2020-09177. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Kauai Islandwide Recovery Plan

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of document availability for review and public comment.

SUMMARY:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of the Draft Kauai Islandwide Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act. This draft recovery plan addresses 175 listed species occurring on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, 111 of which are endemic to Kauai. The draft recovery plan includes specific goals, objectives, and criteria that should be met to remove the Kauai endemic species from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. For the listed species that occur on multiple Hawaiian islands, the draft recovery plan describes those actions specific to Kauai; complete recovery actions and recovery criteria for these species will be covered in a subsequent multi-island recovery plan. We request review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies and the public. We will also accept any new information on the species' status throughout their range.

DATES:

In order to be considered, comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or before July 29, 2020. However, we will accept information about any species at any time.

ADDRESSES:

An electronic copy of the draft recovery plan is available at our website at http://www.fws.gov/​endangered/​species/​recovery-plans.html and http://www.fws.gov/​pacific/​ecoservices/​endangered/​recovery/​plans.html. If you wish to comment on the plan, you may submit your comments in writing by any one of the following methods:

(1) You may submit written comments and materials to Field Supervisor, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3122, Honolulu, HI 96850.

(2) You may submit written comments to our Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office by fax at [phone].

(3) You may send comments by email to [e-mail].

For additional information about submitting comments, see the “Request for Public Comments” section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gregory Koob, Deputy Field Supervisor, by mail at the above Honolulu address, or by telephone at [phone]. Individuals who are hearing impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of the Draft Kauai Islandwide Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). This draft recovery plan addresses 175 listed species occurring on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, 111 of which are endemic to Kauai. The draft recovery plan includes specific goals, objectives, and criteria that should be met to remove the Kauai endemic species from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. For the listed species that occur on multiple Hawaiian islands, the draft recovery plan describes those actions specific to Kauai; complete recovery actions and recovery criteria for these species will be covered in a subsequent multi-island recovery plan. We request review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies and the public. We will also accept any new information on any species' status throughout its range.

Background

Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants to the point where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their ecosystems is a primary goal of our endangered species program and the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Recovery means improvement of the status of listed species to the point at which listing is no longer appropriate under the criteria set out in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. The Act requires the development of recovery plans for listed species, unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular species.

Species Addressed in Recovery Plan

This draft recovery plan addresses 175 species, as listed in the table below. Many of these species have been addressed previously in earlier recovery plans; this plan will update and supersede the Kauai-specific actions in those documents, and is intended to provide a single unified reference for the recovery of all listed species on Kauai.

