[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 137 (Monday, July 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41886-41887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17486]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2010-N021; 40120-1113-IBWP-C2]
Recovery Plan for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus
principalis)
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of the Final Recovery Plan for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
(Campephilus principalis). This final recovery plan includes criteria
and measures that should be taken in order to begin to effectively
recover the species to the point where delisting is warranted under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft recovery plan are available by request
from the Lafayette Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
646 Cajundome Boulevard, Suite 400, Lafayette, LA 70506, or by download
from our recovery plan Web site at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Fuller, at the above address
or telephone (337) 291-3100.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Restoring listed animals and plants to the
point where they are again secure, self-sustaining components of their
ecosystems is a primary goal of our threatened and endangered species
program. To help guide the recovery effort, we prepare recovery plans
for listed species native to the United States, pursuant to section
4(f) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), unless such a plan would not
promote the conservation of a particular species. Recovery plans
describe actions that may be necessary for conservation of the species,
establish criteria for reclassification from endangered to threatened
status or removal from the list of threatened and endangered species,
and estimate the time and cost for implementing the needed recovery
measures.
Prior to European settlement, the ivory-billed woodpecker appeared
to be
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widely distributed throughout the southeastern United States. Since
then the species has become extremely rare and was, until recently,
commonly accepted as extirpated from its known range in the United
States. The ivory-billed woodpecker's disappearance is closely linked
with logging and clearing of the contiguous forest habitats which once
covered much of the southeastern United States. Additionally, as
habitats became fragmented and access to the birds increased,
collecting and other direct mortality may have had a significant
impact.
Despite this species' having been listed since 1967, no recovery
plan was prepared, in large part due to the lack of any clear,
undisputed evidence (since 1944) of the species' continued existence.
However, evidence supporting the presence of at least one bird in the
Bayou de View area of Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in 2004, as
well as additional supporting information, generated the need to
complete a recovery plan. Given the limited information on the current
number of individuals throughout the species' range and the limited
knowledge on biology, habitat requirements, and genetic information, we
recognize the need to generate scientific information to better address
the threats and limiting factors to this species and to develop
additional specific recovery criteria.
The recovery strategy initially focuses on learning more about the
species' status and ecology, including documenting known locations and
characterizing these habitats. Population goals are not identified, but
are acknowledged as key to recovery. Initial efforts include
development of models and additional research that will generate these
spatially explicit population goals. Neither an appropriate time to
recovery nor cost estimate are meaningful at this time, due to the
difficulty in reliably locating individual birds or their roosting or
nesting cavities.
Recovery Objectives
This recovery plan identifies many interim actions needed to
achieve long-term viability for the ivory-billed woodpecker and to
accomplish these goals. Recovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker focuses
on the following objectives:
1. Identify and delineate any existing populations.
2. Identify and reduce risks to any existing population.
3. Protect and enhance suitable habitat once populations are
identified.
4. Reduce or eliminate threats sufficient to allow successful
restoration of multiple populations when those populations are
identified.
The emphasis for recovery will be on the distribution of additional
viable populations in the historic range of the species. Discovery,
documentation, and subsequent management of additional populations must
meet scientifically accepted goals for the promotion of viable
populations of listed species.
At present, the limited knowledge on the population abundance,
distribution, habitat requirements, and biology of the ivory-billed
woodpecker prevents development of more specific recovery criteria. The
following interim criteria will lead us to the development of more
specific, quantifiable criteria that should be met before we consider
the delisting of this species:
1. Survey potential habitats for any occurrences of the species.
2. Determine current habitat use and needs of any existing
populations.
3. Conserve and enhance habitat on public land where ivory-billed
woodpeckers are located. Acquire additional acreage, if needed, from
willing sellers and list in the public habitat inventory.
4. Conserve and enhance habitat on private lands through the use of
voluntary agreements (e.g., conservation easements, habitat
conservation plans) and public outreach.
5. Analyze viability of any existing populations (numbers, breeding
success, population genetics, and ecology).
6. Determine the number and geographic distribution of
subpopulations needed to create conditions favorable to a self-
sustaining metapopulation and to evaluate habitat suitable for species
re-introduction.
The draft recovery plan was completed and released for public
comment on August 22, 2007 (72 FR 47064). We solicited review and
comment from local, State, and Federal agencies and the public on the
draft recovery plan. We considered all comments we received during the
comment period, peer review comments, and additional recovery team
comments prior to the decision to approve of the revised recovery plan.
Responses to these comments are found in Appendix K of the recovery
plan. We welcome continuing public comment on this recovery plan, and
we will consider all substantive comments on an ongoing basis to inform
the implementation of recovery activities and future updates to the
recovery plan.
Authority: The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the
Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Dated: January 15, 2010.
Jeffrey M. Fleming,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the
Federal Register on July 14, 2010.
[FR Doc. 2010-17486 Filed 7-16-10; 8:45 am]
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