87246 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 232 / Friday, December 2, 2016 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR period October 1, 2015, through to the notice of review. We also request September 30, 2016. information on additional species to Fish and Wildlife Service Moreover, we request any additional consider including as candidates as we status information that may be available prepare future updates of this notice. 50 CFR Part 17 for the candidate species identified in this CNOR. Candidate Notice of Review [Docket No. FWS–HQ–ES–2016–0095; FF09E21000 FXES11190900000 167] DATES: We will accept information on Background any of the species in this Candidate The Endangered Species Act of 1973, Endangered and Threatened Wildlife Notice of Review at any time. as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; and Plants; Review of Native Species ADDRESSES: This notification is ESA), requires that we identify species That Are Candidates for Listing as available on the Internet at http:// of wildlife and plants that are Endangered or Threatened; Annual www.regulations.gov and http:// endangered or threatened based solely Notification of Findings on www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/ on the best scientific and commercial Resubmitted Petitions; Annual cnor.html. Species assessment forms data available. As defined in section 3 Description of Progress on Listing with information and references on a of the ESA, an endangered species is Actions particular candidate species’ range, any species that is in danger of status, habitat needs, and listing priority AGENCY: extinction throughout all or a significant Fish and Wildlife Service, assignment are available for review at Interior. portion of its range, and a threatened the appropriate Regional Office listed species is any species that is likely to ACTION: Notification of review. below in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION or become an endangered species within SUMMARY: In this Candidate Notice of at the Branch of Conservation and the foreseeable future throughout all or Review (CNOR), we, the U.S. Fish and Communications, Falls Church, VA (see a significant portion of its range. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Wildlife Service (Service), present an address under Through the Federal rulemaking CONTACT), or on our Web site (http:// process, we add species that meet these updated list of plant and animal species _ native to the United States that we ecos.fws.gov/tess public/reports/ definitions to the List of Endangered regard as candidates for or, have candidate-species-report). Please submit and Threatened Wildlife at 50 CFR proposed for addition to the Lists of any new information, materials, 17.11 or the List of Endangered and comments, or questions of a general Endangered and Threatened Wildlife Threatened Plants at 50 CFR 17.12. As nature on this notice to the Falls and Plants under the Endangered part of this program, we maintain a list Church, VA, address listed under FOR Species Act of 1973, as amended. of species that we regard as candidates FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please Identification of candidate species can for listing. A candidate species is one submit any new information, materials, assist environmental planning efforts by for which we have on file sufficient comments, or questions pertaining to a providing advance notice of potential information on biological vulnerability particular species to the address of the listings, and by allowing landowners and threats to support a proposal for Endangered Species Coordinator in the and resource managers to alleviate listing as endangered or threatened, but appropriate Regional Office listed in threats and thereby possibly remove the for which preparation and publication SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Species- need to list species as endangered or of a proposal is precluded by higher- specific information and materials we priority listing actions. We may identify threatened. Even if we subsequently list receive will be available for public a candidate species, the early notice a species as a candidate for listing after inspection by appointment, during we have conducted an evaluation of its provided here could result in more normal business hours, at the status—either on our own initiative, or options for species management and appropriate Regional Office listed below in response to a petition we have recovery by prompting earlier candidate under Request for Information in received. If we have made a finding on conservation measures to alleviate SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. General a petition to list a species, and have threats to the species. information we receive will be available found that listing is warranted but This CNOR summarizes the status and at the Branch of Conservation and precluded by other higher priority threats that we evaluated in order to Communications, Falls Church, VA (see determine whether species qualify as listing actions, we will add the species address under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION candidates, to assign a listing priority to our list of candidates. CONTACT). number (LPN) to each candidate We maintain this list of candidates for FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: species, and to determine whether a a variety of reasons: (1) To notify the species should be removed from Chief, Branch of Conservation and public that these species are facing candidate status. Additional material Communications, U.S. Fish and Wildlife threats to their survival; (2) to provide that we relied on is available in the Service Headquarters, MS: ES, 5275 advance knowledge of potential listings Species Assessment and Listing Priority Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– that could affect decisions of Assignment Forms (species assessment 3803 (telephone 703–358–2171). environmental planners and developers; forms) for each candidate species. Persons who use a telecommunications (3) to provide information that may This CNOR changes the LPN for one device for the deaf may call the Federal stimulate and guide conservation efforts candidate. Combined with other Information Relay Service at 800–877– that will remove or reduce threats to decisions for individual species that 8339. these species and possibly make listing were published separately from this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We unnecessary; (4) to request input from CNOR in the past year, the current request additional status information interested parties to help us identify number of species that are candidates that may be available for any of the those candidate species that may not for listing is 30. candidate species identified in this require protection under the ESA, as This document also includes our CNOR. We will consider this well as additional species that may findings on resubmitted petitions and information to monitor changes in the require the ESA’s protections; and (5) to describes our progress in revising the status or LPN of candidate species and request necessary information for setting Lists of Endangered and Threatened to manage candidates as we prepare priorities for preparing listing proposals. Wildlife and Plants (Lists) during the listing documents and future revisions We encourage collaborative VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:15 Dec 01, 2016 Jkt 241001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\02DEP2.SGM 02DEP2 asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 232 / Friday, December 2, 2016 / Proposed Rules 87247 conservation efforts for candidate of range of the species affected by the a copy of the 1983 guidance is available species, and offer technical and threat(s), or both; (2) the biological on our Web site at: http://www.fws.gov/ financial assistance to facilitate such significance of the affected endangered/esa-library/pdf/1983_LPN_ efforts. For additional information population(s), taking into consideration Policy_FR_pub.pdf. Information on the regarding such assistance, please the life-history characteristics of the LPN assigned to a particular species is contact the appropriate Regional Office species and its current abundance and summarized in this CNOR, and the listed under Request for Information or distribution; (3) whether the threats species assessment for each candidate visit our Web site, http://www.fws.gov/ affect the species in only a portion of its contains the LPN chart and a more- endangered/what-we-do/cca.html. range, and, if so, the likelihood of detailed explanation for our persistence of the species in the determination of the magnitude and Previous Notices of Review unaffected portions; (4) the severity of immediacy of threat(s) and assignment We have been publishing CNORs the effects and the rapidity with which of the LPN. since 1975. The most recent was they have caused or are likely to cause To the extent this revised notice published on December 24, 2015 (80 FR mortality to individuals and differs from any previous animal, plant, 80584). CNORs published since 1994 accompanying declines in population and combined candidate notices of are available on our Web site, http:// levels; (5) whether the effects are likely review for native species or previous 12- www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/ to be permanent; and (6) the extent to month warranted-but-precluded petition cnor.html. For copies of CNORs which any ongoing conservation efforts findings for those candidate species that published prior to 1994, please contact reduce the severity of the threat(s). were petitioned for listing, this notice the Branch of Conservation and As used in our priority-ranking supercedes them. Communications (see FOR FURTHER system, immediacy of threat is Summary of This CNOR INFORMATION CONTACT, above). categorized as either ‘‘imminent’’ or On September 21, 1983, we published ‘‘nonimminent,’’ and is based on when Since publication of the previous guidance for assigning an LPN for each the threats will begin. If a threat is CNOR on December 24, 2015 (80 FR candidate species (48 FR 43098). Using currently occurring or likely to occur in 80584), we reviewed the available this guidance, we assign each candidate the very near future, we classify the information on candidate species to an LPN of 1 to 12, depending on the threat as imminent.