Scientific name	Common name	Listing status	Kauai endemic	Most recent recovery plan
PLANTS
Acaena exigua	Liliwai	Endangered	No	D
Achyranthes mutica	No common name	Endangered	No	A
Adenophorus periens	Fern, pendant kihi	Endangered	No	A
Alectryon macrococcus	Mahoe	Endangered	No	D
Asplenium dielerectum	Diellia, asplenium-leaved	Endangered	No	A
Asplenium dielmannii [=Diellia mannii]	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Asplenium dielpallidum [=Diellia pallida]	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Astelia waialealae	Painiu	Endangered	Yes	——
Bonamia menziesii	No common name	Endangered	No	A
Brighamia insignis	Olulu	Endangered	No	E
Canavalia napaliensis	Awikiwiki	Endangered	Yes	——
Canavalia pubescens	Awikiwiki	Endangered	No	——
Charpentiera densiflora	Papala	Endangered	Yes	——
Ctenitis squamigera	Pauoa	Endangered	No	C
Cyanea asarifolia	Haha	Endangered	Yes	E
Cyanea dolichopoda	Haha	Endangered	Yes	——
Cyanea eleeleensis	Haha	Endangered	Yes	——
Cyanea kolekoleensis	Haha	Endangered	Yes	——
Cyanea kuhihewa	Haiwale	Endangered	Yes	——
Cyanea recta	Haha	Threatened	Yes	F
Cyanea remyi	Haha	Endangered	Yes	F
Cyanea undulata	No common name	Endangered	Yes	G
Cyperus pennatiformis	No common name	Endangered	No	A
Cyperus trachysanthos	Puukaa	Endangered	No	A
Cyrtandra cyaneoides	Mapele	Endangered	Yes	F
Cyrtandra limahuliensis	Haiwale	Threatened	Yes	E
Cyrtandra oenobarba	Haiwale	Endangered	Yes	——
Cyrtandra paliku	Haiwale	Endangered	Yes	——
Delissea rhytidosperma	No common name	Endangered	No	E
Delissea rivularis	Oha	Endangered	Yes	F
Diplazium molokaiense	No common name	Endangered	No	C
Doryopteris angelica	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Dryopteris crinalis var. podosorus	Palapalai aumakua	Endangered	Yes	——
Dubautia imbricata subsp. imbricata	Naenae	Endangered	Yes	——
Dubautia kalalauensis	Naenae	Endangered	Yes	——
Dubautia kenwoodii	Naenae	Endangered	Yes	——
Dubautia latifolia	Koholapehu	Endangered	Yes	E
Dubautia pauciflorula	Naenae	Endangered	Yes	G
Dubautia plantaginea subsp. magnifolia	Naenae	Endangered	Yes	——
Dubautia waialealae	Naenae	Endangered	Yes	——
Euphorbia eleanoriae [=Chamaesyce eleanoriae]	Akoko	Endangered	Yes	——
Euphorbia haeleeleana	Akoko	Endangered	No	A
Euphorbia halemanui [=Chamaesyce halemanui]	Akoko	Endangered	Yes	E
Euphorbia remyi var. kauaiensis [=Chamaesyce remyi var. kauaiensis]	Akoko	Endangered	Yes	——
Euphorbia remyi var. remyi [=Chamaesyce remyi var. remyii	Akoko	Endangered	Yes	——
Exocarpos luteolus	Heau	Endangered	Yes	E
Flueggea neowawraea	Mehamehame	Endangered	No	A
Gardenia remyi	Nanu	Endangered	No	——
Geranium kauaiense	Nohoanu	Endangered	Yes	——
Gouania meyenii	No common name	Endangered	No	H
Haplostachys haplostachya	No common name	Endangered	No	I
Hesperomannia lydgatei	No common name	Endangered	Yes	G
Hibiscadelphus distans	Kauai hau kuahiwi	Endangered	Yes	J
Hibiscadelphus woodii	Hau kuahiwi	Endangered	Yes	F
Hibiscus brackenridgei	Mao hau hele, (=native yellow hibiscus)	Endangered	No	A
Hibiscus clayi	Clay's hibiscus	Endangered	Yes	E
Hibiscus waimeae subsp. hannerae	Kokio keokeo	Endangered	Yes	F
Huperzia mannii	Wawaeiole	Endangered	No	D
Huperzia nutans	Wawaeiole	Endangered	No	H
Ischaemum byrone	Hilo ischaemum	Endangered	No	K
Isodendrion laurifolium	Aupaka	Endangered	No	A
Isodendrion longifolium	Aupaka	Threatened	No	A
Joinvillea ascendens subsp. ascendens	Ohe	Endangered	No	——
Kadua cookiana [=Hedyotis cookiana]	Awiwi	Endangered	No	E
Kadua fluviatilis [=Hedyotis fluviatilis]	Kamapuaa	Endangered	No	——
Kadua st.-johnii [=Hedyotis st.-johnii]	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Kanaloa kahoolawensis	Kohe malama malama o kanaloa	Endangered	No	B
Keysseria erici	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Keysseria helenae	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Kokia kauaiensis	Kokio	Endangered	Yes	F
Labordia helleri	Kamakahala	Endangered	Yes	——
Labordia lydgatei	Kamakahala	Endangered	Yes	G
Labordia pumila	Kamakahala	Endangered	Yes	——
Labordia tinifolia var. wahiawaensis	Kamakahala	Endangered	Yes	F
Lipochaeta fauriei [=Melanthera fauriei]	Nehe	Endangered	Yes	E
Lipochaeta micrantha [=Melanthera micrantha]	Nehe	Endangered	Yes	E
Lipochaeta waimeaensis [=Melanthera waimeaensis]	Nehe	Endangered	Yes	E
Lobelia niihauensis	No common name	Endangered	No	H
Lysimachia daphnoides	Lehua makanoe	Endangered	Yes	——
Lysimachia iniki	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Lysimachia pendens	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Lysimachia scopulensis	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Lysimachia venosa	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Melicope degeneri	Alani	Endangered	Yes	——
Melicope haupuensis	Alani	Endangered	Yes	E
Melicope knudsenii	Alani	Endangered	No	E
Melicope pallida	Alani	Endangered	No	E
Melicope paniculata	Alani	Endangered	Yes	——
Melicope puberula	Alani	Endangered	Yes	——
Melicope quadrangularis	Alani	Endangered	Yes	E
Mezoneuron kavaiense	Uhiuhi	Endangered	No	L
Myrsine fosbergii	Kolea	Endangered	No	——
Myrsine knudsenii	Kolea	Endangered	Yes	——
Myrsine linearifolia	Kolea	Threatened	Yes	F
Myrsine mezii	Kolea	Endangered	Yes	——
Nothocestrum latifolium	Aiea	Endangered	No	——
Nothocestrum peltatum	Aiea	Endangered	Yes	E
Panicum niihauense	Lauehu	Endangered	No	A
Peucedanum sandwicense	Makou	Threatened	No	E
Phyllostegia knudsenii	No common name	Endangered	Yes	F
Phyllostegia renovans	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Phyllostegia waimeae	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Phyllostegia wawrana	No common name	Endangered	Yes	F
Pittosporum napaliense	Hoawa	Endangered	Yes	——
Plantago princeps	Kuahiwi laukahi	Endangered	No	A
Platanthera holochila	No common name	Endangered	No	A
