagging all plants
that had signs of being bored by rattlesnake-master borer moths, and
mapping the locations (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 5). Individual plants
that had evidence of rattlesnake-master borer moth damage were counted
within each subpopulation, except for one subpopulation that was too
large for such a count (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 5). A sampling method
was established to estimate the population within this large population
of rattlesnake-master (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 5). Researchers surveyed
67 subpopulations of rattlesnake-master across the 3 sites discovered
in 2008 and found that 33 were inhabited by rattlesnake-master borer
moths (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 5). Although some populations were
probably undetected, they estimated the overall population of
rattlesnake-master borer moths to be approximately 4,600 (LaGesse et
al. 2009, p. 6).
Management is conducted on all three of these sites in order to
conserve and sustain the prairie communities. Prescribed fire is used
on all of the sites, and the 65-hectare (160-acre) IDNR area also
includes grazing to stimulate structural openings for prairie birds
(LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 5). Researchers found that the grazing
practices likely did not impact the rattlesnake-master borer moth
population (see Factor A and E discussion in this finding). All three
of the sites in southern Illinois are considered to contain extant
populations.
In 2009, an application of herbicide affected populations of
rattlesnake-master in the railroad siding prairie (LaGesse and Walk
2010, unpaginated). Consequently, in 2010 researchers surveyed the
railroad prairie areas using the same techniques from 2009 in order to
estimate and map the population of rattlesnake-master and rattlesnake-
master borer moths and compare them to the findings from 2009 (LaGesse
and Walk 2010, unpaginated). LaGesse and Walk (2010, unpaginated) found
that 2 rattlesnake-master populations were completely destroyed and 19
declined between 2009 and 2010. Researchers found that both the overall
population of rattlesnake-master and the density of the plants declined
(LaGesse and Walk 2010, unpaginated).
Fourteen populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths with a total
of 112 caterpillars were detected in 2010 (LaGesse and Walk 2010,
unpaginated). One-third of the nine populations of rattlesnake-master
borer moths surveyed in 2009 declined; however, nine new populations
were identified during the 2010 survey (LaGesse and Walk 2010,
unpaginated). Due to an expanded survey area, researchers also
identified an additional 24 populations of rattlesnake-master during
the 2010 survey in Marion, Fayette, and Effingham Counties (LaGesse and
Walk 2010, unpaginated). Within these new stands of rattlesnake-master,
they found 7 new populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths with a
total of 41 caterpillars. The five populations of rattlesnake-master
borer moth identified within Fayette County in 2010 were the first
recorded occurrence of the moth for this county (LaGesse and Walk 2010,
unpaginated). Although evidence of boring was found in rattlesnake-
master in Fayette County in 2009, the areas were subsequently flooded
due to heavy rain events (LaGesse and Walk 2010, unpaginated).
Kentucky
The rattlesnake-master borer moth is known from two sites in
Kentucky, one each in Christian and Hardin Counties. The Christian
County site is known from a single occurrence prior to 1999, but
researchers have not found any sign of boring in rattlesnake-master in
recent years (Laudermilk 2012, pers. comm.). The succession to woody
plants has changed the composition of the plant community on site and
experts believe that rattlesnake-master borer moth has been extirpated
from the site (Laudermilk 2012, pers. comm.). The Hardin County site is
thought to be extant based on larval counts dating back to 2003, with
researchers finding between 100 and 500 feeding larvae during each
survey year (Laudermilk 2012, pers. comm.). A comprehensive survey in
2008 indicated the largest number of feeding larvae found at that site
was approximately 500. The site has a wide distribution of rattlesnake-
master, although the moth has shown a clumped distribution (Laudermilk
2012, pers. comm.). This site is secure and its population considered
extant, although its location is undisclosed due to concern of
collection of the species.
Arkansas
The rattlesnake-master borer moth was first discovered on two sites
in Arkansas in 1997, one each in Pulaski and Jefferson Counties (Weaver
and Boos 1998, p. 8; Weaver and Boos 1997, p. 8). The Jefferson County
site is located on the Pine Bluff Arsenal, where populations of the
species were found in dry mesic savanna remnants (Zollner 2013, pers.
comm.; Weaver and Boos 1998, p. 8). Researchers found the rattlesnake-
master borer moths in small subpopulations of 3-12 individuals
scattered throughout the patches of rattlesnake-master within the
savanna remnants (Weaver and Boos 1998, p. 9). Surveys were also
conducted within a railroad prairie on the Arsenal containing many
rattlesnake-master plants, but the moth was not found there; it has not
been found since the 1997 survey and researchers suggested that the
fire regime in this area may be suppressing the colonization of this
area by the moth (Zollner 2013, pers. comm.; Weaver and Boos 1998, pp.
16-17). Since the 1997 survey, one of the areas containing rattlesnake-
master borer moths has been developed and an incinerator built on the
area (Zollner
[[Page 49426]]
2013, pers. comm.). The other savanna remnants remain and have been
surveyed for evidence of rattlesnake-master borer moth larva every year
since it was discovered (Zollner 2013, pers. comm.). These annual
surveys indicate that the population has stayed stable with generally
the same number of larvae found, but always fewer than 20 individuals
(Zollner 2013, pers. comm.). This area is managed yearly with
rotational prescribed burning, usually before April 15 (Zollner 2013,
pers. comm.). The Pine Bluff Arsenal site is considered extant.
The Pulaski County site is located within a mesic prairie area on
the Little Rock Air Force Base (Weaver and Boos 1997, p. 8). The 1997
survey is the only survey conducted within this site (Popham 2013,
pers. comm.; Zollner 2013, pers. comm.). Because of its proximity to
the airfield and implementation of Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard rules,
the prairie is mowed annually, which is the same management regime
conducted onsite when rattlesnake-master was found in 1997 (Popham
2013, pers. comm.). Rattlesnake-master is known to occur in other areas
of the Air Force Base; however, this prairie remnant is the only area
where the moth has been detected (Popham 2013, pers. comm.) The status
of the population and the prairie area on the Air Force Base is
unknown.
Oklahoma
One known location of rattlesnake-master borer moth is in Oklahoma,
in Osage County (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). During surveys conducted
between 2000 and 2005, three populations were found within The Nature
Conservancy's Tallgrass Nature Preserve, approximately 2-4 miles (3-6
km) apart (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). The first population to be
studied on the Preserve had approximately 200 individuals. Later, the
two other populations were found, both with approximately 50
individuals (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). The prairie community on the
entire site is managed with grazing bison and a randomized prescribed
fire regime designed to mimic the natural forces found on site prior to
settlement (Hamilton 2013, pers. comm.). Although no surveys have been
conducted on site since 2005, the management of the area is unchanged,
so this site is considered extant.
North Carolina
Rattlesnake-master borer moth is known from a pine barrens, which
is owned and managed by the State, in Pender County, North Carolina
(Hall 2013, pers. comm.; Hall 2012, pers. comm.; Schweitzer et al.
2011, p. 351). The moth was first identified from a single adult on
this site in 1994 (Hall 2012, pers. comm.; Schweitzer et al. 2011, p.
351). A prescribed burn was conducted on the site soon after the 1994
collection, and a subsequent survey resulted in location of one larva
during the summer of 1995 (Hall 2012, pers. comm.; Schweitzer et al.
2011, p. 351). A 2002 survey of approximately 80-100 rattlesnake-master
plants for larval feeding damage resulted in only one hole, indicating
possible occupancy, however, no frass was found outside of the hole,
which is a more reliable sign of larvae inhabitance (Hall 2012, pers.
comm.). No surveys have occurred in the area since 2002 to verify the
status of the population, so the status of the population on this site
is considered unknown.
In summary, the rattlesnake-master borer moth currently occurs in
five States: Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and North
Carolina. Within these states, 16 sites have confirmed populations of
the moth since 1993 (Table 1). Of these sites, 12 are considered to be
extant, 3 unknown, and 1 is considered to be extirpated. Given the
range of the food plant and the relatively recent discovery of all of
the known populations, the range of the moth is possibly greater within
these five States and within other States where rattlesnake-master is
found.
Table 1--Rattlesnake-Master Borer Moth Status at All Known Sites
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date of last
State Site description County Current status observation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Illinois.................... IDNR Site........ Will............. Extant...................... 2012
Illinois.................... railroad siding.. Will............. Unknown..................... 1997
Illinois.................... railroad siding.. Livingston....... Extant...................... 2001
Illinois.................... railroad siding.. Grundy........... Extant...................... 2012
Illinois.................... IDNR............. Grundy........... Extant...................... 2003
Illinois.................... railroad siding.. Kankakee......... Extant...................... 1997
Illinois.................... Northeastern Cook............. Extant...................... 2012
Illinois
University.
Illinois.................... IDNR............. Marion........... Extant...................... 2009
Illinois.................... IDNR............. Marion........... Extant...................... 2009
Illinois.................... railroad siding.. Marion, Extant...................... 2010
Effingham,
Fayette.
Kentucky.................... ................. Christian........ Extirpated.................. 1999
Kentucky.................... ................. Hardin........... Extant...................... 2008
Arkansas.................... Pine Bluff....... Jefferson........ Extant...................... 2012
Arkansas.................... Little Rock Air Pulaski.......... Unknown..................... 1997
Force Base.
Oklahoma.................... The Nature Osage............ Extant...................... 2005
Conservancy.
North Carolina.............. Pine Barrens..... Pender........... Unknown..................... 2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary of Information Pertaining to the Five Factors
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) and implementing regulations
(50 CFR 424) set forth procedures for adding species to, removing
species from, or reclassifying species on the Federal Lists of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Under section 4(a)(1) of
the Act, a species may be determined to be endangered or threatened
based on any of the following five factors:
(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 finding, information pertaining to the rattlesnake-
master borer moth in relation to the five factors provided in section
4(a)(1) of the Act is discussed below. In considering what
[[Page 49427]]
factors might constitute threats to a species, we must look beyond the
exposure of the species to a particular factor to evaluate whether the
species may respond to that factor in a way that causes actual impacts
to the species. If there is exposure to a factor and the species
responds negatively, the factor may be a threat and, during the status
review, we attempt to determine how significant a threat it is. The
threat is significant if it drives, or contributes to, the risk of
extinction of the species such that the species warrants listing as an
endangered or threatened species as those terms are defined in the Act.
However, the identification of factors that could impact a species
negatively may not be sufficient to compel a finding that the species
warrants listing. The information must include evidence sufficient to
suggest that these factors are operative threats that act on the
species to the point that the species may meet the definition of an
endangered or threatened species under the Act.
Factor A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or
Curtailment of Its Habitat or Range
Rattlesnake-master borer moths are monophagous, feeding exclusively
on the prairie plant, rattlesnake-master (Schweitzer et al. 2011, p.
351; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4; Panzer 2002, p. 1298; Molano-Florez
2001, p. 1; Panzer et al. 1995, p. 115; Mohlenbrock 1986, p. 34; Hessel
1954, p. 59; Forbes 1954, p. 198; Bird 1917, p. 124). Although the
overall range of rattlesnake-master is large (occurring in 26 States),
the plant's relative densities in prairie are low, making up 1 percent
of the prairie flora (Danderson and Molano-Flores 2010, p. 235; Molano-
Flores 2001, p. 1). Rattlesnake-master is not known to occur in
disturbed areas, and the extensive loss of undisturbed prairie in the
United States has resulted in the remaining remnants that could support
rattlesnake-master generally to be small and isolated. The rattlesnake-
master borer moth's dependence on rattlesnake-master as its only larval
food source makes the moth's potential habitat very narrow, which is
likely limiting for this species. In their multiyear study, Panzer et
al. (1995, p. 102) gauged the levels of remnant dependence (limited to
natural area remnants) for 22 families and 6 genera of insects around
the Chicago, Illinois, area and provided a list of remnant dependent
species. They determined that rattlesnake-master borer moths are highly
dependent on remnant patches of native prairie, not finding them in any
disturbed areas (Panzer et al. 1995, p. 115). The disturbed area
between the widely scattered remnant prairie patches that support the
remaining rattlesnake-master borer moth populations will not support
their food plant, rattlesnake-master, making these expansive areas
uninhabitable to the moth.
The conservation of good-quality prairie habitat is important for
rattlesnake-master borer moth populations, especially those that are
small and isolated, which would not be recolonized if they were
extirpated. The loss of prairie habitat and the degradation and
destruction of remnant habitat occurs in many ways, including but not
limited to development, fire, flooding, invasive species encroachment,
and succession, which are discussed in further detail below.
Conversion of Prairie for Agriculture
Since Euro-American settlement, conversion of prairie for
agriculture is the most significant factor in the decline of American
grasslands, and, thus, that of the rattlesnake-master borer moth.
According to Samson and Knoff (1994, p. 419), by 1994, tallgrass
prairie had declined 99.9 percent from historical levels in Illinois,
Iowa, and Indiana and 99.5 percent in Missouri. Warner (1994) studied
the transition of land use in Illinois since 1800. He found that
between 1820 and 1920, Illinois went from almost two-thirds of the
State covered with prairie to less than 1 percent (Warner 1994, p.
149). With the onset of intensive row-cropping after the 1950s,
Illinois saw declines in diversified farming practices that included
grazing of livestock on grasslands, leading to even further losses of
grasslands (Warner 1994, p. 150). The loss of grasslands has been
precipitous and has followed the settlement of the Midwest and the
expansion and modernization of farming practices. The current threat of
such conversion to extant populations is not well known and may now be
secondary to other threats.
Nonagricultural Conversion of Prairie
The conversion of remaining prairie remnants for nonagricultural
purposes continues to be a threat for some of the rattlesnake-master
borer moth sites. Both Arkansas sites are within military installations
and are under pressure of potential changes in land-use based on base
priorities. An incinerator was constructed on top of one site
containing rattlesnake-master borer moth within the Pine Bluff Arsenal
(Zollner 2013, pers. comm.). Air Force officials are considering
allowing development in one area of the Little Rock Air Force Base that
contains populations of rattlesnake-master (Popham 2013, pers. comm.).
Although researchers did not find rattlesnake-master borer moths within
this savanna area in 1997, removal of this area would decrease the
opportunity of the moth to expand into other habitat.
In Illinois, several of the populations are close to Chicago and
are within urban areas; however, all of those that are not railroad
sidings are managed to maintain the prairie habitat and are currently
protected from development. A high-speed rail project planned from
Chicago, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri, may impact rattlesnake-
master borer populations located within railroad sidings. According to
the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) (2012, pp. 5-34), all proposed alternatives would
impact approximately 94 hectares (233 acres) of prairie remnants. The
populations of rattlesnake-master borer moth occurring within the
railroad sidings in Will, Livingston, and Grundy Counties are located
along the same Union Pacific railroad track that has been identified in
all of the build alternatives in the USDOT EIS (USDOT EIS 2012,
Appendix A).
Although not all of the project plans have been finalized,
potential construction impacts to the railroad siding prairies included
in the EIS include construction of a second rail in order to provide
double tracking for the entire alignment and construction of a parallel
maintenance road along the alignment, both of which could impact
populations of rattlesnake-master borer moth (USDOT EIS 2012, pp. 3-
19). Surveys will be conducted in the coming years to identify all
rattlesnake-master borer moth populations in these areas and
potentially translocate individuals out of the construction zone
(LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). There are some indications that
construction of the second track may impact the entire west side of the
current alignment, effectively removing half of the prairie habitat in
some places (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.).
Fire
Rattlesnake-master borer moth populations existed historically in a
vast ecosystem maintained in part by fire. Although prairie insects are
adapted to fire in some ways, experts suggest that prescribed burns
that are conducted frequently and cover entire insect populations can
be detrimental (Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 42). The rattlesnake-master
borer moth is restricted in population size and distribution and thus
is sensitive to management activities that are
[[Page 49428]]
implemented across an entire site, such as fire (Panzer 2002, p. 1298).
In his 2002 study, Panzer (2002, pp. 1296-1306) examined the recovery
rate of fire-sensitive insects by assessing their post-fire response.
Panzer (2002, p. 1306) identified four life history traits of duff-
dwelling insects such as rattlesnake-master borer moth that were good
predictors of a negative response to fire: (1) Remnant dependence
(occurring as small, isolated populations); (2) upland inhabitance (dry
uplands burn more thoroughly than wetter habitats); (3) nonvagility
(low recolonization rate); and (4) univoltine (slower recovery rates
for species with only one generation per year). He said that species
exhibiting one or more traits should be considered fire-sensitive and
species with all four traits should be considered ``hypersensitive'' to
fire (Panzer 2002, p. 1306). The rattlesnake-master borer moth exhibits
all four of these traits and thus, according to Panzer (2002, p. 1306),
is hypersensitive to fire.
He indicated that univoltine, duff-inhabiting species like
Papaipema moths should be considered especially susceptible to
extirpation from fire (Panzer 2002, p. 1298). Adult rattlesnake-master
borer moths are not known to disperse widely and are thought to be
relatively sedentary making adults more vulnerable to fire (Panzer
2003, p. 18; LaGesse et. al 2009, p. 4). They lay their eggs close to
the host plant where they overwinter in the duff making the eggs and
first instars susceptible to burns conducted from late fall to late
spring before larvae have a chance to bore into the root of the plant
(Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4; Bird 1917, p.
126). They are more resistant to the effect of fire during summer
months after they have bored into the root and are below ground.
Rattlesnake-master borer moths were one of the species included in
Panzer's (2003, p. 18) study of the importance of in situ survival,
recolonization, and habitat gaps in the post-fire recovery of fire-
sensitive prairie insects. Panzer studied the in situ survivorship of
rattlesnake-master borer moths after burning 100 percent of the
available habitat for some small populations that were at least 200 m
(656 ft) from potential recolonization sources (2003, p. 18). Larval
surveys were conducted to detect the presence of rattlesnake-master
borer moths in order to eliminate the potential of detecting adults
that may be recolonizing from other areas. Larvae were found in one out
of two of the smallest populations burned that were between 4 m\2\ and
less than 8 m\2\ (43 and 86 ft\2\) (Panzer 2003, p. 19). Panzer (2003,
p. 19) found better survivorship on larger patches burned, with
individuals surviving in all of the populations that were between 8
m\2\ and less than 16 m\2\ (86 and 172 ft\2\), and between 16 m\2\ and
less than 32 m\2\ (172 and 344 ft\2\) (two out of two for each). A
prescribed burn conducted in 1994 affected the entire population of
rattlesnake-master borer moth at the North Carolina site (Hall 2012,
pers. comm., Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 351). The subsequent 1995
survey resulted in location of one larva, and the only other survey of
the site (conducted in 2002) resulted in the detection of one potential
bore hole (Hall 2012, pers. comm.). The presence of individual
rattlesnake-master borer moths in areas that are completely burned
indicates that in situ survival likely does contribute to the recovery
of a population after a burn (Panzer 2003, p. 20); however, it is
unknown if they can sustain themselves with repeated burns without
recolonization.
The effects of fire on individual rattlesnake-master borer moth
populations are difficult to ascertain as populations differ in size,
density, and type of habitat they occupy. Also, some populations may be
under stress from other threats making the effects of fire more
detrimental (Panzer 1988, p. 87). The fire sensitivity of rattlesnake-
master borer moth indicates that fire is a threat in habitats burned
too frequently or too broadly. In order to reap the benefits of fire to
habitat quality, rattlesnake-master borer moths must either survive in
numbers sufficient to rebuild populations after the fire or recolonize
the area from a nearby unburned area (Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 251;
Panzer 2003, p. 19; Panzer 1988, p. 88). In addition, the return
interval of fires needs to be infrequent enough to allow for recovery
of the populations between burns. Panzer indicates that burn programs
that do not provide sanctuaries for fire-sensitive species, especially
on small sites, will contribute to their loss across the landscape
(Panzer 2003, p. 20). Prescribed burns that are designed to leave some
patches of unburned habitat (by burning when it is wet or cool) may
provide additional in situ survival, which may be important for fire-
sensitive species on small sites (Panzer 2003, p. 20).
Complete fire suppression, however, can lead to the decline of
prairie habitat, as well as savanna and pine barrens, as woody species
become established (Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 40; Panzer and Schwartz
2000, p. 363). The natural fire processes that once maintained prairie
habitat have been altered by the modern landscape and without the
addition of burning of these small patches of prairie habitat, they are
subject to succession and the buildup of plant litter (Swengel 1998, p.
77). Although found commonly in undisturbed remnant prairies,
rattlesnake-master is a highly conservative species and has been found
to have relative frequencies in restored and relict prairies of less
than 1 percent (Danderson and Molano-Flores 2010, p. 235; Molano-Flores
2001, p. 1). Given its dependence on its host plant, proper fire
management relative to the needs of its host plant and to retain
prairie habitat is very important for rattlesnake-master borer moths.
Of the 16 known rattlesnake-master borer moth sites, 10 are or have
been managed with fire. The prairie community on the entire Tallgrass
Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma is managed with a randomized prescribed
fire regime that includes grazing designed to mimic the natural forces
found on site prior to settlement (Hamilton 2013, pers. comm.). In
Illinois, six sites are protected (four in State ownership, one owned
by Northeastern Illinois University, and one private but managed as a
natural area) and managed with prescribed fire, and all have extant
populations that are considered stable. These sites are comparatively
large and range from 1,700 acres (688 hectares) to the smallest at 40
acres (16 hectares), and all contain scattered populations of
rattlesnake-master borer moths within the sites (Derkovitz 2013, pers.
comm.; LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.).
