[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54758-54761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14402]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0088; FF09E22000 FXES1113090FEDR 245]
RIN 1018-BG50
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of White
Sedge (Carex albida) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to
remove the white sedge (Carex albida) from the Federal List of
Endangered and Threatened Plants (i.e., ``delist'' the species). Our
review of the best available scientific and commercial data indicate
that the white sedge is not a discrete taxonomic entity and does not
meet the definition of a species as defined by the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). White sedge has been synonymized with
Lemmon's sedge (Carex lemmonii). This taxonomic revision means that the
white sedge is no longer a scientifically accepted species. If we
finalize this rule as proposed, the prohibitions and conservation
measures provided by the Act, particularly through sections 7 and 9,
would no longer apply to the white sedge.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
September 3, 2024. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59
p.m. eastern time on the closing date. We must receive requests for
public hearings, in writing, at the address shown in FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT by August 16, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R8-ES-2023-0088,
which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Then, click on the
Search button. On the resulting page, in the Search panel on the left
side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, click on the
Proposed Rule box to locate this document. You may submit a comment by
clicking on ``Comment.''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2023-0088, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see Information Requested, below, for more information).
Availability of supporting materials: This proposed rule and
supporting documents, including a copy of the 5-year review referenced
throughout this
[[Page 54759]]
document, are available at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No.
FWS-R8-ES-2023-0088.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Fris, Field Supervisor, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800
Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825; telephone 916-414-6700. Individuals
in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
Please see Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0088 on https://www.regulations.gov for a document that summarizes this proposed rule.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Information Requested
We intend that any final action resulting from this proposed rule
will be based on the best scientific and commercial data available and
be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, we request
comments or information from other concerned governmental agencies,
Native American Tribes, the scientific community, industry, or any
other interested parties concerning this proposed rule.
We particularly seek comments concerning:
(1) Reasons we should or should not remove the white sedge from the
List of Endangered and Threatened Plants; and
(2) Additional taxonomic or other relevant data concerning the
white sedge.
Please include sufficient information with your submission (such as
scientific journal articles or other publications) to allow us to
verify any scientific or commercial information you include.
Please note that submissions merely stating support for, or
opposition to, the action under consideration without providing
supporting information, although noted, do not provide substantial
information necessary to support a determination. Section 4(b)(1)(A) of
the Act directs that determinations as to whether any species is an
endangered species or a threatened species must be made solely on the
basis of the best scientific and commercial data available.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning this proposed
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you
send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will
be posted on the website. If your submission is made via a hardcopy
that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the
top of your document that we withhold this information from public
review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We
will post all hardcopy submissions on https://www.regulations.gov.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing this proposed rule, will be
available for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov.
Our final determination may differ from this proposal because we
will consider all comments we receive during the comment period as well
as any information that may become available after this proposal. For
example, based on the new information we receive (and, if relevant, any
comments on that new information), we may conclude that the white sedge
should remain listed as endangered. We will clearly explain our
rationale and the basis for our final decision, including why we made
changes, if any, that differ from this proposal.
Public Hearing
Section 4(b)(5) of the Act provides for a public hearing on this
proposal, if requested. Requests must be received by the date specified
in DATES. Such requests must be sent to the address shown in FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. We will schedule a public hearing on this
proposal, if requested, and announce the date, time, and place of the
hearing, as well as how to obtain reasonable accommodations, in the
Federal Register and local newspapers at least 15 days before the
hearing. We may hold the public hearing in person or virtually via
webinar. We will announce any public hearing on our website, in
addition to the Federal Register. The use of these virtual public
hearings is consistent with our regulation at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).
Peer Review
In accordance with our joint policy on peer review published in the
Federal Register on July 1, 1994 (59 FR 34270), and our August 22,
2016, memorandum updating and clarifying the role of peer review of
listing and recovery actions under the Act, we will seek independent
scientific reviews from at least three appropriate and independent
specialists regarding scientific data and interpretations contained in
this proposed rule. We will send copies of this proposed rule to the
peer reviewers immediately following publication in the Federal
Register. We will ensure that the opinions of peer reviewers are
objective and unbiased by following the guidelines set forth in the
Director's Memo, which updates and clarifies Service policy on peer
review (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2016). The purpose of such
review is to ensure that our decisions are based on scientifically
sound data, assumptions, and analysis. Accordingly, our final decision
may differ from this proposal. Comments from peer reviewers will be
posted at https://www.regulations.gov and included in the decision file
for the final rule.