Platydesma rostrata	Pilokea laulii	Endangered	Yes	——
Poa mannii	Mann's bluegrass	Endangered	Yes	E
Poa sandvicensis	Hawaiian bluegrass	Endangered	Yes	E
Poa siphonoglossa	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Polyscias bisattenuata [=Tetraplasandra bisattenuata]	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Polyscias flynnii [=Tetraplasandra flynnii]	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Polyscias racemosa [=Munroidendron racemosum]	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Pritchardia hardyi	Loulu	Endangered	Yes	——
Pritchardia napaliensis	Loulu	Endangered	Yes	F
Pritchardia viscosa	Loulu	Endangered	Yes	F
Psychotria grandiflora	Kopiko	Endangered	Yes	——
Psychotria hobdyi	Kopiko	Endangered	Yes	——
Pteralyxia kauaiensis	Kaulu	Endangered	Yes	E
Ranunculus mauiensis	Makou	Endangered	No	——
Remya kauaiensis	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Remya montgomeryi	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Scaevola coriacea	Naupaka, dwarf	Endangered	No	D
Schenkia sebaeoides	Awiwi	Endangered	No	A
Schiedea apokremnos	Maolioli	Endangered	Yes	E
Schiedea attenuata	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Schiedea helleri	No common name	Endangered	Yes	F
Schiedea kauaiensis	No common name	Endangered	Yes	F
Schiedea lychnoides [=Alsinidendron lychnoides]	Kuawawaenohu	Endangered	Yes	F
Schiedea membranacea	No common name	Endangered	Yes	F
Schiedea nuttalii	No common name	Endangered	No	A
Schiedea spergulina var. leiopoda	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Schiedea spergulina var. spergulina	No common name	Threatened	Yes	E
Schiedea stellarioides	Laulihilihi	Endangered	Yes	F
Schiedea viscosa [=Alsinidendron viscosum]	No common name	Endangered	Yes	F
Sesbania tomentosa	Ohai	Endangered	No	A
Silene lanceolata	No common name	Endangered	No	M
Solanum incompletum	Popolo ku mai	Endangered	No	A
Solanum nelsonii	Popolo	Endangered	No	——
Solanum sandwicense	Popolo aiakeakua	Endangered	No	E
Spermolepis hawaiiensis	No common name	Endangered	No	A
Stenogyne campanulata	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Stenogyne kealiae	No common name	Endangered	Yes	——
Viola helenae	No common name	Endangered	Yes	G
Viola kauaiensis var. wahiawaensis	Nani waialeale	Endangered	Yes	F
Wilkesia hobdyi	Dwarf iliau	Endangered	Yes	E
Xylosma crenatum	No common name	Endangered	Yes	E
Zanthoxylum hawaiiense	Ae	Endangered	No	K
INVERTEBRATES
Manduca blackburni	Blackburn's sphinx moth	Endangered	No	N
Drosophila musaphilia	Hawaiian picture-wing fly	Endangered	Yes	——
Drosophila sharpi	Hawaiian picture-wing fly	Endangered	Yes	——
Spelaeorchestia koloana	Kauai cave amphipod	Endangered	Yes	O
Adelocosa anops	Kauai cave wolf spider	Endangered	Yes	O
Erinna newcombi	Newcomb's snail	Threatened	Yes	P
Megalagrion xanthomelas	Orangeblack Hawaiian damselfly	Endangered	No	——
Megalagrion pacificum	Pacific Hawaiian damselfly	Endangered	No	——
VERTEBRATES
Himantopus mexicanus knudseni	Hawaiian stilt	Endangered	No	Q
Oceanodroma castro	Akeake, Band-rumped storm-petrel (Hawaii Distinct Population Segment)	Endangered	No	——
Loxops caeruleirostris	Akekee (honeycreeper)	Endangered	Yes	——
Oreomystis bairdi	Akikiki (honeycreeper)	Endangered	Yes	R*
Fulica alai	Alae keokeo, Hawaiian coot	Endangered	No	Q
Gallinula galeata sandvicensis	Alae ula, Hawaiian common gallinule	Endangered	No	Q
Puffinus newelli	Ao, Newell's shearwater	Endangered	No	S
Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Threatened	No	T
Myadestes myadestinus	Kamao, large Kauai thrush	Endangered	Yes	R
Akialoa stejnegeri	Kauai akialoa	Endangered	Yes	R
Hemignathus hanapepe	Kauai nukupuu	Endangered	Yes	R
Anas wyvilliana	Koloa maoli, Hawaiian duck	Endangered	No	Q
Anas laysanensis	Laysan duck	Endangered	No	U
Branta sandvicensis	Nene, Hawaiian goose	Endangered	No	V
Moho braccatus	Oo aa, Kauai oo	Endangered	Yes	R
Lasiurus cinereus semotus	Opeapea, Hawaiian hoary bat	Endangered	No	W
Psittirostra psittacea	Ou	Endangered	No	R
Myadestes palmeri	Small Kauai thrush	Endangered	Yes	R
Pterodroma sandwichensis	Hawaiian petrel	Endangered	No	S
A: Recovery Plan for the Multi-Island Plants (FWS 1999)
B: Addendum to the Recovery Plan for the Multi-Island Plants (FWS 2002)
C: Final Recovery Plan for Four Species of Hawaiian Ferns (FWS 1998a)
D: Recovery Plan for the Maui Plant Cluster (FWS 1997)
E: Recovery Plan for the Kauai Plant Cluster (FWS 1995)
F: Kauai II: Addendum to the Recovery Plan for the Kauai Plant Cluster (FWS 1998b)
G: Recovery Plan for the Wahiawa Plant Cluster (FWS 1994)
H: Recovery Plan for the Oahu Plants (FWS 1998c)
I: Draft Recovery Plan for Haplostachys haplostachya and Stenogyne angustifolia (FWS 1993)
J: Recovery Plan for Hibiscadelphus distans (FWS 1996a)
K: Recovery Plan for the Big Island Plant Cluster (FWS 1996b)
L: Recovery Plan for Caesalpinia kavaiensis and Kokia drynarioides (FWS 1994)
M: Recovery plan for the Molokai Plant Cluster (FWS 1996c)
N: Recovery Plan for Blackburn's Sphinx Moth (FWS 2005)
O: Final Recovery Plan for the Kauai Cave Arthropods (FWS 2006a)
P: Final Recovery Plan for Newcomb's Snail (FWS 2006b)
Q: Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Waterbirds, Second Revision (FWS 2011)
R: Revised Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Forest Birds (FWS 2006c)
S: Hawaiian Dark-rumped Petrel and Newell's Manx Shearwater Recovery Plan (FWS 1983)
T: Recovery Plan for U.S. Pacific Populations of the Green Turtle (NMFS and FWS 1998)
U: Revised Recovery Plan for the Laysan Duck (FWS 2009)
V: Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the Nene or Hawaiian Goose (FWS 2004)
W: Recovery Plan for the Hawaiian Hoary Bat (FWS 1998d)
*: Addressed only as candidate species.

