Vol. 76 Thursday, No. 194 October 6, 2011 Part II Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition To List Texas Fatmucket, Golden Orb, Smooth Pimpleback, Texas Pimpleback, and Texas Fawnsfoot as Threatened or Endangered; Proposed Rule VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:27 Oct 05, 2011 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\06OCP2.SGM 06OCP2 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2 62166 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 194 / Thursday, October 6, 2011 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary additional mussels from eastern Texas, Mowad, Texas State Administrator, U.S. the Texas heelsplitter (Potamilus Fish and Wildlife Service Fish and Wildlife Service (see amphichaenus) and Salina mucket (P. ADDRESSES); by telephone at 512–927– metnecktayi), were also included in this 50 CFR Part 17 3557; or by facsimile at 512–927–3592. petition. The petition incorporated all If you use a telecommunications device analyses, references, and documentation [FWS–R2–ES–2011–0079; MO 92210–0–0008 for the deaf (TDD), please call the provided by NatureServe in its online B2] Federal Information Relay Service database at http://www.natureserve.org/ Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (FIRS) at 800–877–8339. into the petition. Included in and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NatureServe was supporting information regarding the species’ Petition To List Texas Fatmucket, Background Golden Orb, Smooth Pimpleback, taxonomy and ecology, historical and Texas Pimpleback, and Texas Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act (16 current distribution, present status, and Fawnsfoot as Threatened or U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that, for actual and potential causes of decline. Endangered any petition to revise the Federal Lists We sent a letter dated July 11, 2007, to of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife Forest Guardians acknowledging receipt AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, and Plants that contains substantial of the petition and stating that the Interior. scientific or commercial information petition was under review by staff in ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition that listing the species may be our Southwest Regional Office. finding. warranted, we make a finding within 12 On October 15, 2008, we received a months of the date of receipt of the petition dated October 9, 2008, from SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and petition. In this finding, we will WildEarth Guardians, requesting that Wildlife Service (Service), announce a determine that the petitioned action is: the Service list as threatened or 12-month finding on a petition to list (1) Not warranted, (2) warranted, or (3) endangered and designate critical five mussel species in Texas as warranted, but the immediate proposal habitat for six species of freshwater threatened or endangered and to of a regulation implementing the mussels, including the smooth designate critical habitat under the petitioned action is precluded by other pimpleback, Texas pimpleback, and Endangered Species Act of 1973, as pending proposals to determine whether Texas fawnsfoot. Two additional amended (Act). The five species are species are threatened or endangered, mussels from the Rio Grande basin, the Texas fatmucket (Lampsilis bracteata), and expeditious progress is being made false spike (Quincuncina mitchelli) and golden orb (Quadrula aurea), smooth to add or remove qualified species from Mexican fawnsfoot (Truncilla congata), pimpleback (Q. houstonensis), Texas the Federal Lists of Endangered and were also included in this petition. In Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Section pimpleback (Q. petrina), and Texas addition to other information, the 4(b)(3)(C) of the Act requires that we fawnsfoot (Truncilla macrodon). After petition incorporated all analyses, treat a petition for which the requested review of all available scientific and references, and documentation provided action is found to be warranted but commercial information, we find that by NatureServe in its online database at precluded as though resubmitted on the listing these five mussel species is http://www.natureserve.org/. In a date of such finding, that is, requiring a warranted. Currently, however, listing November 26, 2008, letter to the subsequent finding to be made within of these species is precluded by higher petitioner, we acknowledged receipt of 12 months. We must publish these 12- priority actions to amend the Federal the second petition and stated that the month findings in the Federal Register. Lists of Endangered and Threatened petition for the six mussel species was Wildlife and Plants. Upon publication Previous Federal Actions under review by staff in our Southwest of this 12-month petition finding, we This 12-month petition finding covers (Region 2) and Southeast (Region 4) will add these five species to our Regional Offices. The southern candidate species list. We will develop five species of mussels that