Previous Federal Action
Federal Government actions on white sedge began as a result of
section 12 of the Act, which directed the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution to prepare a report on those plants considered to be
endangered, threatened, or extinct in the United States. This report,
designated as House Document No. 94-51, was presented to Congress on
January 9, 1975, and included white sedge as an endangered species
(Ripley 1975, p. 56). We published a notice on July 1, 1975 (40 FR
27823), of our acceptance of the report of the Smithsonian Institution
as a petition within the context of section 4(c)(2) of the Act
(petition provisions are now found in section 4(b)(3) of the Act) and
our intention thereby to review the status of the plant taxa named
therein. White sedge was included in the July 1, 1975, notice (40 FR
27823 at 27833). On June 16, 1976, we published a proposal (41 FR
24523) to determine approximately 1,700 vascular plant species,
including white sedge, to be endangered species pursuant to section 4
of the Act. The list of 1,700 plant taxa was assembled based on
comments and data received by the Smithsonian Institution and the
Service in response to House Document No. 94-51 and our July 1, 1975,
notice (40 FR 27823 at 27833). General comments received related to the
1976 proposal were summarized in an April 26, 1978, rule (43 FR 17909).
We published a proposed rule to list the white sedge as endangered
on August 2, 1995 (60 FR 39314), and invited public comment. Processing
of the proposed rule was delayed by a congressional moratorium on
activities associated with final listings from April 10, 1995, through
April 26, 1996 (Pub. L. 104-6, 109 Stat. 73, 86 (1995)). After the
moratorium was lifted, we reopened the comment period on September 11,
[[Page 54760]]
1996, and scheduled a public hearing on October 3, 1996 (61 FR 47856).
We published the final rule to list white sedge as an endangered
species on October 22, 1997 (62 FR 55791).
We published a 5-year status review for the species on May 2, 2019,
and recommended white sedge be removed from the List of Endangered and
Threatened Plants based on taxonomic error (Service 2019, pp. 3-4).
White sedge has been synonymized with (i.e., considered to be the same
species as) Lemmon's sedge (Carex lemmonii), a wide-ranging and
abundant taxon endemic to California that is distributed throughout the
Northern Coast and Sierra-Cascade mountain ranges (Calflora 2022,
entire; Zika et al. 2015, entire). Therefore, white sedge is no longer
considered a valid species that is distinct from the more widely
abundant and distributed Lemmon's sedge.
Background
White sedge, as previously identified, is an herbaceous perennial
in the sedge family (Cyperaceae). The first white sedge specimen was
collected in 1854 by Dr. Jacob M. Bigelow during an exploratory
expedition to find a railway route from the Mississippi River to the
Pacific Ocean (Torrey and Gray 1857, p. 98). This specimen was
collected from Santa Rosa Creek in the Laguna de Santa Rosa wetland
complex in Sonoma County (Howell 1957, pp. 178-179; Best et al. 1996,
p. 252). No additional locations were recorded until the 1900s (Howell
1957, p. 178). The immaturity of the specimen when collected and lack
of additional collections in the following decades resulted in doubt
regarding its taxonomic validity (Zika and Wilson 2012, p. 171).
Several early taxonomic studies questioned the validity of white
sedge as a distinct species, resulting in numerous taxonomic revisions.
In 1922, white sedge was combined with woodrush sedge (C. luzulina)
(Mackenzie 1922, p. 64). In 1935, white sedge was grouped with Lemmon's
sedge (Mackenzie 1935, p. 314; 1940, pp. 198-199). In 1937, white sedge
was described as the distinct species C. sonomensis (Stacey 1937, pp.