Major threats to the various Kauai species addressed in this draft recovery plan include habitat degradation, predation and herbivory by nonnative mammals and invertebrates, disease spread by nonnative species, and competition with invasive nonnative plant species.

Recovery Plan Goals

The objective of a recovery plan is to provide a framework for the recovery of a listed species so that protection under the Act is no longer necessary. A recovery plan includes scientific information about the species and provides criteria and actions necessary for us to be able to reclassify the species or remove it from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Recovery plans help guide our recovery efforts by describing actions we consider necessary for the species' conservation, and by estimating time and costs for implementing needed recovery measures.

The draft recovery plan recommends a combination of islandwide recovery actions (e.g., biosecurity), management of ecosystem-level threats within specific geographic management units, and species-specific recovery actions such as propagation and reintroduction.

Request for Public Comments

Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment during recovery plan development. It is also our policy to request peer review of recovery plans (July 1, 1994; 59 FR 34270). In an appendix to the approved recovery plan, we will summarize and respond to the issues raised by the public and peer reviewers. Substantive comments may or may not result in changes to the recovery plan; comments regarding recovery plan implementation will be forwarded as appropriate to Federal or other entities so that they can be taken into account during the course of implementing recovery actions.

We request written comments on the draft recovery plan. Before we approve the plan, we will consider all comments we receive by the date specified in DATES. Methods of submitting comments are described in ADDRESSES.

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

The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Mary Abrams,

Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.