The savanna remnants within the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas
where rattlesnake-master borer moth are found are also managed with
fire (Zollner 2013, pers. comm.). This area is managed yearly with
rotational prescribed burning usually before April 15 (Zollner 2013,
pers. comm.). Annual surveys at the Pine Bluff Arsenal indicate that
the population has stayed stable, with generally the same number of
larvae found, but always fewer than 20 individuals (Zollner 2013, pers.
comm.). The use of prescribed fire in the relatively large prairie
remnants described above appears to be maintaining the prairie
ecosystem at the sites without impacting the overall population of
rattlesnake-master borer moths. The pine barrens site in North Carolina
is comparably smaller and is all located within one burn unit (Hall
2013, pers. comm.). The entire area was burned in 1994, which may have
impacted the rattlesnake-master borer moth population as only one larva
was found during the subsequent survey in 1995, and evidence of only
one borer
[[Page 49429]]
hole was found in 2001 (Hall 2012, pers. comm.; Schweitzer et al. 2011,
p. 351). Surveys were also conducted within a railroad prairie on the
Pine Bluff Arsenal which contains many rattlesnake-master plants, but
the moth has never been found there, either during the 1997 survey or
subsequent surveys, and researchers suggested that the fire regime in
this area may be suppressing the colonization of this area by the moth
(Zollner 2013, pers. comm.; Weaver and Boos 1998, pp. 16-17).
At this time, it does not appear that fire prescriptions for any of
the rattlesnake-master borer moth sites are designed to avoid burning
while any of the life stages (adult, egg, larva) are located within the
prairie duff layer or are designed so that only portions of the
rattlesnake-master borer moth populations or its host plant are burned
at one time. Research has shown that even when entire sites are burned,
rattlesnake-master borer moths can survive in situ; however, given
their sensitivity to fire it is likely that populations rely on
recolonization from unburned sanctuaries. It is possible that not all
of the populations on the larger sites are being burned at once, given
that populations of rattlesnake-master borer moth are not found in
single populations, but are scattered within the sites. Fire is a
current and ongoing rangewide threat of high severity. Where burns
occur, the moths need a sufficient amount of contiguous or nearby
habitat from which immigrants can reinhabit burned areas.
Grazing
The productivity of prairie decreases as excess plant litter
accumulates (Robertson et al. 1997, p. 57). Grazing and fire were two
natural disturbance factors that historically maintained the prairie
ecosystem by removing some of this biomass (Robertson et al. 1997, p.
56). Approximately 60 million plains bison (Bison bison) once grazed
throughout the Midwest prairie (Samson and Knopf 1994, p. 419).
Wallowing by bison and trampling by bison and cattle creates open areas
that can increase species richness and heterogeneity in prairie
(Robertson et al. 1997, p. 58). Grazing is used as a management tool in
two of the rattlesnake-master borer moth sites; the Tallgrass Prairie
Preserve in Oklahoma and an IDNR owned property in Illinois.
Both cattle and bison graze within the Tallgrass Prairie preserve,
separated into two different units with different management regimes
(Hamilton 2007, pp. 163-168). The 2,700 bison graze freely throughout
the entire 23,500 acres (9,510 hectares) of the bison tract (Hamilton
2013, pers. comm.). The prescribed fire regime within the bison unit is
randomized, and managers of the Preserve have found that bison
generally graze in newly burned areas during the growing season in
order to take advantage of the increased forage quality of the new
regrowth (Hamilton 2007, p. 168). Researchers have found that, before
the introduction of the bison, the rattlesnake-master on the Preserve
was located in small populations (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.) The
rattlesnake-master has spread since the introduction of the bison,
likely because the seeds of the plant have evolved small hooks that
stick in the fur of the bison and are distributed as they range through
the Preserve (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.; LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 3).
The cattle unit is approximately 526 hectares (13,000 acres) and is
managed with experimental treatments including ``patch burn''
treatments initiated under research by Oklahoma State University in
2001 (Hamilton 2007, p. 168). It is not known whether there are
populations of rattlesnake-master borer moth or its host plant in the
cattle unit of the Preserve. Cattle are used as grazing management on
one of the Illinois DNR properties in order to create structure for
grassland birds (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). Cattle are allowed into
the property for approximately 60 days a year to ``flash graze'' the
area (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). In their 2008 survey of this area,
LaGesse and Wiker (2008, p. 8) found that cattle had consumed most of
the flowering rattlesnake-master, but found no negative impacts to the
rattlesnake-master borer moths. The researchers note that when cattle
were introduced on a neighboring tract after the rattlesnake-master
flowers had hardened, they were not eaten (LaGesse and Wiker 2008, p.
8). They suggest that introduction of cattle to a population of
rattlesnake-master after the flowers have hardened may protect them
from being grazed and avoid a decrease in seed production (LaGesse and
Wiker 2008, p. 8). In both of these examples, bison and cattle herds
are managed so that there is no overgrazing.
Lack of Management, Succession, Invasive Species
While inappropriate or excessive burning are threats to
rattlesnake-master borer populations, the species is also under threat
where there is no management to maintain prairie habitats. Without
periodic disturbance, prairies are subject to expansion of woody plant
species (secondary succession), litter accumulation, or invasion by
nonnative plant species (e.g., smooth brome) (McCabe 1981, p. 191; Dana
1997, p. 5; Higgins et al. 2000, p. 21; Skadsen 2003, p. 52). Panzer
and Schwartz (2000, p. 367) found a higher density of rattlesnake-
master borer moths within fire-managed populations than fire-excluded
populations in Illinois. Several sites with rattlesnake-master borer
moths are not managed--invasive species and woody encroachment are
threats to populations at those sites (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.;
Laudermilk 2012, pers. comm.). The railroad siding prairies in Will,
Grundy, and Livingston Counties, Illinois, are all unmanaged and are
under threat of invasion by woody plant species, like buckthorn
(Rhamnus spp.) (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.). The succession to woody
plants changed the composition of the plant community on one Kentucky
site, resulting in the likely extirpation of rattlesnake-master borer
moths (Laudermilk 2012, pers. comm.). Lack of management is considered
to be a threat where the rattlesnake-master borer moth habitat is
degraded or likely to become degraded due to secondary succession,
invasive species, or both. This is likely the case at all six of the
sites where there is not ongoing management of the prairie.
Flooding
Flooding is a threat to at least two rattlesnake-master borer moth
populations. Although evidence of boring was found in rattlesnake-
master in Fayette County, Illinois in 2009, the areas were subsequently
flooded due to heavy rain events (LaGesse and Walk 2010, unpaginated).
These populations were reconfirmed in 2010; however, researchers
believe this area will likely continue to be affected by flooding in
years of heavy rain (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.; LaGesse and Walk 2010,
unpaginated). The two Illinois DNR sites in Will and Grundy Counties
have been documented with standing water in wet springs, which may
affect the rattlesnake-master borer moth populations, depending on the
duration and extent of the flooding (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.).
Herbicide Application
In 2009, an application of herbicide affected populations of
rattlesnake-master in the railroad siding prairie in Marion, Effingham,
and Fayette Counties (LaGesse and Walk 2010, unpaginated). LaGesse and
Walk (2010, unpaginated) found that 2 rattlesnake-master populations
were completely destroyed and 19 declined between 2009 and 2010. After
comparing the data from 2009 and 2010, researchers found that both the
overall population
[[Page 49430]]
of rattlesnake-master and the density of the plants decline (LaGesse
and Walk 2010, unpaginated). The impact to the food plant also affected
the rattlesnake-master borer moths. Fourteen populations of
rattlesnake-master borer moths with a total of 112 caterpillars were
detected in 2010 with one-third of the 9 populations of rattlesnake-
master borer moths surveyed declining from 2009 to 2010 (LaGesse and
Walk 2010, unpaginated).
Conservation Efforts To Reduce Habitat Destruction, Modification, or
Curtailment of Its Range
Seven of the 16 rattlesnake-master borer moth sites are currently
owned and managed by State conservation agencies, a university, or
management entity that protects them from development. All of these
sites have some sort of management regime that is being implemented to
maintain the prairie community that allows the subsistence of the
species' food plant and protects the site from encroachment of woody
habitat. Six of the seven sites are maintained with fire, and the
seventh is maintained with fire and grazing. None of the management
regimes are specifically designed to avoid direct impacts to the
species, although the largest sites (five in Illinois and one in
Oklahoma) have extant populations that appear to be stable.
Summary of Factor A
We have identified a number of threats to the habitat of the
rattlesnake-master borer moth that operated in the past, are impacting
the species now, and will continue to impact the species in the future.
The decline of the rattlesnake-master borer moth is the result of the
long-lasting effects of habitat loss, fragmentation, degradation, and
modification from agriculture, development, flooding, invasive species,
and secondary succession. Although efforts have been made to
effectively manage habitat in some areas, the long-term effects of
large-scale and wide-ranging habitat modification, destruction, and
curtailment will last into the future. Development of a high-speed rail
project in Illinois will likely impact three known populations of
rattlesnake-master in three counties, and development on the two
military installations in Arkansas has destroyed one population of the
species and may impact the other. Fire and grazing cause direct
mortality of the moth or destroy food plants if the intensity, extent,
or timing is not conducive to the species' biology. The application of
herbicides affected several populations of rattlesnake-master and
caused direct mortality to resident rattlesnake-master borer moths,
causing a decline in some of the populations the following summer.
Of the 16 sites considered to be occupied by the rattlesnake-master
borer, all of the sites have at least one documented threat. Some sites
have more than one threat, and concurrently acting threats may have
more intense effects than any one threat acting independently. Almost
all of the sites with extant populations of rattlesnake-master borer
moth are isolated from one another, with populations in Kentucky, North
Carolina, and Oklahoma occurring within a single site for each State,
preventing recolonization from other populations. Of the sites that are
currently protected from development and are under management to
maintain the prairie ecosystem, all of them utilize management regimes
(either burning or grazing or both) that could potentially impact
individual rattlesnake-master borer moths and whole populations
depending on the timing, extent, and frequency of the events. Two of
these sites are also known to have standing water during large rain
events in the spring which may impact rattlesnake-master borer moths.
Factor B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or
Educational Purposes
Illegal collection of rattlesnake-master borer moths has been noted
at two IDNR managed sites in Illinois close to Chicago (Derkovitz 2012,
pers. comm.; Illinois Natural Heritage Database 2012). The locations of
these populations are not publicized. Although there have been no known
poaching events within the Kentucky sites, managers are concerned and
indicate that this species is sought after by lepidopterists in that
State and keep the location of that site undisclosed (Laudermilk 2012,
pers. comm.). Adult rattlesnake-master borer moths have been noted as
hard to collect (see life history section); however, the host plant is
easy to identify, which could make locating the larvae easier and the
species more susceptible to collection (Schwietzer 2011, p. 45).
Some extant populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths are known
to be very small and made up of very few individuals. Because the host
plant is easily identifiable, it is conceivable that an entire
population could be impacted by one collector if enough host plants are
removed. Collection from the remaining small and isolated populations
could have deleterious effects on this species' reproductive and
genetic viability. Due to the species' small population size, limited
range, and the potential ease of collection of larval individuals,
recreational collecting of this species presents a threat now and in
the future throughout its range.
