Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 8, 2022 / Proposed Rules 7077 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2021–0153; 

FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 223] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; 12-Month Finding for the 

Sonoran Desert Tortoise 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notification of finding. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 

12-month finding on a petition to list 

the Sonoran desert tortoise (Gopherus 

morafkai) as an endangered or 

threatened species under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). After a thorough review 

of the best available scientific and 

commercial information, we find that it 

is not warranted at this time to list the 

Sonoran desert tortoise. However, we 

ask the public to submit to us at any 

time any new information relevant to 

the status of the Sonoran desert tortoise 

or its habitat. 

DATES: The finding in this document 

was made on February 8, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: A detailed description of 

the basis for this finding is available on 

the internet at https://

www.regulations.gov under Docket No. 

FWS–R2–ES–2021–0153. 

Supporting information used to 

prepare this finding is available by 

contacting the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please 

submit any new information, materials, 

comments, or questions concerning this 

finding to the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Lamb, Arizona Ecological Services 

Field Office, 9828 North 31st Ave. C3, 

Phoenix, AZ 85051–2517; telephone 

602–242–0210. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), we are required to 

make a finding whether or not a 

petitioned action is warranted within 12 

months after receiving any petition for 

which we have determined contains 

substantial scientific or commercial 

information indicating that the 

petitioned action may be warranted 

(‘‘12-month finding’’). We must make a 

finding that the petitioned action is: (1) 

Not warranted; (2) warranted; or (3) 

warranted but precluded. We must 

publish a notice of these 12-month 

findings in the Federal Register. 

Summary of Information Pertaining to 

the Five Factors 

Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) 

and the implementing regulations (50 

CFR part 424) set forth procedures for 

adding species to, removing species 

from, or reclassifying species on the 

Lists of Endangered and Threatened 

Wildlife and Plants (Lists). The Act 

states that the term ‘‘species’’ includes 

any subspecies of fish or wildlife or 

plants, and any distinct population 

segment of any species of vertebrate fish 

or wildlife which interbreeds when 

mature (16 U.S.C. 1532(16)). The Act 

defines an ‘‘endangered species’’ as any 

species that is in danger of extinction 

throughout all or a significant portion of 

its range (16 U.S.C. 1532(6)), and a 

‘‘threatened species’’ as any species that 

is likely to become an endangered 

species within the foreseeable future 

throughout all or a significant portion of 

its range (16 U.S.C. 1532(20)). The Act 

requires that we determine whether any 

species is an endangered species or a 

threatened species because of any of the 

following factors: 

(A) The present or threatened destruction, 

modification, or curtailment of its habitat or 

range; 

(B) Overutilization for commercial, 

recreational, scientific, or educational 

purposes; 

(C) Disease or predation; 

(D) The inadequacy of existing regulatory 

mechanisms; or 

(E) Other natural or manmade factors 

affecting its continued existence. 

These factors represent broad 

categories of natural or human-caused 

actions or conditions that could have an 

effect on a species’ continued existence. 

In evaluating these actions and 

conditions, we look for those that may 

have a negative effect on individuals of 

the species, as well as other actions or 

conditions that may ameliorate any 

negative effects or may have positive 

effects. 

We use the term ‘‘threat’’ to refer in 

general to actions or conditions that are 

known to or are reasonably likely to 

negatively affect individuals of a 

species. The term ‘‘threat’’ includes 

actions or conditions that have a direct 

impact on individuals (direct impacts), 

as well as those that affect individuals 

through alteration of their habitat or 

required resources (stressors). The term 

‘‘threat’’ may encompass—either 

together or separately—the source of the 

action or condition or the action or 

condition itself. However, the mere 

identification of any threat(s) does not 

necessarily mean that the species meets 

the statutory definition of an 

‘‘endangered species’’ or a ‘‘threatened 

species.’’ In determining whether a 

species meets either definition, we must 

evaluate all identified threats by 

considering the expected response by 

the species, and the effects of the 

threats—in light of those actions and 

conditions that will ameliorate the 

threats—on an individual, population, 

and species level. We evaluate each 

threat and its expected effects on the 

species, then analyze the cumulative 

effect of all of the threats on the species 

as a whole. We also consider the 

cumulative effect of the threats in light 

of those actions and conditions that will 

have positive effects on the species, 

such as any existing regulatory 

mechanisms or conservation efforts. The 

Secretary determines whether the 

species meets the definition of an 

‘‘endangered species’’ or a ‘‘threatened 

species’’ only after conducting this 

cumulative analysis and describing the 

expected effect on the species now and 

in the foreseeable future. 

