[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 118 (Thursday, June 19, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33390-33391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16010]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Notice of
Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Lee County Cave Isopod
for Review and Comment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability
for public review of a draft Recovery Plan for the Lee County Cave
Isopod (Lirceus usdagalun). The Lee County cave isopod, a subterranean
freshwater crustacean, is endemic to southwestern Virginia, where it
has been documented from two cave systems and two resurgence springs in
Lee County. The Lee County cave isopod was listed as endangered in
1992. The draft recovery plan sets recovery objectives and recommends
recovery activities that, if implemented on schedule, may lead to
delisting of this species by the year 2005. The Service solicits review
and comment from the public on this draft plan.
DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received August 4,
1997.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan can obtain
a copy from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Virginia
Field Office, P.O. Box 2345, Abingdon, Virginia (telephone 540/623-
1233; fax 540/623-1185) or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region Five,
300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035, (telephone 413/
253-8628; fax 413-253-8482). Comments should be sent to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Field Office at the above mailing
address, to the attention of Leroy Koch.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leroy Koch at 540/623-1233 (see ADDRESSES).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is
a primary goal of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered
species program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is
working to prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native
to the United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered
necessary for conservation of
[[Page 33391]]
the species, establish criteria for the recovery levels for
reclassifying or delisting them, and estimate time and cost for
implementing the recovery measures needed.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) requires the development of recovery plans for listed species
unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular
species. Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in 1988, requires that
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be
provided during recovery plan development. The Service will consider
all information presented during a public comment period prior to
approval of each new or revised recovery plan. The Service and other
Federal agencies will also take these comments into account in the
course of implementing recovery plans.
The document submitted for review is the draft Lee County Cave
Isopod (Lirceus usdagalun) Recovery Plan. The Lee County cave isopod is
a cave-dwelling freshwater crustacean listed as an endangered species.
It is endemic to southwestern Virginia, where it has been documented
from only cave systems and two resurgence springs (presumably
associated with undiscovered cave systems) in Lee County. The aquatic
habitat of this isopode occurs in the central Lee County Karst, a
gently rolling region characterized by exposed limestone ridges with
karren development, numerous sinkholes, blind valleys, sinking streams,
subterranean drainage, and caves. The historic distribution of the
species within the four cave systems comprises six known site
occurrences, one which is considered extirpated due to massive organic
pollution of the cave stream ecosystem. The primary threat to the
remaining sites is potential degration of groundwater quality resulting
from surrounding land uses. All known Lee County cave isopod sites are
on private land, and many landowners in the region are unaware of the
critical link between surface water and groundwater quality, as is
evident by the use of sinkholes as disposal areas for household,
industrial, and agricultural waste products. Logging and sawmill
operations are prominent uses of the lands surrounding the cave systems
in Lee County; such operations represent a potentially significant
threat to karst ecosystems because leachate from organic decomposition
of the sawdust material can travel from surface to groundwater. Other
potential threats to the species' habitat include non-point-source
pollution, inadequate or failing septic systems, toxic spills along
roadways, and accelerating development along U.S. Route 58.
To facilitate protection and recovery of this rare species, the
following objectives and conditions for meeting objectives are
recommended. To reclassify the Lee County cave isopod from endangered
to threatened status: (1) Completely delineate the likely range,
current and historical, of the species' distribution; (2) gain a
sufficient understanding of the surface and subterranean drainage
patterns with the species' known range to enable monitoring and
management; (3) show that populations of the isopod in at least four
cave systems are improving or stable over a two-year monitoring period;
and (4) establish a groundwater monitoring program in systems known to
contain the isopod, with results over a two-year period showing the
groundwater quality and quantity are being maintained at levels needed
to ensure the survival of this species. To delist the Lee County cave
isopod in addition to the preceding conditions: (1) Show that
populations of the isopod in at least four cave systems are stable over
an additional three-year monitoring period; (2) demonstrate that
groundwater quality and quantity are being maintained over an
additional three-year monitoring period at levels needed to ensure the
survival of this species; (3) achieve permanent protection from
significant groundwater contamination for all sites known to support
the Lee County cave isopod.
The Lee County cave isopod draft recovery plan also recommends a
number of activities needed to achieve these recovery objectives.
Ongoing and proposed recovery activities include: surveys to determine
the location and extent of all area supporting this isopod; monitoring
of Lee County cave isopod populations; life history and other research
to determine what constitutes a viable and/or stable population of Lee
County cave isopod; further studies and mapping of the surface and
subterranean drainage systems in which the isopod occurs; monitoring of
water quality and quantity and isopod habitat at selected sites;
identification of those factors that adversely affect the species and
actions to eliminate or minimize such impacts; implementation of
habitat protection measures for known populations of Lee County cave
isopod; educational and awareness programs for landowners, governmental
agencies, and nongovernmental organizations; if and as needed,
restoration of populations of the Lee County cave isopod to former
habitat; and monitoring of recovery progress.
The draft recovery plan revision is being submitted for agency
review. After consideration of comments received during the review
period, the plan will be submitted for final approval.
Public Comments Solicited
The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan
described. All comments received by the date specified above will be
considered prior to approval of the plan.
Authority
The authority for this action is Section 4(f) of the Endangered
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Dated: June 10, 1997.
Adam O'Hara,
Acting Regional Director, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 97-16010 Filed 6-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M