Conservation Efforts To Reduce Overutilization for Commercial,
Recreational, Scientific, or Educational Purposes
As discussed in Factor D: The Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory
Mechanisms, the rattlesnake-master borer moths is listed as endangered
on Illinois' State threatened and endangered species list, and
Scientific Collectors Permits are required in order to collect the
species throughout the State, providing protection for the populations
within the 10 Illinois sites. However, two of these Illinois sites are
known to have had illegal collections. Seven of the rattlesnake-master
borer moth populations, in North Carolina, Illinois, and Oklahoma, are
within protected areas, and permission is required to collect specimens
within all of these sites. The species is not specifically protected
through State laws in Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma, or North Carolina,
and we know of no proposals to add this requirement in the future,
leaving the two sites in Kentucky, and the two sites in Arkansas
unprotected.
Factor C. Disease or Predation
There are no known diseases that are specific to rattlesnake-master
borer moths, however, there is some evidence of parasitism in the moth,
and known parasitism of the host plant, rattlesnake-master. While
parasitism has been found by researchers in rattlesnake-master borer
moth larvae, the species of parasite is unknown (LaGesse 2013, pers.
comm.). Eggs and larvae of parasitic species have been found using
rattlesnake-master borer moth caterpillars as hosts, although at this
time there is no conclusive evidence of potential effects to the
species or populations as a whole.
Second and third instar rattlesnake-master borer moths have also
been known to cannibalize each other. During the time that the larvae
are actively boring into the host plant, researchers have detected
cannibalistic behavior with some caterpillars moving into already
occupied bore holes, killing the occupant, and pushing them back out
(LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4).
The caterpillars of another species of moth, Coeotechnites
eryngiella, are known to bore into the seeds of rattlesnake-master,
sometimes affecting up to 60-70 percent of rattlesnake-
[[Page 49431]]
master seeds (Danderson and Molano-Flores 2010, p. 235; LaGesse et al.
2009, p. 3; Molano-Flores 2001, p. 5). Danderson and Molano-Flores
(2010, p. 242) found that the herbivory of rattlesnake-master by C.
eryngiella causes a change in physical appearance of the inflorescence
and resulted in a decrease in flower visitation by pollinators.
Summary of Factor C
Available information indicates disease is not a threat to the
rattlesnake-master borer moth. There is evidence that parasitism and
predation occur; however, the impacts to this species and its host
plant rattlesnake-master are unclear. Researchers have found that the
parasitism of rattlesnake-master by rattlesnake-master borer moths and
C. eryngiella can affect individual plants and potentially whole
populations. Some extant populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths
are known to be very small, made up of very few individuals. It is
possible that parasitism of the species by wasps and potentially the
cannibalism by individuals competing for host plants may impact small
populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths, especially those that
are also under stress from other threats. Available information
indicates that disease, parasitism, and predation are not threats that
have substantial impacts to rattlesnake-master borer moth individuals
or populations.
Factor D. The Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
The rattlesnake-master borer moth is listed as endangered by two
States in which it is found, Illinois and Kentucky. In Illinois, the
moth is listed as endangered under the Illinois Endangered Species
Protection Act, which ``prohibits the possession, taking,
transportation, sale, offer for sale, or disposal of any listed animal
or products of listed animals without a permit issued by the Department
of Conservation'' (Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board 2011,
p. 7). The Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board is responsible
for determining which species are listed in the State and for advising
the Illinois DNR on methods of protection and management of listed
species (Illinois DNR Web site 2013, http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/espb/Pages/default.aspx). The Illinois DNR office of Realty and
Environmental Planning administers the State's threatened and
endangered species consultation program and works with agencies,
developers, and other project proponents to assess the potential
effects of projects and potentially mitigate them (Illinois DNR Web
site 2013, http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/espb/Pages/default.aspx). For
development or agency projects that are determined to affect listed
species, an incidental take permit is required (Illinois DNR Web site
2013, http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/ESPB/Pages/EndangeredSpeciesPermitsandIncidentalTake.aspx).
Project proponents for the proposed High Speed Rail project from
Chicago, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri, are currently working
through the State's consultation process, including requesting an
incidental take permit for potential effects to rattlesnake-master
borer moths in the alignment (LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). For
researchers, a collection permit is required for the possession of
specimens or products of Illinois that are listed as threatened or
endangered, and additional permits are required for collection of any
species within the State's parks, forests, and conservation areas, or
Illinois Nature Preserves or registered Illinois Land and Water
Reserves (IDNR Web site 2013, http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/ESPB/Pages/EndangeredSpeciesPermitsandIncidentalTake.aspx).
The rattlesnake-master borer moth is also listed as endangered in
Kentucky by the State's Nature Preserves Commission (Kentucky State
Nature Preserves Commission 2013, p. 35). At this time Kentucky
legislature has not enacted any statute that provides legal protection
for species listed as threatened or endangered (Laudermilk 2013, pers.
comm.).
The rattlesnake-master borer moth is not protected in Arkansas as
it has not been named to the State list of threatened or endangered
species and is not named in the State's Wildlife Action Plan as a
Species of Greatest Conservation Need (Arkansas Game and Fish
Commission Web site 2013, http://www.agfc.com/species/Pages/SpeciesEndangered.aspx; Anderson 2006, p. 2028). It is also not
protected under State threatened and endangered species statutes in
Oklahoma and North Carolina (Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation Web site 2013, http://wildlifedepartment.com/wildlifemgmt/endangeredspecies.htm; North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
2008, p. 8). However, the sites within these States are owned and
managed by the State (in North Carolina) and The Nature Conservancy (in
Oklahoma) and require a collection permit within these two sites (Hall
2013, pers. comm.; Hamilton 2013, pers. comm.).
The U.S. Forest Service has designated the rattlesnake-master borer
moth as a sensitive species in Region 9, which includes the State of
Illinois (U.S. Forest Service 2003, p. 4). At this time there are no
known populations of the species within the Forest Service's lands, so
the designation of sensitive species status for this species will have
no benefit at this time. However, it may be beneficial if populations
are identified on Forest Service lands in the future.
To summarize, existing regulatory mechanisms, including State
endangered species statutes, provide protection for 12 of the 16 sites
containing rattlesnake-master borer moth populations. Illinois provides
regulatory mechanisms to protect the species from potential impacts
from actions such as development and collecting; however, illegal
collections of the species have occurred at two sites. A permit is
required for collection by site managers within the sites in North
Carolina and Oklahoma, although no statutory mechanisms protect the
populations in North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, or Oklahoma, which
leaves privately owned sites in Arkansas and Kentucky unprotected from
collection.
Factor E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting Its Continued
Existence
Habitat Fragmentation and Population Isolation
Rattlesnake-master borer moths are habitat specialists, which has a
strong negative effect on their distribution and abundance. The species
is completely dependent on prairie habitat and, more specifically, on a
single larval food plant species, rattlesnake-master. Habitat
fragmentation has reduced the once extensive prairie habitat to a
collection of isolated patches of varying quality. Most prairie
remnants that remain have been or continue to be subjected to haying,
grazing, dumping, fire suppression, or succession, all of which degrade
prairie quality (Panzer 1988, p. 83).
Prairie remnant-dependent species, such as rattlesnake-master borer
moths, are more susceptible to extinction from stochastic events than
other insects, due to their fluctuating population densities, poor
dispersal abilities, and patchy distribution (Panzer 1988, p. 83). The
potential for extirpation within patches is intensified by the addition
of other threats such as development, fire, grazing, and succession.
Rattlesnake-master borer moths are not known to disperse widely and
have been
[[Page 49432]]
described as ``relatively sedentary'' (Panzer 2003, p. 18; LaGesse et
al. 2009, p. 4). Researchers believe that the species will remain
within a habitat patch unless the amount of rattlesnake-master becomes
limiting and the moths are forced to seek out additional food plants
(LaGesse 2013, pers. comm.). The moths also have relatively short
flight times of approximately 2 weeks and may only fly during the
pheromone ``calling'' times of the female, which may be only a couple
of hours a night (Wiker 2013, pers. comm.). Rattlesnake-master borer
moths within the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma may have
recolonized to habitat that was 2 miles (3.2 km) from their original
patch of rattlesnake-master when the food plant became scarce (LaGesse
2013, pers. comm.). Recolonization like this is likely not possible for
many of the remaining populations of the species as they are isolated
from one another, most are surrounded by agricultural fields or urban
areas with no connecting habitat, and most are separated by distances
greater than 2 miles (3.2 km). Species that are widely distributed in
small populations are more susceptible to catastrophic events, and
extirpations at individual sites will be permanent if there are no
populations close enough that can recolonize the area.
Railroad siding prairies may afford the species the most likely
opportunity for migration between populations or into new patches of
rattlesnake-master, as they contain the most contiguous habitat,
sometimes spanning many miles. The large railroad prairie in Marion,
Fayette, and Effingham Counties contains long stretches of connected
habitat, with the entire prairie corridor stretching for 22 miles (35
km) (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 6). Although populations of the food plant
are described as patchy within the prairie habitat, this linear area
affords the species the opportunity to disperse without having to
traverse urban or agricultural environments. The railroad siding
prairies in Will, Grundy, and Livingston Counties occur along the same
corridor, but the remnant prairie here is patchy and populations are
described as being very small (Derkovitz 2013, pers. comm.; Illinois
Natural Heritage Database, 2012). Although the railroad prairies may
afford the species the most likely opportunity for migration between
populations, these sites are not protected, are subject to development
and other disturbance, and receive minimal or no management to maintain
the prairie habitat. Also, small populations of rattlesnake-master
borer moths may not be able to maintain large enough population sizes
when they are under pressure from other threats to be able to produce
enough adults to immigrate to new areas.
Even with proper prairie management, extreme weather patterns or
severe weather events have the potential to significantly impact
rattlesnake-master borer moth populations, because they can occur
across a large geographic area. These events include extremely harsh
winters, late hard frosts following a spring thaw, severe storms,
flooding, fire, or cool damp conditions. Habitats isolated as a result
of fragmentation will not be recolonized naturally after local
extirpations, as described above, and extirpation of individual
populations from catastrophic events is more likely when they are
isolated and widely spread.
Isolated populations like those of the rattlesnake-master borer
moth likely do not receive any immigration of individuals from other
populations. Without sufficient gene flow, populations in small,
fragmented habitats are unlikely to remain viable over the long term
(Frankham et al. 2009, p. 309). There have been no genetic studies of
the rattlesnake-master borer moth to date; however, populations within
fragmented habitats, like the rattlesnake-master borer moth, are
predicted to have lower genetic diversity than those that occur in
contiguous habitat, due to restricted gene flow, genetic drift, and
increased inbreeding (Frankham et al. 2009, pp. 334-335). Reduced
fitness (reduced genetic diversity) results in a reduced ability to
adapt to environmental change (Frankham et al. 2009, p. 523).
Twelve of the known sites containing rattlesnake-master borer moth
are considered isolated, as they are not connected by contiguous
habitat to other prairie containing rattlesnake-master and are not
likely to be recolonized by the low dispersing adult rattlesnake-master
borer moths. The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma represents the
largest area of contiguous prairie habitat in which the rattlesnake-
master borer moth exists, but there are no other known populations in
Oklahoma. Due to the few numbers and small size of remaining
populations, and their degree of isolation, habitat fragmentation and
isolation is a threat that has significant impacts to the rattlesnake-
master borer moth across its range.