63-64), and in 1957, white sedge and C. sonomensis were grouped
together and the grouped entity was described as distinct from Lemmon's
sedge (Howell 1957, pp. 178-180; 1965, pp. 1454-1455). This
nomenclature was followed for The Jepson Manual (Mastrogiuseppe, 1993,
p. 1111), which was the most current information considered for the
listing of white sedge as an endangered species in 1997. This
nomenclature continued to be followed for Flora of North America (Ball
and Mastrogiuseppe, 2002, pp. 479-480). The 2nd edition of The Jepson
Manual (Zika et al. 2012, p. 1328), based on analysis of the
characteristics of white sedge and Lemmon's sedge (Zika and Wilson,
2012, pp. 176-177), treats white sedge as a synonym for Lemmon's sedge.
Taxonomic studies used morphological characters of foliage,
perigynia (scale-like leaf enclosing a pistil (female flower)), achenes
(small, dry seed or fruit), and inflorescences (group of flowers) to
distinguish white sedge from other species of Carex (Zika and Wilson
2012, p. 171). White sedge has inflorescences with staminate (male)
flowers above the pistillate (female) flowers (especially on the
terminal inflorescence), lateral spikelets, and leaves that are shorter
than the stems, measuring 3 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) wide (62 FR 55791
at 55793, October 22, 1997). The final rule to designate white sedge as
an endangered species notes that some individuals may resemble Lemmon's
sedge but differ in perigynium and achene size, or in other respects
(62 FR 55791 at 55793, October 22, 1997). Taxonomists often use the
shape of perigynia to separate closely related Carex species (Zika and
Wilson 2012, p. 173).
To clarify previous taxonomic classifications of white sedge and to
explain the revised classification in Zika et al. (2012, p. 1328), 18
morphological characters that have been used to differentiate white
sedge and Lemmon's sedge were compared and evaluated (Zika and Wilson
2012, p. 173). In a preliminary study, the range of variation of 13
characters was determined for 39 herbarium specimens of white sedge and
270 specimens of Lemmon's sedge (Zika and Wilson 2012, p. 172).
Analysis of variance (ANOVA), non-metric multidimensional scaling
(NMS), and principal components analysis (PCA) were applied on a subset
of 6 specimens of white sedge and 57 specimens of Lemmon's sedge across
18 morphological characters (Zika and Wilson 2012, p. 172).
In those analyses, Lemmon's sedge could be distinguished from
similar sedges, including C. luzulina, C. luzufolia, and C.
fissuricola, through perigynia differences (Zika and Wilson 2012, p.
173). However, Lemmon's sedge plants from Sonoma County (i.e.,
populations previously referred to as white sedge) are not
distinguishable from specimens in Mariposa County (Zika and Wilson
2012, p. 173). Similarly, variations in perigynia of C. sonomensis are
consistent with variations in perigynia of Lemmon's sedge. Analyses of
other characters resulted in similar conclusions; there were no
characters that reliably distinguished between white sedge and Lemmon's
sedge (Zika and Wilson 2012, p. 173). Additionally, Lemmon's sedge
individuals from Butte, Mariposa, and San Bernardino Counties exhibited
a wide variation in many characters, resulting in some individuals that
closely resembled herbarium specimens and cultivated plants of white
sedge (Zika and Wilson 2012, p. 174).
ANOVA results for all quantitative characters indicate that white
sedge is not morphologically distinct from Lemmon's sedge (Zika and
Wilson 2012, p. 175). Except for leaf width, all white sedge
morphological traits are within the range of variation found among the
57 Lemmon's sedge specimens (Zika and Wilson 2012, p. 175). When
considered alone, the variation of leaf width between the two taxa is
statistically significant (Zika and Wilson 2012, p. 176). However,
there is considerable overlap in leaf width variation, and Zika and
Wilson (2012, pp. 174-175) do not consider this character to have
practical taxonomic significance. PCA and NMS yield similar results
(Zika and Wilson 2012, p. 176). Therefore, statistical results fail to
distinguish white sedge and Lemmon's sedge as distinct entities based
on morphological characters. Because Lemmon's sedge was described
before white sedge, it is appropriate to synonymize both entities under
the same scientific name of Carex lemmonii.
