2024-00029. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 5-Year Status Reviews of 16 Listed Animal and Plant Species

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of initiation of reviews; request for information.

SUMMARY:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are initiating 5-year status reviews under the Endangered Species Act, for 3 plant and 13 animal species. A 5-year status review is based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review; therefore, we are requesting submission of any such information that has become available since the last review for the species. We invite comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, please send your written information by March 5, 2024. However, we will continue to accept new information about any listed species at any time.

ADDRESSES:

For instructions on how to submit information for each species, see the table in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request information on specific species, contact the appropriate person in the table in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section or, for general information, contact Laura Ragan, via email at [e-mail] or by phone at 612–713–5157. 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

We are initiating 5-year status reviews under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for 3 plant and 13 animal species. A 5-year status review is based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review; therefore, we are requesting submission of any such information that has become available since the last review for the species.

Why do we conduct 5-year reviews?

Under the ESA, we maintain Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (which we collectively refer to as the List) in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.11 (for animals) and 17.12 (for plants). Section 4(c)(2)(A) of the ESA requires us to review each listed species' status at least once every 5 years. Our regulations at 50 CFR 424.21 require that we publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing those species under active review. For additional information about 5-year reviews, go to https://www.fws.gov/​project/​five-year-status-reviews.

What information do we consider in our review?

A 5-year review considers the best scientific and commercial data that have become available since the current listing determination or most recent status review of each species, such as:

(A) Species biology, including but not limited to population trends, distribution, abundance, demographics, and genetics;

(B) Habitat conditions, including but not limited to amount, distribution, and suitability;

(C) Conservation measures that have been implemented that benefit the species;

(D) Threat status and trends in relation to the five listing factors (as defined in section 4(a)(1) of the ESA); and

(E) Other new information, data, or corrections, including but not limited to taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, identification of erroneous information contained in the List, and improved analytical methods.

New information will be considered in the 5-year review and ongoing recovery programs for the species.

Which species are under review?

This notice announces our active 5-year status reviews of the species in the following table.