The Act does not define the term 

‘‘foreseeable future,’’ which appears in 

the statutory definition of ‘‘threatened 

species.’’ Our implementing regulations 

at 50 CFR 424.11(d) set forth a 

framework for evaluating the foreseeable 

future on a case-by-case basis. The term 

‘‘foreseeable future’’ extends only so far 

into the future as the Service can 

reasonably determine that both the 

future threats and the species’ responses 

to those threats are likely. In other 

words, the foreseeable future is the 

period of time in which we can make 

reliable predictions. ‘‘Reliable’’ does not 

mean ‘‘certain’’; it means sufficient to 

provide a reasonable degree of 

confidence in the prediction. Thus, a 

prediction is reliable if it is reasonable 

to depend on it when making decisions. 

It is not always possible or necessary 

to define foreseeable future as a 

particular number of years. Analysis of 

the foreseeable future uses the best 

scientific and commercial data available 

and should consider the timeframes 

applicable to the relevant threats and to 

the species’ likely responses to those 

threats in view of its life-history 

characteristics. Data that are typically 

relevant to assessing the species’ 

biological response include speciesspecific factors such as lifespan, 

reproductive rates or productivity, 


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7078 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 8, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

certain behaviors, and other 

demographic factors. 

In conducting our evaluation of the 

five factors provided in section 4(a)(1) of 

the Act to determine whether the 

Sonoran desert tortoise meets the 

definition of an endangered species or a 

threatened species, we considered and 

thoroughly evaluated the best scientific 

and commercial information available 

regarding the past, present, and future 

stressors and threats. We reviewed the 

petition, information available in our 

files, and other available published and 

unpublished information. Our 

evaluation may include information 

from recognized experts; Federal, State, 

and Tribal governments; academic 

institutions; foreign governments; 

private entities; and other members of 

the public. 

The species assessment form for the 

species contains more detailed 

biological information, a thorough 

analysis of the listing factors, a list of 

literature cited, and an explanation of 

why we determined that the species 

does not meet the Act’s definition of an 

endangered species or a threatened 

species. A thorough review of the 

taxonomy, life history, ecology, and 

stressors to the Sonoran desert tortoise 

is presented in the species status 

assessment report (USFWS 2021, 

entire). This supporting information can 

be found on the internet at https://

www.regulations.gov under Docket No. 

FWS–R2–ES–2021–0153. The following 

is an informational summary for the 

finding in this document. 

Previous Federal Actions 

On December 30, 1982, the Service 

published in the Federal Register (47 

FR 58454) a notice of review that 

determined the desert tortoise 

(Gopherus agassizii) throughout its 

range in the United States and Mexico 

to be a Category 2 candidate species. 

Category 2 candidate species were taxa 

for which the Service had in its 

possession information that indicated 

that proposing to list the species as 

endangered or threatened was possibly 

appropriate, but for which substantial 

biological data were not available to 

support a proposed rule. On April 2, 

1990, we published in the Federal 

Register (55 FR 12178) a final rule 

designating the Mojave population of 

the desert tortoise (occurring north and 

west of the Colorado River) as a 

threatened species under the Act. 

Currently, the Mojave population of the 

desert tortoise is recognized as a distinct 

population segment (DPS) under the 

Act. 

On October 15, 2008, we received a 

petition dated October 9, 2008, from 

WildEarth Guardians and Western 

Watersheds Project (petitioners) 

requesting that the Sonoran population 

of the desert tortoise be listed under the 

Act as a distinct population segment 

(DPS) and that the DPS be listed as 

endangered or threatened range-wide (in 

the United States and Mexico). The 

petitioners also requested that critical 

habitat be designated for the DPS. On 

August 28, 2009, we published in the 

Federal Register (74 FR 44335) our 90- 

day finding that the petition presented 

substantial scientific information 

indicating that listing the Sonoran 

population of the desert tortoise may be 

warranted. That document also initiated 

a status review of the Sonoran 

population of the desert tortoise. 