Climate Change
Our analyses under the Endangered Species Act include consideration
of ongoing and projected changes in climate. The terms ``climate'' and
``climate change'' are defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). ``Climate'' refers to the mean and variability
of different types of weather conditions over time, with 30 years being
a typical period for such measurements, although shorter or longer
periods also may be used (IPCC 2007, p. 78). The term ``climate
change'' thus refers to a change in the mean or variability of one or
more measures of climate (e.g., temperature or precipitation) that
persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer, whether
the change is due to natural variability, human activity, or both (IPCC
2007, p. 78). Various types of changes in climate can have direct or
indirect effects on species. These effects may be positive, neutral, or
negative and they may change over time, depending on the species and
other relevant considerations, such as the effects of interactions of
climate with other variables (e.g., habitat fragmentation) (IPCC 2007,
pp. 8-14, 18-19). In our analyses, we use our expert judgment to weigh
relevant information, including uncertainty, in our consideration of
various aspects of climate change.
As is the case with all stressors that we assess, even if we
conclude that a species is currently affected or is likely to be
affected in a negative way by one or more climate-related impacts, it
does not necessarily follow that the species meets the definition of an
``endangered species'' or a ``threatened species'' under the Act. If a
species is listed as endangered or threatened, knowledge regarding the
vulnerability of the species to, and known or anticipated impacts from,
climate-associated changes in environmental conditions can be used to
help devise appropriate strategies for its recovery.
Global climate change, with projections of increased variability in
weather patterns and greater frequency of severe weather events, as
well as warmer average temperatures, would affect remnant prairie
habitats and may be a significant threat to prairie species such as the
rattlesnake-master borer moth (Royer and Marrone 1992b, p. 12, 1992a,
pp. 22-23, Swengel et al. 2011, p. 336, Landis et al. 2012, p. 140).
Rattlesnake-master borer moth habitat may experience the effects of
gradual shifts in plant communities and an increase in catastrophic
events (such as severe storms, flooding, and fire) due to climate
change, which is exacerbated by habitat fragmentation. The isolation of
rattlesnake-master borer moth populations makes them unlikely to
recover from local catastrophes without artificial reintroduction or
propagation,
[[Page 49433]]
because they are not close enough to other populations for
recolonization to occur.
Documentation of climate-related changes that have already occurred
throughout the range of the rattlesnake-master borer moth (e.g.,
Johnson et al. 2005, pp. 863-871) and predictions of changes in annual
temperature and precipitation in the Midwest region of the United
States (Galatowitsch et al. 2009, p. 2017), and throughout North
America (IPCC 2007, p. 9) indicate that increased severity and
frequency of droughts, floods, fires, and other climate-related changes
will continue in the future. Recent studies have linked climate change
to observed or predicted changes in distribution or population size of
insects, particularly Lepidoptera (Wilson and Maclean 2011, p. 262).
Climate change is an emerging threat and has the potential to have
severe impacts on the species; however, at this time our knowledge of
how these impacts may play out is limited. All of the sites within the
range of the species are in an area that could experience the effects
of climate change.
Prairie Management Techniques
Native prairie must be managed to prevent the indirect effects of
invasive species and succession from affecting rattlesnake-master borer
moth populations. If succession has progressed too far, established
shrubs or trees must be removed in a way that avoids or minimizes
damage to the native prairie. When succession is well advanced,
managers must use intensive methods, including intensive fire
management, to restore prairie plant communities. If not administered
carefully prescriptive methods such as fire and grazing themselves can
harm local populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths (for example,
see Factor A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or
Curtailment of Its Habitat or Range). Rattlesnake-master borer moths
are susceptible to the effects of prairie management techniques much of
the year because the eggs overwinter in the prairie duff, and early
instars are located on the leaves and stems of the food plant and do
not bore beneath the surface of the soil into the root ball until late
June (LaGesse et al. 2009, p. 4). The above life history traits and the
adults' low dispersal ability make them susceptible to mortality from
prescribed fires, except when they have bored into the root of the host
plant. Eggs and first instar caterpillars are also more susceptible to
the effects of grazing cattle and bison before they bore into the root
of the rattlesnake-master below the soil surface.
If not appropriately managed with fire, grazing, or haying,
rattlesnake-master borer moth habitat is degraded due to reduced
diversity of native prairie plants and eventually succeeds to shrubby
or forested habitats that are not suitable for rattlesnake-master.
Rattlesnake-master borer moth has been extirpated from one site in
Kentucky, likely due to the succession to woody plants, which changed
the composition of the plant community on site making it no longer
suitable for the moth (Laudermilk 2012, pers. comm.).
Indiscriminate use of insecticides and herbicides to control
invasive species and agricultural pests is also a threat to the
species. In 2009, an application of herbicide affected populations or
rattlesnake-master in the railroad siding prairie in Marion, Effingham,
and Fayette Counties (LaGesse and Walk 2010, unpaginated). LaGesse and
Walk (2010, unpaginated) found that 2 rattlesnake-master populations
were completely destroyed and 19 declined between 2009 and 2010. The
decline in the food plant impacted the rattlesnake-master borer moths
populations, as three declined from 2009 to 2010 (LaGesse and Walk
2010, unpaginated).
In summary, efforts to manage invasive species and woody
encroachment, such as fire, grazing, and herbicide use, is a threat to
the rattlesnake-master borer moth. These management techniques, if not
administered with the species in mind, can cause direct mortality and
may impact whole populations. At least one management technique is
being used or has been used on 10 of the 16 sites with known
populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths, and is occurring in all
5 States.
Conservation Efforts To Reduce Other Natural or Manmade Factors
Affecting Its Continued Existence
The conservation activities discussed under Factor A Habitat
Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment of Its Range may address some
factors discussed under Factor E. Of the sites that are protected and
managed (four Illinois DNR sites, one Northeast Illinois University
site, the North Carolina site, and the Oklahoma Tallgrass Prairie
Preserve site) all have some sort of management that is being
implemented in order to maintain the prairie community in which the
rattlesnake-master borer moth lives. However, those plans are not
specifically designed to avoid direct impacts to the moth. We are
unaware of any conservation efforts that would directly address the
impacts from climate change to rattlesnake-master borer moths.
Summary of Factor E
Rattlesnake-master borer moths are significantly affected by
habitat fragmentation and population isolation. Most of the remaining
populations of the species are small and isolated, making them
vulnerable to stochastic events and increasing the potential for
extirpation from catastrophic events as natural recolonization from
other populations is not possible. These small, isolated populations
are likely to become unviable over time due to lower genetic diversity
reducing their ability to adapt to environmental change (Frankham et
al. 2009, pp. 309-335). Environmental effects resulting from climatic
change, including increased flooding and drought, are expected to
become severe in the future and result in additional habitat losses.
Although necessary for maintaining diverse prairie habitat and avoiding
succession and invasive species, some prairie management techniques,
such as fire and grazing, may cause mortality and impact rattlesnake-
master borer moth populations if not administered carefully.
Collectively, these threats have operated in the past, are impacting
the species now, and will continue to impact the species in the future
across its range.
Cumulative Effects From Factors A Through E.
Many of the threats described in this finding may cumulatively or
synergistically impact rattlesnake-master borer moth beyond the scope
of each individual threat. For example, the use of prescribed fire may
impact only some individual rattlesnake-master borer moths or small
populations. However, populations that are small and potentially
unviable, that are already under threat from succession or invasive
species, coupled with an extensive drought, may collectively result in
the extirpation of individual populations, and potentially the
continued loss or fragmentation of habitat across all of the species'
range. In turn, climate change may exacerbate those effects, further
diminishing habitat and increasing the isolation of already declining
and isolated populations, making them more susceptible to genetic drift
or catastrophic events such as fire, flooding, and drought. Almost all
of the 16 known rattlesnake-master borer moth populations are subject
to two or more threats outlined in Factors A through E. One site is
isolated and surrounded by urban landscape, has been subjected to
illegal collecting, is managed with
[[Page 49434]]
prescribed burning, and is known to have standing water during high
rain events. Numerous threats are likely acting cumulatively and
rangewide on the species.
Finding
As required by the Act, we considered the five factors in assessing
whether the rattlesnake-master borer moth is a threatened or endangered
species throughout all of its range. We examined the best scientific
and commercial information available regarding the past, present, and
future threats faced by the rattlesnake-master borer moth. We reviewed
the petition, information available in our files, and other available
published and unpublished information, and we consulted with recognized
rattlesnake-master borer moth experts and other Federal, State, and
tribal agencies.
This status review identified threats to the rattlesnake-master
borer moth attributable to Factors A, B, and E. The primary threat to
the species is from habitat destruction and modification resulting in
small, isolated populations that are subject to a greater risk of
extirpation with little chance of recolonization (Factors A and E). The
species has been found to be fire-sensitive and potentially affected by
grazing activities, if they are conducted when life stages of the
species are vulnerable, which is much of the year. Rattlesnake-master
borer moths are dependent on one food plant, rattlesnake-master, which
is a conservative prairie species and not generally found in disturbed
habitats. Rattlesnake-master borer moths are currently not protected
from collection or ``take'' in four of the five States in which it is
found. Furthermore, poaching has been documented at two sites owned by
the Illinois DNR, where it is listed as a State endangered species. Due
to the historical habitat loss, current populations are small and
isolated and thus are not resilient to ongoing threats.
On the basis of the best scientific and commercial information
available, we find that the petitioned action to list the rattlesnake-
master borer moth as threatened or endangered is warranted. We will
make a determination on the status of the species as an endangered or
threatened species when we do a proposed listing determination.
However, as explained in more detail below, an immediate proposal of a
regulation implementing this action is precluded by higher priority
listing actions, and progress is being made to add or remove qualified
species from the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and
Plants.
We reviewed the available information to determine if the existing
and foreseeable threats render the species at risk of extinction now
such that issuing an emergency regulation temporarily listing the
species under section 4(b)(7) of the Act is warranted. We determined
that issuing an emergency regulation temporarily listing the species is
not warranted for this species at this time, because 5 of the 16 known
populations have some sort of protections or management in place.
However, if at any time we determine that issuing an emergency
regulation temporarily listing the rattlesnake-master borer moth is
warranted, we will initiate this action at that time.
Listing Priority Number
The Service adopted guidelines on September 21, 1983 (48 FR 43098),
to establish a rational system for using available resources for the
highest priority species when adding species to the Lists of Endangered
or Threatened Wildlife and Plants or reclassifying species listed as
endangered or threatened species. These guidelines, titled ``Endangered
and Threatened Species Listing and Recovery Priority Guidelines''
address the immediacy and magnitude of threats, and the level of
taxonomic distinctiveness by assigning priority in descending order to
monotypic genera (genus with one species), full species, and subspecies
(or equivalently, distinct population segments of vertebrates). We
assigned the rattlesnake-master borer moth a Listing Priority Number
(LPN) of 8 based on our finding that the species faces threats that are
moderate to low in magnitude and are imminent. These threats include
the destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat and range,
overutilization for recreational or scientific purposes, habitat
fragmentation and population isolation, and the direct mortality from
some prairie management techniques. This is the highest priority that
can be provided to a species under our guidance. Our rationale for
assigning the rattlesnake-master borer moth an LPN of 8 is outlined
below.
