<RULE> <PREAMB> DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 [Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2012-0080; 4500030113] RIN 1018–AY18 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly and Threatened Status for the Streaked Horned Lark AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Final rule. 1 SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered status for the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori) and threatened status for the streaked horned lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. This final rule adds these species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and implements the Federal protections provided by the Act for these species. This rule also establishes a special rule under section 4(d) of the Act to exempt certain activities from the take prohibitions of the Act and our regulations in order to provide for the conservation of the streaked horned lark. DATES: This rule is effective [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. ADDRESSES: This final rule is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov and http://www.fws.gov/wafwo/TCBSHL.html . Comments and materials received, as well as supporting documentation used in the preparation of this rule, will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Drive SE., Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503–1263; 360–753–9440 (telephone); 360–753–9008 (facsimile). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Berg, Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Drive, Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503-1263; by telephone 360–753–9440; or by facsimile 360–753–9405. 2 Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800–877–8339. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Summary Why we need to publish a rule On October 11, 2012 (77 FR 61938), we published a proposed rule to list the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori) as an endangered species, and the streaked horned lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata) as a threatened species. In this final rule, we are finalizing our proposed determinations for these species under the Act. The Act requires that a final rule be published in order to add species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife to provide protections under the Act. Elsewhere in today’s Federal Register, we are finalizing designation of critical habitat for these species under the Act. The final critical habitat designations and supporting documents are published under Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2013-0009. The table below summarizes our determination for each of these species: Table 1. Summary of the status and range of the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly and the streaked horned lark. Species Present range Status Taylor’s Euphydryas editha British Columbia, Endangered checkerspot taylori Canada; 3 butterfly Clallam, Pierce, and Thurston Counties, WA; and Benton County, OR. Streaked Eremophila Grays Harbor, Mason, Threatened horned lark alpestris strigata Pacific, Pierce, Thurston, Cowlitz, and Wahkiakum Counties, WA; Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill Counties, OR. This rule: • Lists the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly as an endangered species under the Act because it is currently in danger of extinction throughout the species’ range. • Lists the streaked horned lark as a threatened species under the Act because it is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout the species’ range due to continued threats. • Establishes a special rule under section 4(d) of the Act to exempt certain airport maintenance activities and operations, agricultural activities, and noxious weed 4 control activities from the take prohibitions of the Act and our regulations in order to provide for the conservation of the streaked horned lark. The basis for our action Under the Act, we can determine that a species is an endangered or threatened species based on any of 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. We have determined that these species are impacted by one or more of the following factors to the extent that the species meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species under the Act: • Habitat loss through conversion and degradation of habitat, particularly from agricultural and urban development, successional changes to grassland habitat, military training, and the spread of invasive plants; • Predation (streaked horned lark); • Inadequate existing regulatory mechanisms that allow significant threats such as habitat loss; • Other natural or manmade factors, including low genetic diversity, small or isolated populations, low reproductive success, and declining population sizes; • Aircraft strikes and training at airports (streaked horned lark); and • Pesticide use (potential threat for the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly). 5 Peer review and public comment We sought comments from independent specialists to ensure that our determination is based on scientifically sound data, assumptions, and analyses. We invited these peer reviewers to comment on our listing proposal. We also considered all comments and information we received during the comment periods and the public hearing. Background It is our intent to discuss only those topics directly relevant to the listing determinations for the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly and the streaked horned lark in this final rule. A summary of topics relevant to this final rule is provided below. Additional information on both species may be found in the proposed rule, which was published October 11, 2012 (77 FR 61938). Previous Federal Action Candidate History We first identified the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly and the streaked horned lark as candidates for listing in our 2001 candidate notice of review (CNOR) (66 FR 54808; October 30, 2001). Each candidate species is assigned a listing priority number (LPN) that is based on the immediacy and magnitude of threats and taxonomic status. In 2001, 6 both of these species were assigned an LPN of 6, which reflects threats of a high magnitude that are not considered imminent. In 2004, based on new information, we determined that the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly faced imminent threats of a high magnitude, and we assigned it an LPN of 3 (69 FR 24876; May 4, 2004). In 2006, the streaked horned lark was also assigned an LPN of 3, based on a review indicating that the continued loss of suitable lark habitat, risks to the wintering populations, and plans for development, hazing, and military training activities were imminent threats to the species (71 FR 53756; September 12, 2006). The candidate status, with an LPN of 3 for each species, for the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly and the streaked horned lark was most recently reaffirmed in the November 21, 2012, CNOR (77 FR 69994). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) completed action plans for the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly and the streaked horned lark and set conservation targets and identified actions to achieve those targets over the next 5 years. These plans can be found on the Service’s website at: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/action_plans/doc3089.pdf (Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly) and http://www.fws.gov/wafwo/pdf/STHL_Action%20Plan_Sept2009.pdf (streaked horned lark). On October 11, 2012, we published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to list the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly as endangered and the streaked horned lark as threatened, and to designate critical habitat for these two species (77 FR 61938). This proposed rule also contained a proposed special rule under section 4(d) of the Act for the 7 streaked horned lark. The 60-day comment period on that proposed rule closed on December 10, 2012. On April 3, 2013, we published a document making available the draft economic analysis of the proposed critical habitat designations for the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly and the streaked horned lark, and an amended required determinations section of the proposed designations (78 FR 20074). We additionally announced three public information workshops and a public hearing, held in April 2013, on the proposed rule to list the species and the associated critical habitat designations. The public comment period was reopened for 30 days, ending on May 3, 2013. The final rule designating critical habitat for these two species is published elsewhere in today’s Federal Register. Species Information—Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly is a medium-sized, colorfully marked butterfly with a checkerboard pattern on the upper (dorsal) side of the wings (Pyle 2002, p. 310). Their wings are orange with black and yellowish (or white) spot bands, giving them a checkered appearance (Pyle 1981, p. 607; Pyle 2002, p. 310). The Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly was historically known to occur in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, and its current distribution represents a reduction from over 80 locations rangewide to 14. Taxonomy and Species Description Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly is a subspecies of Edith’s checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha). The Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly was originally described by 8 W.H. Edwards (1888) from specimens collected from Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British Columbia (BC). Euphydryas editha taylori is recognized as a valid subspecies by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS 2012a). It is one of several rare and threatened subspecies of Edith’s checkerspot butterfly, including the Bay checkerspot (E. e. bayensis) from the San Francisco Bay area and the Quino checkerspot (E.