On December 14, 2010, we published 

in the Federal Register (75 FR 78094) 

our 12-month finding that listing the 

Sonoran DPS of the desert tortoise was 

warranted, but precluded by other 

higher priority actions, and the entity 

was added to our list of candidate 

species. In 2012, new information was 

assessed that elevated the Sonoran 

population of the desert tortoise to a full 

species (Gopherus morafkai). We noted 

this taxonomic change in the 2012 

candidate notice of review (CNOR) and 

revised its accepted nomenclature to 

‘‘Sonoran desert tortoise’’ (77 FR 69994; 

November 21, 2012). We also reaffirmed 

its candidate status in the CNORs 

published in 2012 (77 FR 69994; 

November 21, 2012), 2013 (78 FR 70104; 

November 22, 2013), and 2014 (79 FR 

72450; December 5, 2014), reaffirming 

that it was warranted for listing but 

remained precluded by higher priority 

actions. After completing a species 

status assessment, we published in the 

Federal Register (80 FR 60321; October 

6, 2015) a 12-month petition finding 

that listing the Sonoran desert tortoise 

as endangered or threatened under the 

Act was not warranted. 

The petitioners filed a complaint on 

September 5, 2019, challenging our 

2015 not-warranted finding for the 

Sonoran desert tortoise and alleging 

violations of the Act. We reached a 

settlement agreement with the 

petitioners that was approved by the 

U.S. District Court on August 3, 2020, to 

reconsider our not-warranted finding 

and to develop a new 12-month finding 

as to whether the Sonoran desert 

tortoise warrants listing as an 

endangered or threatened species under 

the Act. As a result of that agreement, 

we returned the Sonoran desert tortoise 

to the candidate list (see 85 FR 73164; 

November 16, 2020). This document 

constitutes our new 12-month finding. 

Summary of Finding 

The Sonoran desert tortoise occurs in 

the Sonoran Desert ecoregion of Arizona 

in the United States and Sonora in 

Mexico. It is patchily distributed across 

a large range that covers roughly 68,600 

square miles (177,673 square 

kilometers). Adapted to arid 

environments, Sonoran desert tortoises 

spend most of their time in belowground shelter-sites, with emergence 

timed to resource availability such as 

precipitation or forage. Precipitation, 

particularly the summer monsoons, 

encourages new vegetative growth that 

is consumed by Sonoran desert 

tortoises. Typical habitat consists of 

rocky slopes and incised washes that 

support shelter sites. The amount and 

distribution of this habitat is important 

to maintain the species’ viability. 

We have carefully assessed the best 

scientific and commercial information 

available regarding the past, present, 

and future threats to the Sonoran desert 

tortoise, and we evaluated all relevant 

factors under the five listing factors, 

including any regulatory mechanisms 

and conservation measures addressing 

these threats. We identified several 

threats that could reduce the viability of 

the species. Some, such as nonnative 

vegetation and altered wildfire regimes, 

have the potential to affect the Sonoran 

desert tortoise on localized scales and 

the best available information suggests 

these threats are unlikely to affect longterm viability of the species. Human 

development can degrade or remove 

Sonoran desert tortoise habitat and 

contribute to reduced survival rates due 

to human-tortoise interactions and 

incidental mortality. Suitable Sonoran 

desert tortoise habitat in portions of the 

species’ range, particularly in Arizona, 

has been converted to human 

development. Drought has a measurable 

effect on the Sonoran desert tortoise’s 

survival rates and may become more 

frequent and severe into the future due 

to climate change. Changes in 

precipitation and temperature patterns 

may also affect the amount and 

suitability of Sonoran desert tortoise 

habitat. Several Federal, State, and 

county agencies have been 

implementing conservation measures 

through best management practices, 

specific to the Sonoran desert tortoise, 

to help sustain the species and its 

habitat where possible. 

Currently, we estimate that the 

Sonoran desert tortoise occupies much 

of its historical range and is abundant in 

Arizona and Sonora, on the order of 

hundreds of thousands of extant adults. 

Population monitoring data collected for 

approximately 20 to 30 years on 17 plots 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 8, 2022 / Proposed Rules 7079 

located on Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) land in portions of the species’ 

range in Arizona have not indicated 

substantial declines or extirpations. 

Habitat modeling indicates an estimated 

49,222 square miles (127,484 square 

kilometers) of suitable Sonoran desert 

tortoise habitat occurs in Arizona and 

Sonora, with 24 percent of that 

considered high suitability. In Arizona, 

29 percent of the species’ range is on 

publicly-owned lands managed 

specifically for the benefit of wildlife, 

including the Sonoran desert tortoise. 

Upon examining the current trends 

and a range of future scenarios, we 

expect that human development and 

climate change will have the greatest 

impact on the Sonoran desert tortoise’s 

viability due to its effects on habitat and 

survival rates. Urban expansion may 

result in the loss of Sonoran desert 

tortoise habitat, and adult survival rates 

have been shown to decrease in 

proximity to urban areas. Drought, a 

primary stressor shown to result in 

population crashes over abbreviated 

time frames, significantly reduces 

survival rates and may become more 

common and severe with climate 

change. The amount and distribution of 

habitat may also shift due to changes in 

precipitation and temperature patterns 

driven by climate change. In our species 

status assessment report, we modeled 

these effects to project Sonoran desert 

tortoise population trends into the 

future (USFWS 2021, pp. 59–71). 