Under the Service's LPN Guidance, the magnitude of threat is the
first criterion we look at when establishing a listing priority. The
guidance indicates that species with the highest magnitude of threat
are those species facing the greatest threats to their continued
existence. These species receive the highest listing priority.
Some threats that the rattlesnake-master moth faces are high in
magnitude, such as habitat conversion and fragmentation, and population
isolation. These threats with the highest magnitude occur in many of
the populations throughout the species' range, but although they are
likely to affect each population at some time, they are not likely to
affect all of the populations at any one time. Rattlesnake-master borer
moths are habitat specialists, feeding solely on rattlesnake-master.
Although rattlesnake-master is found in 26 States, the amount of
tallgrass prairie in the United States has declined by approximately
82-99 percent (Samson and Knopf 1994, p. 418), and rattlesnake-master
is generally not found in disturbed prairie. Much of the remaining
potential habitat that has not been converted for agricultural purposes
or developed in other ways is made up of small remnant prairies that
are widely scattered. These populations are isolated, making each one
individually more likely to be extirpated if subjected to stochastic
and catastrophic events. The small, isolated populations are also under
threat of becoming unviable, as they receive limited or no immigration
of individuals from other populations. Without sufficient gene flow,
these populations will lose genetic diversity.
Other threats, such as agricultural and nonagricultural
development, mortality from implementation of some prairie management
tools, flooding, succession, and climate change are moderate to low
threats because they affect only some populations throughout the range.
The life history of rattlesnake-master borer moths makes them highly
sensitive to fire. Although a useful tool in maintaining prairie
habitat and fighting succession, prescribed burning has the potential
to cause mortality of individuals through most of the year and can
affect entire populations. Ten of the 16 sites with rattlesnake-master
borer moths use fire as a management tool. Research has shown that even
when entire sites are burned, rattlesnake-master borer moths can
survive in situ. However, given their sensitivity to fire, populations
likely rely on recolonization from unburned areas. It is possible that
not all of the populations on the larger sites are being burned at
once, because populations of rattlesnake-master borer moth are
scattered within the sites. The population within the North Carolina
site may have been impacted by this management tool as surveys
conducted after the 1994 fire that affected the entire site showed
evidence of only one individual larva (Hall 2012, pers. comm.).
Conversely, complete fire
[[Page 49435]]
suppression can also be a threat to rattlesnake-master borer moths as
prairie habitat declines and woody or invasive species become
established (Schweitzer et al. 2011, p. 40; Panzer and Schwartz 2000,
p. 363). The rattlesnake-master is a conservative plant species and not
found in disturbed prairies (Danderson and Molano-Flores 2010, p. 235;
Molano-Flores 2001, p. 1). The population of rattlesnake-master borer
moth on one Kentucky site is thought to have been extirpated due to
succession of the prairie to woody species (Laudermilk 2012, pers.
comm.)
Although conversion of prairie to agricultural purposes has been
precipitous, we have no indication that it is currently a threat of
high magnitude. Flooding and the application of herbicide are
additional threats to the species, although their incidence has been
localized and so are not considered of high magnitude. Climate change
is an emerging threat, although it is not currently known to be
affecting any of the populations of rattlesnake-master borer moths.
Regulatory mechanisms provide protection for 12 of the 16 known
sites that contain rattlesnake-master borer moths. Seven of these sites
are owned and managed by State agencies, nongovernmental organizations,
and a university, and all rattlesnake-master borer moths in Illinois
are protected from collection through the State's threatened and
endangered species statute. Although regulatory mechanisms are in
place, several sites are currently under threat by development, and
known illegal collections of the moth have occurred within two of the
protected sites in Illinois. Although some threats to the rattlesnake
master borer moth are high in magnitude, we consider most threats to
the species to be of moderate to low magnitude.
Under our LPN Guidance, the second criterion we consider in
assigning a listing priority is the immediacy of threats. This
criterion is intended to ensure that the species that face actual,
identifiable threats are given priority over those for which threats
are only possible or species that are intrinsically vulnerable but are
not known to be presently facing such threats. Every known population
of rattlesnake-master borer moth has at least one imminent threat, and
some have several working in tandem. These actual, identifiable threats
are covered in detail under the discussion of Factors A, B, and E of
this finding and currently include conversion of habitat for
nonagricultural use, fire, flooding, succession, overutilization, and
habitat fragmentation and population isolation. One Arkansas population
of the species was impacted by construction of an incinerator on the
Pine Bluff Arsenal, and three known populations in Illinois are under
threat from the development of a high-speed rail project. Fire is used
as a management tool on 10 of the known populations, is not prescribed
in a way to avoid direct mortality to the species, and is thought to
have adversely impacted the North Carolina population when it was
burned entirely (Hall 2012, pers. comm.).
For those sites with no management, succession is an ongoing
threat. For example, experts believe that specific rattlesnake-master
borer moths populations have been extirpated due to the change in
habitat from the succession to woody species (Laudermilk 2012, pers.
comm.). Illegal collection is known from two Illinois DNR sites, and
these two populations and one in Kentucky are kept undisclosed for fear
of additional collection. Twelve of the known sites containing
rattlesnake-master borer moth are considered isolated, as they are not
connected by contiguous habitat to other prairie containing
rattlesnake-master and are not likely to be recolonized by the poorly
dispersing adult rattlesnake-master borer moths. Thus, the continuing
effects of habitat fragmentation and isolation are a threat to the
rattlesnake-master borer moth across its range. Although not all of the
threats are found within each site that contains populations of
rattlesnake-master borer moth, the collective threats are impacting all
of the known sites, and we believe the impacts will continue to impact
the remaining populations.
The third criterion in our LPN guidance is intended to devote
resources to those species representing highly distinctive or isolated
gene pools as reflected by taxonomy. The rattlesnake-master borer moth
is a valid taxon at the species level, and, therefore, receives a
higher priority than subspecies or Distinct Population Segments (DPSs),
but a lower priority than species in a monotypic genus. The
rattlesnake-master borer moth faces high magnitude, imminent threats,
and is a valid taxon at the species level. Thus, in accordance with our
LPN guidance, we have assigned the rattlesnake-master borer moth an LPN
of 8.
We will continue to monitor the threats to the rattlesnake-master
borer moth and the species' status on an annual basis and, should the
magnitude or the imminence of the threats change, we will revisit our
assessment of the LPN.
Work on a proposed listing determination for the rattlesnake-master
borer moth is precluded by work on higher priority listing actions with
absolute statutory, court-ordered, or court-approved deadlines and
final listing determinations for those species that were proposed for
listing with funds from Fiscal Year 2013. This work includes all the
actions listed in the tables below under expeditious progress.
Preclusion and Expeditious Progress
To make a finding that a particular action is warranted-but-
precluded, the Service must make two findings: (1) That the immediate
proposal and timely promulgation of a final regulation is precluded by
pending listing proposals, and (2) that expeditious progress is being
made to add qualified species to either of the lists and to remove
species from the lists. 16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)(B)(iii).
Preclusion
A listing proposal is precluded if the Service does not have
sufficient resources available to complete the proposal, because there
are competing demands for those resources, and the relative priority of
those competing demands is higher. Thus, in any given fiscal year (FY),
multiple factors dictate whether it will be possible to undertake work
on a listing proposal regulation or whether promulgation of such a
proposal is precluded by higher priority listing actions--(1) The
amount of resources available for completing the listing function, (2)
the estimated cost of completing the proposed listing, and (3) the
Service's workload and prioritization of the proposed listing in
relation to other actions.
Available Resources
The resources available for listing actions are determined through
the annual Congressional appropriations process. In FY 1998 and for
each fiscal year since then, Congress has placed a statutory cap on
funds that may be expended for the Listing Program. This spending cap
was designed to prevent the listing function from depleting funds
needed for other functions under the ESA (for example, recovery
functions, such as removing species from the Lists), or for other
Service programs(see House Report 105-163, 105th Congress, 1st Session,
July 1, 1997). The funds within the spending cap are available to
support work involving the following listing actions: Proposed and
final listing rules; 90-day and 12-month findings on petitions to add
species to the Lists or to change the
[[Page 49436]]
status of a species from threatened to endangered; annual
``resubmitted'' petition findings on prior warranted-but-precluded
petition findings as required under section 4(b)(3)(C)(i) of the ESA;
critical habitat petition findings; proposed and final rules
designating critical habitat; and litigation-related, administrative,
and program-management functions (including preparing and allocating
budgets, responding to Congressional and public inquiries, and
conducting public outreach regarding listing and critical habitat).
We cannot spend more for the Listing Program than the amount of
funds within the spending cap without violating the Anti-Deficiency Act
(see 31 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1)(A)). In addition, since FY 2002, the
Service's budget has included a critical habitat subcap to ensure that
some funds are available for completing Listing Program actions other
than critical habitat designations (``The critical habitat designation
subcap will ensure that some funding is available to address other
listing activities'' (House Report No. 107-103, 107th Congress, 1st
Session. June 19, 2001)). In FY 2002 and each year until FY 2006, the
Service had to use virtually the entire critical habitat subcap to
address court-mandated designations of critical habitat, and
consequently none of the critical habitat subcap funds were available
for other listing activities. In some FYs since 2006, we have been able
to use some of the critical habitat subcap funds to fund proposed
listing determinations for high-priority candidate species. In other
FYs, while we were unable to use any of the critical habitat subcap
funds to fund proposed listing determinations, we did use some of this
money to fund the critical habitat portion of some proposed listing
determinations so that the proposed listing determination and proposed
critical habitat designation could be combined into one rule, thereby
being more efficient in our work. In FY 2013, based on the Service's
workload, we were able to use some of the critical habitat subcap funds
to fund proposed listing determinations.
For FY 2012 Congress also put in place two additional subcaps
within the listing cap: One for listing actions for foreign species and
one for petition findings. As with the critical habitat subcap, if the
Service does not need to use all of the funds within the subcap, we are
able to use the remaining funds for completing proposed or final
listing determinations. In FY 2013, based on the Service's workload, we
were able to use some of the funds within the foreign species subcap
and the petitions subcap to fund proposed listing determinations.
We make our determinations of preclusion on a nationwide basis to
ensure that the species most in need of listing will be addressed first
and also because we allocate our listing budget on a nationwide basis.
Through the listing cap, the three subcaps, and the amount of funds
needed to complete court-mandated actions within those subcaps,
Congress and the courts have in effect determined the amount of money
available for other listing activities nationwide. Therefore, the funds
in the listing cap--other than those within the subcaps needed to
comply with court orders or court-approved settlement agreements
requiring critical habitat actions for already-listed species, listing
actions for foreign species, and petition findings--set the framework
within which we make our determinations of preclusion and expeditious
progress.