Common name	Scientific name	Taxonomic group	Listing status	Where listed	Final listing rule ( Federal Register citation and publication date)	Contact person, email, phone	Contact person's U.S. mail address
Animals
Hine's emerald dragonfly	Somatochlora hineana	Insect	E	IL, MI, MO, WI	60 FR 5267; January 26, 1995	Kris Lah, [e-mail], 847–366–2347	USFWS, 230 South Dearborn, Suite 2398, Chicago, IL 60604.
Dakota skipper	Hesperia dacotae	Butterfly	T	IA, IL, MN, ND, SD	79 FR 63672; October 24, 2014	Araceli Morales Santos, [e-mail], 612–352–7969	USFWS, 3815 American Boulevard East, Bloomington, MN 55425.
Karner blue butterfly	Lycaeides melissa samuelis	Butterfly	E	IL, IN, MI, MN, NH, NY, OH, WI	57 FR 59236; December 14, 1992	Dawn Marsh, [e-mail], 612–283–8054	USFWS, 3815 American Boulevard East, Bloomington, MN 55425.
Poweshiek skipperling	Oarisma poweshiek	Butterfly	E	IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, ND, SD, WI	79 FR 63672; October 24, 2014	Tamara Smith, [e-mail], 612–600–1599	USFWS, 3815 American Boulevard East, Bloomington, MN 55425.
Illinois cave amphipod	Gammarus acherondytes	Crustacean	E	IL	63 FR 46900; September 3, 1998	Kristen Lundh, [e-mail], 309–757–5800, ext. 215	USFWS, 1511 47th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265.
Iowa Pleistocene snail	Discus macclintocki	Snail	E	IA, IL	43 FR 28932; July 3, 1978	Kraig McPeek, [e-mail], 309–757–5800, ext. 202	USFWS, 1511 47th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265.
Pink mucket	Lampsilis abrupta	Mussel	E	AL, AR, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MS, MO, OH, TN, VA, WV	41 FR 24062; June 14, 1976	Joshua Hundley, [e-mail], 573–234–432, ext. 176	USFWS, 101 Park DeVille Drive, Suite A, Columbia, MO 65203.
Purple cat's paw	Epioblasma obliquata	Mussel	E	KY, OH, TN, WV	55 FR 28209; July 10, 1990	Angela Boyer, [e-mail], 614–416–8993, ext. 122	USFWS, 4625 Morse Road, Suite 104, Columbus, OH 43230.
Spectaclecase mussel	Cumberlandia monodonta	Mussel	E	AL, AR, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MN, MO, OH, TN, VA, WV, WI	77 FR 14914; March 13, 2012	Nick Utrup, [e-mail], 612–600–6122	USFWS, 3815 American Boulevard East, Bloomington, MN 55425.
Niangua darter	Etheostoma nianguae	Fish	T	MO	50 FR 24649; June 12, 1985	Bryan Simmons, [e-mail], 417–836–5302	USFWS, 101 Park DeVille Drive, Suite A, Columbia, MO 65203.
Ozark hellbender	Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi	Amphibian	E	AR, MO	76 FR 61956; October 6, 2011	Trisha Crabill, [e-mail], 573–234–5016	USFWS, 101 Park DeVille Drive, Suite A, Columbia, MO 65203.
Piping plover (Great Lakes breeding population)	Charadrius melodus	Bird	E	Great Lakes watershed in IL, IN, MI, MN, NY, OH, PA, WI	50 FR 50726; December 11, 1985	Jillian Farkas, [e-mail], 517–351–5467	USFWS, 2651 Coolidge Road, Suite 101, East Lansing, MI 48823.
Piping plover (Atlantic Coast and Northern Great Plains populations)	Charadrius melodus	Bird	T	Entire, except those areas where listed as E, above	50 FR 50726; December 11, 1985	Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba: Jordan Smith, [e-mail], 605–957–5375	USFWS, 55245 Highway 121, Crofton, NE 68730.
						North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Bahamas, Cuba, Puerto Rico, other Caribbean Islands: Melissa Chaplin, [e-mail], 843–727–4707	USFWS, 176 Croghan Spur Road, Suite 200, Charleston, SC 29407.
						Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana: Patricia Kelly, [e-mail], 850–273–4611	USFWS, 1601 Balboa Avenue, Panama City, FL 32405.
						Texas and Mexico: Moni Belton, [e-mail], 281–212–1512	USFWS, 17629 El Camino Real #211, Houston, TX 77058.
						Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Newfoundland, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and St. Pierre and Miquelon (France), any area not listed above, and information pertinent to multiple regions: Anne Hecht, [e-mail], 413–575–4031	USFWS, 73 Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, MA 01776.
Indiana bat	Myotis sodalis	Mammal	E	AL, AR, CT, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, MD, MI, MS, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VT, VA, WV	32 FR 4001; March 11, 1967	Andy King, [e-mail], 812–902–1809	USFWS, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403.
Plants
Decurrent false aster	Boltonia decurrens	Plant	T	IL, MO	53 FR 45858; November 14, 1988	Kristen Lundh, [e-mail], 309–757–5800, ext. 215	USFWS, 1511 47th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265.
Dwarf lake iris	Iris lacustris	Plant	T	MI, WI	53 FR 37972; September 28, 1988	Kaitlyn Kelly, [e-mail], 517–351–8315	USFWS, 2651 Coolidge Road, Suite 101, East Lansing, MI 48823.
Missouri bladderpod	Physaria filiformis	Plant	T	MO	68 FR 59337; October 15, 2003	Gabriela Wolf-Gonzalez, [e-mail], 573–234–2132, ext. 116	USFWS, 101 Park DeVille Drive, Suite A, Columbia, MO 65203.

Request for Information

To ensure that a 5-year review is complete and based on the best available scientific and commercial information, we request new information from all sources. See “What Information Do We Consider in Our Review?” for specific criteria. If you submit information, please support it with documentation such as maps, bibliographic references, methods used to gather and analyze the data, and/or copies of any pertinent publications, reports, or letters by knowledgeable sources.

How do I ask questions or provide information?

If you wish to provide information for any species listed above, please submit your comments and materials to the appropriate contact in the table above. You may also direct questions to those contacts.

Public Availability of Comments

Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Authority

We publish this notice under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Lori Nordstrom,

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Midwest Region.