Even with the projected effects of 

urban expansion and climate change, 

ample amounts of habitat capable of 

supporting Sonoran desert tortoises are 

expected to remain by the end of the 

century. Although declines in survival 

are anticipated near urban areas, we 

found these effects are not enough to 

significantly reduce viability of the 

species as a whole, and the affected 

areas only cover a relatively small 

portion of the species’ range (17 

percent). Our modeling projects that 

future drought is expected to result in 

a negative growth rate by the end of 

century and likely declines in overall 

abundance. The magnitude of these 

declines varies depending on the 

assumptions of future environmental 

changes. However, our modeling 

indicates that the risk of quasiextinction by end of century is less than 

1 percent regardless of the scenario. Due 

to high current estimated population 

sizes and a large area of suitable habitat, 

even with the projected declines, we 

anticipate the Sonoran desert tortoise 

will continue to occupy the majority of 

currently suitable habitat in sufficient 

numbers such that the species maintains 

viability. After evaluating the best 

available scientific and commercial 

information on potential threats acting 

individually or in combination, we find 

that Sonoran desert tortoise populations 

are expected to maintain resiliency, 

redundancy, and representation in the 

foreseeable future throughout all or a 

significant portion of the species’ range. 

Our review of the best available 

scientific and commercial information 

regarding the past, present, and future 

threats to the species indicates that the 

Sonoran desert tortoise is not in danger 

of extinction nor likely to become 

endangered within the foreseeable 

future throughout all or a significant 

portion of its range and does not meet 

the definition of an endangered species 

or a threatened species under the Act. 

Therefore, we find that listing the 

Sonoran desert tortoise as an 

endangered or threatened species under 

the Act is not warranted at this time. A 

detailed discussion of the basis for this 

finding can be found in the Sonoran 

desert tortoise species assessment form, 

which outlines in more detail the 

rationale for our decision, and the 

revised species status assessment report 

(USFWS 2021, entire), and other 

supporting documents (see ADDRESSES, 

above), which capture the scientific 

information upon which our decision 

was based. 

New Information 

We request that you submit any new 

information concerning the taxonomy 

of, biology of, ecology of, status of, or 

stressors to the Sonoran desert tortoise 

to the person listed above under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

whenever it becomes available. New 

information will help us monitor this 

species and make appropriate decisions 

about its conservation and status. We 

encourage local agencies and 

stakeholders to continue cooperative 

monitoring and conservation efforts. 

References Cited 

A list of the references cited in this 

document is available on the internet at 

https://www.regulations.gov under 

Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2021–0153 in 

the species assessment form, or upon 

request from the person listed above 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Authors 

The primary authors of this document 

are the staff members of the Species 

Assessment Team, Ecological Services 

Program. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is section 

4 of the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.). 

Martha Williams, 

Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the 

Delegated Authority of the Director, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–02422 Filed 2–7–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 223] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; 90-Day Findings for Three 

Species 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notification of petition findings 

and initiation of status reviews. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce 90- 

day findings on three petitions to add 

species to the Lists of Endangered and 

Threatened Wildlife and Plants under 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). Based on our review, we 

find that the petitions to list the thickleaf bladderpod (Physaria pachyphylla) 

and variable cuckoo bumble bee 

(Bombus variabilis) present substantial 

scientific or commercial information 

indicating that the petitioned actions 

may be warranted. Therefore, with the 

publication of this document, we 

announce that we are initiating status 

reviews of these species to determine 

whether the petitioned actions are 

warranted. To ensure that the status 

reviews are comprehensive, we request 

scientific and commercial data and 

other information regarding the species 

and factors that may affect their status. 

Based on the status reviews, we will 

issue 12-month petition findings, which 

will address whether or not the 

petitioned actions are warranted, in 

accordance with the Act. We further 

find that the petition to recognize the 

Texas population of the ocelot 

(Leopardus pardalis) as a distinct 

population segment (DPS) and to list 

that DPS does not present substantial 

scientific or commercial information 

indicating the petitioned action may be 

warranted. Therefore, we are not 

initiating a status review of the Texas 

ocelot population. 

DATES: These findings were made on 

February 8, 2022. As we commence our 

status reviews, we seek any new 

information concerning the status of, or 


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