For FY 2013, on March 26, 2013, Congress passed a Full Year
Continuing Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 113-6) which provides funding
through the end of the FY 2013. In particular, it included a spending
cap of $20,997,000 for the listing program. In addition, no more than
$1,498,000 could be used for listing actions for foreign species and no
more than $1,498,000 could be used to make 90-day or 12-month findings
on petitions. The Service thus had $13,453,000 available to work on
proposed and final listing determinations for domestic species. In
addition, if the Service had funding available within the critical
habitat, foreign species, or petition subcaps after those workloads had
been completed, it could use those funds to work on listing actions
other than critical habitat designations or foreign species.
Costs of Listing Actions. The work involved in preparing various
listing documents can be extensive, and may include, but is not limited
to: Gathering and assessing the best scientific and commercial data
available and conducting analyses used as the basis for our decisions;
writing and publishing documents; and obtaining, reviewing, and
evaluating public comments and peer review comments on proposed rules
and incorporating relevant information into final rules. The number of
listing actions that we can undertake in a given year also is
influenced by the complexity of those listing actions; that is, more
complex actions generally are more costly. The median cost for
preparing and publishing a 90-day finding is $39,276; for a 12-month
finding, $100,690; for a proposed rule with critical habitat, $345,000;
and for a final listing rule with critical habitat, $305,000.
Prioritizing Listing Actions. The Service's Listing Program
workload is broadly composed of four types of actions, which the
Service prioritizes as follows: (1) Compliance with court orders and
court-approved settlement agreements requiring that petition findings
or listing or critical habitat determinations be completed by a
specific date; (2) section 4 (of the Act) listing and critical habitat
actions with absolute statutory deadlines; (3) essential litigation-
related, administrative, and listing program-management functions; and
(4) section 4 listing actions that do not have absolute statutory
deadlines. In FY 2010, the Service received many new petitions and a
single petition to list 404 species, significantly increasing the
number of actions within the second category of our workload--actions
that have absolute statutory deadlines. As a result of the petitions to
list hundreds of species, we currently have over 460 12-month petition
findings yet to be initiated and completed.
To prioritize within each of the four types of actions, we
developed guidelines for assigning a listing priority number (LPN) for
each candidate species (48 FR 43098, September 21, 1983). Under these
guidelines, we assign each candidate an LPN of 1 to 12, depending on
the magnitude of threats (high or moderate to low), immediacy of
threats (imminent or nonimminent), and taxonomic status of the species
(in order of priority: monotypic genus (a species that is the sole
member of a genus); species; or part of a species (subspecies or
distinct population segment)). The lower the listing priority number,
the higher the listing priority (that is, a species with an LPN of 1
would have the highest listing priority). A species with a higher LPN
would generally be precluded from listing by species with lower LPNs,
unless work on a proposed rule for the species with the higher LPN can
be combined with work on a proposed rule for other high-priority
species. This is not the case for rattlesnake-master borer moth. Thus,
in addition to being precluded by the lack of available resources, the
rattlesnake-master borer moth with an LPN of 8 is also precluded by
work on proposed listing determinations for those candidate species
with a higher listing priority.
Finally, proposed rules for reclassification of threatened species
to endangered species are lower priority, because as listed species,
they are already afforded the protections of the Act and implementing
regulations.
[[Page 49437]]
However, for efficiency reasons, we may choose to work on a proposed
rule to reclassify a species to endangered if we can combine this with
work that is subject to a court-determined deadline.
Since before Congress first established the spending cap for the
Listing Program in 1998, the Listing Program workload has required
considerably more resources than the amount of funds Congress has
allowed for the Listing Program. It is therefore important that we be
as efficient as possible in our listing process. Therefore, as we
implement our listing work plan and work on proposed rules for the
highest priority species in the next several years, we are preparing
multi-species proposals when appropriate, and these may include species
with lower priority if they overlap geographically or have the same
threats as one of the highest-priority species. In addition, we take
into consideration the availability of staff resources when we
determine which high-priority species will receive funding to minimize
the amount of time and resources required to complete each listing
action.
Listing Program Workload. Each FY we determine, based on the amount
of funding Congress has made available within the Listing Program
spending cap, specifically which actions we will have the resources to
work on in that FY. We then prepare Allocation Tables that identify the
actions that we are funding for that FY, and how much we estimate it
will cost to complete each action; these Allocation Tables are part of
our record for this notice and the listing program. Our Allocation
Table for FY 2012, which incorporated the Service's approach to
prioritizing its workload, was adopted as part of a settlement
agreement in a case before the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia (Endangered Species Act Section 4 Deadline Litigation, No.10-
377 (EGS), MDL Docket No. 2165 (``MDL Litigation''), Document 31-1 (D.
DC May 10, 2011) (``MDL Settlement Agreement'')). The requirements of
paragraphs 1 through 7 of that settlement agreement, combined with the
work plan attached to the agreement as Exhibit B, reflected the
Service's Allocation Tables for FY 2011 and FY 2012. In addition,
paragraphs 2 through 7 of the agreement require the Service to take
numerous other actions through FY 2017--in particular, complete either
a proposed listing rule or a not-warranted finding for all 251 species
designated as ``candidates'' in the 2010 candidate notice of review
(``CNOR'') before the end of FY 2016, and complete final listing
determinations within one year of proposing to list any of those
species. Paragraph 10 of that settlement agreement sets forth the
Service's conclusion that ``fulfilling the commitments set forth in
this Agreement, along with other commitments required by court orders
or court-approved settlement agreements already in existence at the
signing of this Settlement Agreement (listed in Exhibit A), will
require substantially all of the resources in the Listing Program.'' As
part of the same lawsuit, the court also approved a separate settlement
agreement with the other plaintiff in the case; that settlement
agreement requires the Service to complete additional actions in
specific fiscal years -- including 12-month petition findings for 11
species, 90-day petition findings for 477 species, and proposed listing
determinations or not-warranted findings for 39 species.
These settlement agreements have led to a number of results that
affect our preclusion analysis. First, the Service has been, and will
continue to be, limited in the extent to which it can undertake
additional actions within the Listing Program through FY 2017 beyond
what is required by the MDL Settlement Agreements. Second, because the
settlement is court-approved, two broad categories of actions now fall
within the Service's highest priority (compliance with a court order):
(1) the Service's entire prioritized workload for FY 2012, as reflected
in its Allocation Table, and (2) completion, before the end of FY 2016,
of proposed listings or not-warranted findings for most of the
candidate species identified in this CNOR (in particular, for those
candidate species that were included in the 2010 CNOR). Therefore, each
year, one of the Service's highest priorities is to make steady
progress towards completing by the end of 2017 proposed and final
listing determinations for the 2010 candidate species--based on its LPN
prioritization system, preparing multi-species actions when
appropriate, and taking into consideration the availability of staff
resources.
The MDL settlement agreements required the Service conduct a status
review and make a 12-month finding for the rattlesnake-master borer
moth. As specified in the Act, the outcome of a 12-month finding could
be warranted, not warranted, or warranted but precluded. The MDL
settlement agreements did not require a proposed listing rule be issued
if listing the rattlesnake-master borer moth was determined to be
warranted. As we have determined above the listing of the rattlesnake-
master borer moth is warranted but precluded, we have assigned an LPN
of 8 to the rattlesnake-master borer moth. Therefore, even if the
Service has some additional funding after completing all of the work
required by court orders and court-approved settlement agreements, we
would first fund actions with absolute statutory deadlines for species
that have lower LPNs. In light of all of these factors, funding a
proposed listing rule for the rattlesnake-master borer moth is
precluded by court-ordered and court-approved settlement agreements,
listing actions with absolute statutory deadlines, and work on proposed
listing determinations for those candidate species with a lower LPN.
Expeditious Progress
As explained above, a determination that listing is warranted but
precluded must also demonstrate that expeditious progress is being made
to add and remove qualified species to and from the Lists. As with our
``precluded'' finding, the evaluation of whether progress in adding
qualified species to the Lists has been expeditious is a function of
the resources available for listing and the competing demands for those
funds. (Although we do not discuss it in detail here, we are also
making expeditious progress in removing species from the list under the
Recovery program in light of the resource available for delisting,
which is funded by a separate line item in the budget of the Endangered
Species Program. Thus far, during FY 2013, we completed delisting rules
for two species.) As discussed below, given the limited resources
available for listing, we find that we are making expeditious progress
in FY 2013 in the Listing Program.
We provide below tables cataloguing the work of the Service's
Listing Program in FY 2013. This work includes all three of the steps
necessary for adding species to the Lists: (1) Identifying species that
warrant listing, (2) undertaking the evaluation of the best available
scientific information about those species and the threats they face,
and preparing proposed and final listing rules, and (3) adding species
to the Lists by publishing proposed and final listing rules that
include a summary of the data on which the rule is based and show the
relationship of that data to the rule. After taking into consideration
the limited resources available for listing, the competing demands for
those funds, and the completed work catalogued in the tables below, we
find that we are making expeditious progress to add qualified species
to the Lists FY 2013.
[[Page 49438]]
In addition to the work the Service has completed towards adding
qualified species to the Lists, on May 10, 2011, the Service filed in
the MDL Litigation a settlement agreement that incorporated the
Service's work plan for FY 2012; the court approved that settlement
agreement on September 9, 2011. Paragraph 10 of that settlement
agreement provides, ``The Parties agree that the timetables for
resolving the status of candidate species outlined in this Agreement
constitute expeditious progress in adding qualified species to the
lists of threatened and endangered species.'' The Service also filed a
second settlement agreement that required even more work in FY 2012.
The Service had already begun in FY 2011 to implement that work
required by the work plan, and many of these initial actions in our
work plan include work on proposed rules for candidate species with an
LPN of 2 or 3. Therefore, both by entering into the first settlement
agreement and by completing the listing actions required by both
settlement agreements, the Service is making expeditious progress to
add qualified species to the lists. As provided for in the settlement
agreements and the work plan incorporated into the first agreement, the
Service's progress in FY 2013 include completing and publishing the
following determinations:
FY 2013 Completed Listing Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Publication date Title Actions FR Pages
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/2/2012................... Proposed Threatened Proposed Listing 77 FR 60207-60235.
Status for Coral Pink Threatened.
Sand Dunes Tiger
Beetle and Designation
of Critical Habitat.
10/2/2012................... 12-Month Petition Notice of 12-month 77 FR 60179-60206.
Finding, Listing of petition finding,
the Spring Pygmy Warranted Proposed
Sunfish as Threatened, Listing Threatened.
and Designation of
Critical Habitat.
10/3/2012................... 12-month Finding for Notice of 12-month 77 FR 60509-60579.
the Lemmon Fleabane; petition finding, Not
Endangered Status for warranted Proposed
the Acu[ntilde]a Listing Endangered.
Cactus and the
Fickeisen Plains
Cactus and Designation
of Critical Habitat.
10/4/2012................... Proposed Endangered Proposed Listing 77 FR 60749-60776.
Species Status for the Endangered.
Florida Bonneted Bat.
10/4/2012................... Determination of Final Listing 77 FR 60777-60802.
Endangered Species Endangered.
Status for
Coqu[iacute] Llanero
Throughout Its Range
and Designation of
Critical Habitat.
10/4/2012................... Endangered Species Proposed Listing 77 FR 60803-60882.
Status for the Fluted Endangered.
Kidneyshell and
Slabside Pearlymussel
and Designation of
Critical Habitat.
