Vol. 80 Thursday, No. 247 December 24, 2015 Part III Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions; Notice VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:10 Dec 23, 2015 Jkt 238001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\24DEP3.SGM 24DEP3 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS3 80584 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 247 / Thursday, December 24, 2015 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR period October 1, 2014, through to the notice of review. We also request September 30, 2015. 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–2015–0135; FF09E21000 FXES11190900000 156] 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 notice is available on ESA), requires that we identify species That Are Candidates for Listing as the Internet at http:// of wildlife and plants that are Endangered or Threatened; Annual www.regulations.gov and http:// endangered or threatened based on the Notice of Findings on Resubmitted www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/ best available scientific and commercial Petitions; Annual Description of cnor.html. Species assessment forms information. As defined in section 3 of Progress on Listing Actions with information and references on a the ESA, an endangered species is any particular candidate species’ range, AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, species that is in danger of extinction status, habitat needs, and listing priority Interior. throughout all or a significant portion of assignment are available for review at its range, and a threatened species is ACTION: Notice of review. the appropriate Regional Office listed any species that is likely to become an SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SUMMARY: In this Candidate Notice of below in or endangered species within the Review (CNOR), we, the U.S. Fish and at the Branch of Communications and foreseeable future throughout all or a Wildlife Service (Service), present an Candidate Conservation, Falls Church, significant portion of its range. Through FOR FURTHER updated list of plant and animal species VA (see address under the Federal rulemaking process, we add INFORMATION CONTACT), or on our Web native to the United States that we _ species that meet these definitions to regard as candidates for or have site (http://ecos.fws.gov/tess public/ the List of Endangered and Threatened proposed for addition to the Lists of reports/candidate-species-report). Wildlife at 50 CFR 17.11 or the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife Please submit any new information, Endangered and Threatened Plants at 50 materials, comments, or questions of a and Plants under the Endangered CFR 17.12. As part of this program, we general nature on this notice to the Falls Species Act of 1973, as amended. maintain a list of species that we regard Church, VA, address listed under FOR Identification of candidate species can as candidates for listing. A candidate FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please assist environmental planning efforts by species is one for which we have on file submit any new information, materials, providing advance notice of potential sufficient information on biological comments, or questions pertaining to a listings, and by allowing landowners vulnerability and threats to support a particular species to the address of the and resource managers to alleviate proposal for listing as endangered or Endangered Species Coordinator in the threats and thereby possibly remove the threatened, but for which preparation appropriate Regional Office listed in need to list species as endangered or and publication of a proposal is SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Species- threatened. Even if we subsequently list precluded by higher priority listing specific information and materials we a candidate species, the early notice actions. We may identify a species as a receive will be available for public provided here could result in more candidate for listing after we have inspection by appointment, during options for species management and conducted an evaluation of its status— normal business hours, at the recovery by prompting candidate either on our own initiative, or in appropriate Regional Office listed below conservation measures to alleviate response to a petition we have received. under Request for Information in threats to the species. If we have made a finding on a petition SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. General This CNOR summarizes the status and to list a species, and have found that information we receive will be available threats that we evaluated in order to listing is warranted but precluded by at the Branch of Communications and determine that species qualify as other higher priority listing actions, we Candidate Conservation, Falls Church, candidates, to assign a listing priority will add the species to our list of VA (see address under FOR FURTHER number (LPN) to each species, and to candidates. INFORMATION CONTACT). determine whether a species should be We maintain this list of candidates for removed from candidate status. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: a variety of reasons: (1) To notify the Additional material that we relied on is Chief, Branch of Communications and public that these species are facing available in the Species Assessment and Candidate Conservation, U.S. Fish and threats to their survival; (2) to provide Listing Priority Assignment Forms Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: ES, advance knowledge of potential listings (species assessment forms) for each 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA that could affect decisions of candidate species. 22041–3803 (telephone 703–358–2171). environmental planners and developers; This CNOR changes the LPN for two Persons who use a telecommunications (3) to provide information that may candidates and removes two species device for the deaf may call the Federal stimulate and guide conservation efforts from candidate status. Combined with Information Relay Service at 800–877– that will remove or reduce threats to other decisions for individual species 8339. these species and possibly make listing that were published separately from this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: unnecessary; (4) to request input from CNOR in the past year, the current We request additional status interested parties to help us identify number of species that are candidates information that may be available for those candidate species that may not for listing is 60. any of the candidate species identified require protection under the ESA, as This document also includes our in this 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 19:10 Dec 23, 2015 Jkt 238001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\24DEP3.SGM 24DEP3 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS3 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 247 / Thursday, December 24, 2015 / Notices 80585 conservation efforts for candidate (1) The number of populations or extent For more information on the process species, and offer technical and of range of the species affected by the and standards used in assigning LPNs, financial assistance to facilitate such threat(s), or both; (2) the biological a copy of the 1983 guidance is available efforts. For additional information significance of the affected on our Web site at: http://www.fws.gov/ regarding such assistance, please population(s), taking into consideration endangered/esa-library/pdf/1983_LPN_ contact the appropriate Regional Office the life-history characteristics of the Policy_FR_pub.pdf. Information on the listed under Request for Information or species and its current abundance and LPN assigned to a particular species is visit our Web site, http://www.fws.gov/ distribution; (3) whether the threats summarized in this CNOR, and the endangered/what-we-do/cca.html. affect the species in only a portion of its species assessment for each candidate contains the LPN chart and a rationale Previous Notices of Review range, and, if so, the likelihood of persistence of the species in the for the determination of the magnitude We have been publishing CNORs unaffected portions; (4) the severity of and immediacy of threat(s) and since 1975. The most recent was the effects and the rapidity with which assignment of the LPN. published on December 5, 2014 (79 FR they have caused or are likely to cause To the extent this revised notice 72450). CNORs published since 1994 mortality to individuals and differs from all previous animal, plant, are available on our Web site, http:// accompanying declines in population and combined candidate notices of www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/ levels; (5) whether the effects are likely review for native species or previous 12- cnor.html. For copies of CNORs to be permanent; and (6) the extent to month warranted-but-precluded petition published prior to 1994, please contact which any ongoing conservation efforts findings for those candidate species that the Branch of Communications and reduce the severity of the threat(s). were petitioned for listing, this notice FOR Candidate Conservation (see As used in our priority-ranking supercedes them.