Following the findings of Zika and Wilson (2012, pp. 176-177),
white sedge was removed from the California Native Plant Society's Rare
Plant Inventory and from Global Rank G1 (critically imperiled) and
State Rank S1 (critically imperiled) of the California Natural
Diversity Database (Sims and Lazar 2013, p. 2). Further, the California
Natural Diversity Database (2023, p. 4) no longer tracks white sedge,
as they consider white sedge a synonym of Lemmon's sedge.
Regulatory Framework
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) and the implementing
regulations in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations set forth
the procedures for determining whether a species is an endangered
species or a threatened species, issuing protective regulations for
threatened species, and designating critical habitat for endangered and
threatened species. On April 5, 2024, jointly with the National Marine
Fisheries Service, the Service issued a final rule that revised the
regulations in 50 CFR part 424 regarding how we add,
[[Page 54761]]
remove, and reclassify endangered and threatened species and what
criteria we apply when designating listed species' critical habitat (89
FR 24300). This final rule is now in effect and is incorporated into
the current regulations. ``Species'' is defined by the Act as including
any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct
population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife that
interbreeds when mature (16 U.S.C. 1532(16)).
Our regulations at 50 CFR 424.11(e) identify four reasons why,
after conducting a status review based on the best scientific and
commercial data available, we shall delist a species: (1) The species
is extinct; (2) the species has recovered to the point at which it no
longer meets the definition of an endangered species or a threatened
species; (3) new information that has become available since the
original listing decision shows the listed entity does not meet the
definition of an endangered species or a threatened species; or (4) new
information that has become available since the original listing
decision shows the listed entity does not meet the definition of a
species.
Determination of White Sedge Status
In accordance with our regulations at 50 CFR 424.11(e)(4) currently
in effect, our review of the best scientific and commercial data
available indicates that the white sedge does not meet the statutory
definition of a species. Therefore, we propose to remove the white
sedge from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. The
white sedge does not require a post-delisting monitoring (PDM) plan
because the requirements for a PDM do not apply to delisting species
due to the listed entity no longer meeting the statutory definition of
a species.
Effects of This Proposed Rule
This proposed rule, if made final, would revise 50 CFR 17.12(h) by
removing the white sedge from the Federal List of Endangered and
Threatened Plants. The prohibitions and conservation measures provided
by the Act, particularly through sections 7 and 9, would no longer
apply to this species. Federal agencies would no longer be required to
consult with the Service under section 7 of the Act in the event that
activities they authorize, fund, or carry out may affect the white
sedge. There is no critical habitat designated for this species, so
there would be no effect to 50 CFR 17.96.
Required Determinations
Clarity of the Rule
We are required by Executive Orders 12866 and 12988 and by the
Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 1998, to write all rules in plain
language. This means that each rule we publish must:
(1) Be logically organized;
(2) Use the active voice to address readers directly;
(3) Use clear language rather than jargon;
(4) Be divided into short sections and sentences; and
(5) Use lists and tables wherever possible.
If you feel that we have not met these requirements, send us
comments by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. To better help us
revise the rule, your comments should be as specific as possible. For
example, you should tell us the numbers of the sections or paragraphs
that are unclearly written, which sections or sentences are too long,
the sections where you feel lists or tables would be useful, etc.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited in this rulemaking is available
on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov and upon request from
the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Authors
The primary authors of this proposed rule are staff members of the
Service's Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Plants,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation, Wildlife.
Proposed Regulation Promulgation
Accordingly, we propose to amend part 17, subchapter B of chapter
I, title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth below:
PART 17--ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS
0
1. The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 1531-1544; and 4201-4245, unless
otherwise noted.
0
2. In Sec. 17.12, amend paragraph (h) by removing the entry for
``Carex albida (White sedge)'' under Flowering Plants from the List of
Endangered and Threatened Plants.
Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-14402 Filed 7-1-24; 8:45 am]
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