10/9/2012................... 12-Month Finding on Notice of 12-month 77 FR 61375-61377.
Petitions to List the petition finding, Not
Mexican Gray Wolf as warranted.
an Endangered
Subspecies or Distinct
Population Segment
with Critical Habitat.
10/10/2012.................. Determination of Final Listing 77 FR 61663-61719.
Endangered Species Endangered and
Status for the Alabama Threatened.
Pearlshell, Round
Ebonyshell, Southern
Kidneyshell, and
Choctaw Bean, and
Threatened Species
Status for the Tapered
Pigtoe, Narrow Pigtoe,
Southern Sandshell,
and Fuzzy Pigtoe, and
Designation of
Critical Habitat.
10/11/2012.................. Endangered Species Proposed Listing 77 FR 61835-61894.
Status for Cape Sable Endangered.
Thoroughwort, Florida
Semaphore Cactus, and
Aboriginal Prickly-
apple, and Designation
of Critical Habitat
for Cape Sable
Thoroughwort.
10/11/2012.................. Listing Taylor's Proposed Listing 77 FR 61937-62058.
Checkerspot Butterfly Endangered and
and Streaked Horned Threatened.
Lark and Designation
of Critical Habitat.
10/16/2012.................. Proposed Endangered Proposed Listing 77 FR 63439-63536.
Status for the Neosho Endangered and
Mucket, Threatened Threatened.
Status for the
Rabbitsfoot, and
Designation of
Critical Habitat for
Both Species.
10/17/2012.................. Listing 15 Species on Proposed Listing 77 FR 63927-64018.
Hawaii Island as Endangered.
Endangered and
Designating Critical
Habitat for 3 Species.
11/14/2012.................. 90-Day Finding on a Notice of 90-day 77 FR 67784-67789.
Petition to List the Petition Finding,
Heller Cave Springtail Substantial.
as Endangered or
Threatened.
11/28/2012.................. Status Review for a Notice Status Review... 77 FR 70987-70988.
Petition to List the
Ashy Storm-petrel as
Endangered or
Threatened.
12/04/2012.................. 90-Day Finding on a Notice of 90-day 77 FR 71757-71758.
Petition To List Petition Finding, Not
Phoenix dactylifera substantial.
`Sphinx' (Sphinx Date
Palm).
12/04/2012.................. 90-Day Finding on a Notice of 90-day 77 FR 71759-71771.
Petition to List the Petition Finding, Not
Prairie Gray Fox, the substantial
Plains Spotted Skunk, Substantial.
and a Distinct
Population Segment of
the Mearn's Eastern
Cottontail in East-
central Illinois and
Western Indiana as
Endangered or
Threatened Species.
12/11/2012.................. Listing the Lesser Proposed Listing 77 FR 73827-73888.
Prairie-Chicken as a Threatened.
Threatened Species.
[[Page 49439]]
12/11/2012.................. Listing Four Subspecies Proposed Listing 77 FR 73769-73825.
of Mazama Pocket Threatened.
Gopher and Designation
of Critical Habitat.
1/11/2013................... Endangered Status for Proposed Listing 78 FR 2486-2538.
Gunnison Sage-grouse. Endangered.
1/25/2013................... Endangered Status for Proposed Listing 78 FR 5369-5385.
the Zuni Bluehead Endangered.
Sucker.
2/4/2013.................... Threatened Status for Proposed Listing 78 FR 7863-7890.
the Distinct Threatened.
Population Segment of
the North American
Wolverine Occurring in
the Contiguous United
States.
3/19/2013................... Status Review of the Notice of Status Review 78 FR 16828-16829.
West Coast Distinct
Population Segment of
the Fisher as
Endangered or
Threatened.
3/28/2013................... 12-Month Finding on a Notice of 12-month 78 FR 18936-18938.
Petition to List the petition finding, Not
Rosemont Talussnail as warranted.
Endangered or
Threatened.
4/9/2013.................... 90-Day Finding on a Notice of 90-day 78 FR 21086-21097.
Petition to List Two Petition Finding,
Populations of Black- Substantial.
Backed Woodpecker as
Endangered or
Threatened.
4/23/2013................... Threatened Status for Final Listing 78 FR 23983-24005.
Eriogonum codium Threatened.
(Umtanum Desert
Buckwheat) and
Physaria douglasii
subsp. tuplashensis
(White Bluffs
Bladderpod).
4/25/2013................... Endangered Status for Proposed Listing 78 FR 24471-24514.
the Sierra Nevada Endangered and
Yellow-legged Frog and Threatened.
the Northern Distinct
Population Segment of
the Mountain Yellow-
legged Frog, and
Threatened Status for
the Yosemite Toad.
5/24/2013................... Proposed Threatened Proposed Listing 78 FR 31498-31511.
Status for Threatened.
Leavenworthia exigua
var. laciniata
(Kentucky Glade Cress).
5/28/2013................... Determination of Final Listing 78 FR 32013-32065.
Endangered Status for Endangered.
38 Species on Molokai,
Lanai, and Maui.
6/20/2013................... Listing Determination Proposed Listing 78 FR 37363-37369.
for the New Mexico Endangered.
Meadow Jumping Mouse.
7/9/2013.................... Determination of Final Listing 78 FR 41227-41258.
Endangered Species Endangered.
Status for Six West
Texas Aquatic
Invertebrates.
7/10/2013................... Threatened Status for Proposed Listing 78 FR 41499-41547.
the Northern Mexican Threatened.
Gartersnake and Narrow-
headed Gartersnake.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our expeditious progress also included work on listing actions that
we funded in previous fiscal years, and in FY 2013, but have not yet
been completed to date. For these species, we have completed the first
step, and have been working on the second step, necessary for adding
species to the Lists. These actions are listed below. Actions in the
top section of the table are being conducted under a deadline set by a
court through a court order or settlement agreement. Actions in the
lower section of the table are being conducted to meet statutory
timelines, that is, timelines required under the Act.
Actions Funded in Previous FYs and FY 2013 But Not Yet Completed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Action
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actions Subject to Court Order/Settlement Agreement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gierisch's mallow (Sphaeralcea Final listing.
gierischii).
4 Texas salamanders (salado, Final listing.
Georgetown, Jollyville plateau,
and Austin blind).
Jemez Mountains salamander....... Final listing.
2 Texas plants (Texas golden Final listing.
gladecress and Neches River rose-
mallow).
Grotto sculpin................... Final listing.
Mount Charleston blue butterfly.. Final listing.
Spring pygmy sunfish............. Final listing.
Coral pink sand dunes tiger Final listing.
beetle.
3 Arizona plants (Echinomastus Final listing.
erectocentrus var. acunensis,
Erigeron lemmonii, Pediocactus
peeblesianus fickeiseniae).
2 Tennessee River mussels (fluted Final listing.
kidneyshell and slabside pearly
mussel).
Florida bonneted bat............. Final listing.
4 Puget trough species (4 Final listing.
subspecies of pocket gopher
(Thomomys mazama ssp.) (LPN =3).
3 Sierra amphibians (Yosemite Final listing.
toad, mountain yellow-legged
frog--Sierra Nevada DPSs).
3 southern Florida plants Final listing.
(Florida semaphore cactus,
aboriginal prickly-apple, Cape
Sable thoroughwort).
2 Puget trough species (Taylor's Final listing.
checkerspot, streaked horned
lark).
Lesser prairie chicken........... Final listing.
Gunnison sage-grouse............. Final listing.
15 Hawaiian big island species... Final listing.
2 Arkansas mussels (neosho mucket Final listing.
and Rabbitsfoot).
Red knot (LPN = 3)............... Proposed listing.
[[Page 49440]]
Dakota skipper (LPN = 8) and Proposed listing.
Poweshiek skipperling (LPN = 2).
Vandenberg monkeyflower.......... Proposed listing.
Yellow-billed cuckoo (western Proposed listing.
U.S. DPS).
2 Brazos River fish (smalleyed Proposed listing.
shiner and sharpnose shiner).
Georgia rockcress................ Proposed listing.
2 Sierra plants (webber ivesia, Proposed listing.
soldier meadows cinquefoil).
Oregon spotted frog.............. Proposed listing.
2 Florida butterflies (Bartram's Proposed listing.
hairstreak and Florida leafwing).
Greater sage-grouse, bi-State DPS Proposed listing.
3 species Caribbean plants Proposed listing.
(Cordia rupicola, Gonocalyx
concolor, Agave eggersiana).
Canada lynx--New Mexico.......... Proposed listing.
White River beardtongue.......... Proposed listing.
2 Florida pine rockland plants Proposed listing.
(Carter's small-flowered flax
and Florida brickell-bush).
3 Southeast plants (whorled Proposed listing.
sunflower, gladecress, and
Short's bladderpod).
Washington ground squirrel....... Proposed listing.
2 San Diego plants (Orcutt's Proposed listing.
hazardia and Brand's Phacelia).
Xantus's murrelet................ Proposed listing.
Kittlitz's murrelet.............. Proposed listing.
Yellow-billed loon............... Proposed listing.
Florida bristle fern............. Proposed listing.
Ashy storm-petrel................ 12-month petition finding/proposed
listing.
Eastern small-footed bat and 12-month petition finding/proposed
northern long-eared bat. listing.
Rattlesnake-master borer moth.... 12-month petition finding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actions with Statutory Deadlines
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alexander Archipelago wolf....... 90-day petition finding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another way that we have been expeditious in making progress to add
qualified species to the Lists is that we have endeavored to make our
listing actions as efficient and timely as possible, given the
requirements of the relevant law and regulations, and constraints
relating to workload and personnel. We are continually considering ways
to streamline processes or achieve economies of scale, such as by
batching related actions together. Given our limited budget for
implementing section 4 of the ESA, these efforts also contribute
towards finding that we are making expeditious progress to add
qualified species to the Lists.
The rattlesnake-master borer moth will be added to the list of
candidate species upon publication of this 12-month finding. We will
continue to monitor the status of this species as new information
becomes available. This review will determine if a change in status is
warranted, including the need to make prompt use of emergency listing
procedures.
We intend that any proposed listing action for the rattlesnake-
master borer moth will be as accurate as possible. Therefore, we will
continue to accept additional information and comments from all
concerned governmental agencies, the scientific community, industry, or
any other interested party concerning this finding.
The rattlesnake-master borer moth will be added to the list of
candidate species upon publication of this 12-month finding. We will
continue to evaluate this species as new information becomes available.
Continuing review will determine if a change in status is warranted,
including the need to make prompt use of emergency listing procedures.
We intend that any proposed listing determination for the
rattlesnake-master borer moth will be as accurate as possible.
Therefore, we will continue to accept additional information and
comments from all concerned governmental agencies, the scientific
community, industry, or any other interested party concerning this
finding.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited is available on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov and upon request from the Rock Island,
Illinois Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES section).
Author(s)
The primary author(s) of this notice are the staff members of the
Rock Island, Illinois Ecological Services Field Office.
Authority
The authority for this section is section 4 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: August 5, 2013.
Rowan W. Gould,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-19632 Filed 8-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P