Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 9, 2011 / Notices 48881 

covers activities to be conducted by the 

applicant over a 5-year period. 

Applicant: Red Rock Films, Chevy 

Chase, MD; PRT–48293A 

The applicant requests a permit to 

photograph polar bears (Ursus 

maritimus) on North Slope, Alaska, for 

commercial and educational purposes. 

This notification covers activities to be 

conducted by the applicant over a 1- 

year period. 

Concurrent with publishing this 

notice in the Federal Register, we are 

forwarding copies of the above 

applications to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and the Committee of 

Scientific Advisors for their review. 

Brenda Tapia, 

Program Analyst/Data Administrator, Branch 

of Permits, Division of Management 

Authority. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20233 Filed 8–8–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R4–ES–2011–N130; 40120–1113– 

0000–C2] 

Recovery Plan for the Endangered 

Pyne’s Ground-plum (Astragalus 

bibullatus) 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of document availability. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service, announce the availability of the 

final recovery plan for Pyne’s groundplum (Astragalus bibullatus), a species 

endemic to the Central Basin in 

Tennessee. The recovery plan includes 

specific recovery objectives and criteria 

to be met in order to reclassify this 

species to threatened status and delist it 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (Act). 

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of 

the recovery plan by contacting the 

Tennessee Field Office, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 446 Neal Street, 

Cookeville, TN 38501 (telephone 931– 

528–6481), or by visiting our recovery 

plan Web site at http://www.fws.gov/ 

endangered/species/recoveryplans.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Geoff Call at the above address, or 

telephone: (931) 528–6481, ext. 213. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

We listed Pyne’s ground-plum as an 

endangered species under the Act (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), on September 26, 

1991 (56 FR 48748). This species is a 

rare perennial member of the pea family 

(Fabaceae) endemic to the limestone 

cedar glades in the Central Basin 

Section of the Interior Low Plateau 

(Tennessee). It is currently known from 

only eight extant occurrences (specific 

locations or sites) located within 90 

square miles in Rutherford County, 

Tennessee, within a short distance of 

the rapidly growing city of 

Murfreesboro. 

Factors contributing to its endangered 

status are an extremely limited range 

and loss of habitat. The primary threat 

is the loss of habitat from residential, 

commercial, or industrial development; 

livestock grazing; woody encroachment; 

and recreational uses such as all-terrain 

vehicles. 

The Act 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 requires us to 

provide a public notice and an 

opportunity for public review and 

comment during recovery plan 

development. We made the draft 

recovery plan available for public 

comment from April 1 through June 1, 

2010 (75 FR 16499). We considered 

information we received during this 

public comment period and information 

from peer reviewers in our preparation 

of this final recovery plan. We will 

forward comments to other Federal 

agencies so each agency can consider 

these comments in implementing 

approved recovery plans. 

Restoring an endangered or 

threatened animal or plant to the point 

where it is again a secure, selfsustaining member of its ecosystem is a 

primary goal of the endangered species 

program. To help guide the recovery 

effort, we are preparing recovery plans 

for most listed species. Recovery plans 

describe actions considered necessary 

for conservation of the species, establish 

criteria for downlisting or delisting, and 

estimate time and cost for implementing 

recovery measures. 

The objective of this plan is to 

provide a framework for the recovery of 

this species so that protection under the 

Act is no longer necessary. Astragalus 

bibullatus will be considered for 

reclassification to threatened status 

when there are 11 viable protected 

occurrences distributed throughout the 

cedar glade ecosystem of the Stones 

River Basin which is located within 

Davidson, Rutherford, and Wilson 

Counties. Viability of each occurrence 

should be determined using a 

population viability analysis framework. 

Populations considered viable for 

recovery purposes should exhibit either 

stable or increasing population growth 

trends and have been shown through at 

least 10 consecutive monitoring events 

to possess suitable population structure 

for maintaining observed population 

growth into the foreseeable future. In 

order for an A. bibullatus occurrence to 

be considered protected, it should be 

located: 

• On lands owned and managed by a 

public agency, with a written plan 

committing to conserve A. bibullatus 

and the cedar glade ecosystem on that 

site; the plan must include necessary 

resources, management 

recommendations, etc. for the site; or 

• On private lands protected by a 

permanent conservation easement, State 

Natural Area registry, or other legally 

binding agreement, with a written plan 

committing to conserve A. bibullatus 

and the cedar glade ecosystem on that 

site; the plan must include necessary 

resources, management 

recommendations, etc. for the site. 

Astragalus bibullatus will be 

considered for delisting when there are 

16 viable protected occurrences that are 

distributed throughout the cedar glade 

ecosystem of the Stones River Basin 

within Davidson, Rutherford, and 

Wilson Counties. 

The reclassification and recovery 

criteria were made more protective in 

the final recovery plan than they were 

in the draft recovery plan for this plant 

based on: (1) Comments from peer 

reviewers that the plan should provide 

additional redundancy on the landscape 

to help protect this plant against threats 

like drought, (2) new scientific 

information showing that this plant 

exhibits density-dependent regulation of 

population growth, and (3) recognition 

that more information was needed about 

the role of this plant’s seed bank in 

maintaining population viability. 

As reclassification and recovery 

criteria are met, the status of the species 

will be reviewed and the species will be 

considered for reclassification or 

removal from the Federal List of 

Endangered and Threatened Plants. 

Authority: The authority for this action is 

section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act, 

16 U.S.C. 1533(f). 

Dated: June 15, 2011. 

Mark J. Musaus, 

Acting Regional Director. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20137 Filed 8–8–11; 8:45 am] 

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