are grouped together because of their overlapping or hickorynut (Obovaria jacksoniana) was a proposed rule to list these species as proximate ranges within the river basins also included in this 2008 petition, and our priorities allow. We will make any of central Texas. The petitions for listing on March 23, 2010 (75 FR 13717), we determination on critical habitat during these five species were parts of two found that the petition did not present development of the proposed listing multi-species petitions, dated June 18, substantial information supporting that rule. In any interim period, we will 2007, and October 9, 2008. The other that species may be endanagered or address the status of the candidate taxa species from those petitions, including threatened. through our annual Candidate Notice of other Texas mussels, will be considered On December 15, 2009, we published Review. in separate petition findings. our 90-day finding that the petitions DATES: The finding announced in this On June 25, 2007, we received a presented substantial scientific document was made on October 6, 2011. formal petition dated June 18, 2007, information indicating that listing nine ADDRESSES: This finding is available on from Forest Guardians (now WildEarth Texas mussels may be warranted (74 FR the Internet at http:// Guardians), requesting that we: (1) 66260). As a result of the finding, we www.regulations.gov at Docket Number Consider all full species in our initiated a status review for all nine FWS–R2–ES–2011–0079. Supporting Southwest Region ranked as G1 or G1G2 species. This notice constitutes the 12- documentation we used in preparing by the organization NatureServe, except month finding on the June 18, 2007, this finding is available for public those that are currently listed, proposed petition to list the Texas fatmucket and inspection, by appointment, during for listing, or candidates for listing; and golden orb and the October 9, 2008, normal business hours at the U.S. Fish (2) List each species as either threatened petition to list the smooth pimpleback, and Wildlife Service, 1505 Ferguson or endangered with critical habitat. The Texas pimpleback, and Texas fawnsfoot Lane, Austin, TX 78754. Please submit petitioned group of species included as threatened or endangered. Our any new information, materials, four Texas mussels, two of which are petition findings for the remaining comments, or questions concerning this included in this finding: the Texas Texas mussel species will be published finding to the above address. fatmucket and golden orb. Two at a later time. VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:27 Oct 05, 2011 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\06OCP2.SGM 06OCP2 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 194 / Thursday, October 6, 2011 / Proposed Rules 62167 Summary of Procedures for Determining with a discussion of the priority and juvenile mussels weeks or months after the Listing Status of Species progress of our listing actions. attachment (Arey 1932, pp. 214–215). Review of Status Based on Five Factors General Mussel Biology Mussels experience their primary opportunity for dispersal and movement Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) All five species are freshwater within the stream as glochidia attached and implementing regulations (50 CFR mussels in the family Unionidae and to a host fish (Smith 1985, p. 105). Upon occur only in Texas, in portions of the part 424) set forth procedures for adding release from the host, newly species to, removing species from, or Colorado, Guadalupe, Nueces-Frio, and transformed juveniles drop to the reclassifying species on the Federal Brazos River systems (Howells et al. substrate on the bottom of the stream. Lists of Endangered and Threatened 1996, p. 1). Adult freshwater mussels Those juveniles that drop in unsuitable Wildlife and Plants. Under section are suspension feeders, drawing in food 4(a)(1) of the Act, a species may be and oxygen through their incurrent substrates die because their immobility determined to be endangered or siphon (tube that draws water into the prevents them from relocating to more threatened based on any of the shell). They may also feed on organic favorable habitat. Juvenile freshwater following five factors: particles in sediment using the large, mussels burrow into interstitial (A) The present or threatened muscular foot (an organ used to anchor substrates and grow to a larger size that destruction, modification, or the mussel in the substrate or for is less susceptible to predation and curtailment of its habitat or range; locomotion) (Raikow and Hamilton displacement from high flow events (B) Overutilization for commercial, 2001, p. 520). Adults feed on algae, (Yeager et al. 1994, p. 220). Throughout recreational, scientific, or educational bacteria, detritus (dead organic the rest of their life cycle, mussels purposes; material), microscopic animals, and generally remain within the same small (C) Disease or predation; dissolved organic matter (Fuller 1974, area where they released from the host (D) The inadequacy of existing pp.