Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 29, 2021 / Notices 34271 

opportunity for public review and 

comment during recovery plan 

development. It is also our policy to 

request peer review of recovery plans 

(59 FR 34270; July 1, 1994). In an 

appendix to the approved final recovery 

plan, we will summarize and respond to 

the issues raised during public comment 

and peer review. 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 will consider all comments we 

receive by the date specified in DATES

prior to final approval of the plan. 

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.). 

Robyn Thorson, 

Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13872 Filed 6–28–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R6–ES–2020–N131; 

FXES11140600000] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Draft Recovery Plan for 

Pagosa Skyrocket 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of document availability 

for review and comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, announce the 

availability of a draft recovery plan for 

Pagosa skyrocket, a plant listed as 

endangered under the Endangered 

Species Act. We are requesting review 

and comment from the public on this 

draft plan. 

DATES: We must receive any comments 

on the draft recovery plan on or before 

August 30, 2021. 

ADDRESSES:

Document availability: Copies of the 

draft recovery plan are available at 

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/ 

species/recovery-plans.html. 

Alternatively, you may request a copy 

by U.S. mail from the Western Colorado 

Field Office; 445 W. Gunnison Ave. 

#240; Grand Junction, CO 81501; or by 

telephone at 970–243–2778. Persons 

who use a telecommunications device 

for the deaf may call the Federal Relay 

Service at 800–877–8339. 

Submitting comments: If you wish to 

comment on the draft recovery plan, 

you may submit your comments in 

writing by email to Ann Timberman, at 

ann_timberman@fws.gov, or by U.S. 

mail to Ann Timberman, Western Slope 

Field Supervisor, at the above U.S. mail 

address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann 

Timberman, Western Slope Field 

Supervisor, at the above U.S. mail 

address or by telephone at 970–243– 

2778. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

may call the Federal Relay Service at 

800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

announce the availability of a draft 

recovery plan for Pagosa skyrocket 

(Ipomopsis polyantha), a plant listed as 

endangered under the Endangered 

Species Act, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.). The draft recovery plan 

includes objective, measurable criteria, 

and site-specific management actions as 

may be necessary to remove the species 

from the Federal List of Endangered and 

Threatened Plants. We are requesting 

review and comment from the public on 

this draft recovery plan. 

Species Information 

On August 26, 2011, we listed Pagosa 

skyrocket as an endangered plant (July 

27, 2011; 76 FR 45054). On August 13, 

2012, we designated approximately 

9,641 acres (ac) (3,902 hectares (ha)) of 

critical habitat (77 FR 48368). 

Pagosa skyrocket is a narrow endemic 

plant, occurring only on soils of the 

Mancos shale formation in Archuleta 

County, Colorado. It occurs at between 

6,400 to 8,100 feet (ft) (1,951–2,469 

meters (m)) in elevation and typically 

grows on infrequently disturbed lightly 

vegetated sites or at the edge of 

ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest 

(Anderson 2004, p. 20). Pagosa 

skyrocket appears able to self-pollinate 

when stressed, but reproduction is more 

successful when outcrossed (Anderson 

2004, p. 23). 

Pagosa skyrocket typically spends 

more than a year in a vegetative state 

before flowering and dying (monocarpic 

perennial). However, if conditions are 

ideal, it behaves as a biennial. It is a 

member of the Polemoniaceae (phlox) 

family and is regarded as a distinct 

species (Anderson 2004, p. 10). 

We do not know the historical 

distribution of Pagosa skyrocket. 

Currently, we know of two populations– 

–Pagosa Springs/Mill Creek and Dyke– 

–occupying approximately 462 ac (187 

ha) and located 13 miles (mi) (21 

kilometers (km)) apart. Approximately 

3.5 ac (1.4 ha) of occupied habitat 

occurs on Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) land. The remainder of occupied 

habitat is located on private land, land 

owned by the Town of Pagosa Springs, 

highway rights of way (ROWs), and an 

88-ac (36-ha) parcel owned and 

managed by Colorado Parks and 

Wildlife (CPW). The CPW parcel 

contains more than 90 percent of all 

known Pagosa skyrocket plants and is 

managed with the primary goal of 

conserving Pagosa skyrocket. All known 

occupied habitat for the species occurs 

within designated critical habitat. 

The primary threat to Pagosa 

skyrocket, both at the time of listing and 

currently, is commercial, residential, 

agricultural, and municipal 

development. We have documented 

losses from development of habitat and 

individual plants for both populations. 

Without additional protections, we 

anticipate an increase in the magnitude 

of this threat affecting the species’ 

future resiliency, redundancy, and 

representation. Overgrazing, invasive 

plants, and climate change may 

exacerbate the threat from development. 

Several conservation actions have 

been initiated since listing in 2011 as 

follows: 

(1) CPW acquired 88 ac (36 ha) of 

occupied Pagosa skyrocket critical 

habitat that had been slated for 

development. The primary management 

goal of this parcel is conservation of 

Pagosa skyrocket. 

(2) Archuleta County incorporated 

Pagosa skyrocket preservation into the 

Archuleta County Community Plan to 

assist in recovering the species. 

(3) The Town of Pagosa Springs 

Master Plan identified a goal to ‘‘Strive 

to protect and celebrate the Pagosa 

skyrocket.’’ 

(4) Volunteers and the Geothermal 

Greenhouse Partnership initiated 

greenhouse experiments to grow and 

transplant Pagosa skyrocket individuals. 


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34272 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 29, 2021 / Notices 

Draft Recovery Plan 

Below, we summarize components 

from our draft recovery plan. Please 

reference the draft recovery plan for full 

details. 

The draft recovery plan describes the 

recovery goal as the conservation and 

survival of Pagosa skyrocket. For 

recovery, the species needs at least three 

(redundant) persistent (resilient) 

populations across the species’ range, 

where recruitment over time equals or 

exceeds loss of individuals and 

ecological and genetic diversity are 

maintained (representation). The three 

populations would include the two 

currently known populations (Pagosa 

Springs/Mill Creek and Dyke), as well as 

a third population that may be newly 

discovered or introduced. These three 

resilient populations would provide 

sufficient representation and 

redundancy across the species’ range. 

The draft recovery plan includes 

recovery criteria for both downlisting 

and delisting. Downlisting criteria 

include: 

(1) Maintaining stable or increasing 

population growth rates in three 

populations, with or without 

augmentation; 

(2) Maintaining a minimum 

population of 4,824 individual plants in 

the Pagosa Springs/Mill Creek and Dyke 

populations, and a minimum 

population of 1,500 individual plants in 

the third newly discovered or 

introduced population; 

(3) Each of the three populations have 

regulatory mechanisms or conservation 

plans in place that address habitat loss 

and degradation from development, 

thus helping meet population trend and 

abundance targets identified in the first 

two criteria; and 

(4) Both known populations are 

represented in an off-site seed collection 

to preserve the genetic diversity of 

Pagosa skyrocket and provide added 

protection from potential stochastic 

events. 

Delisting criteria are the same as for 

downlisting, with the exception that all 

three populations must meet the first 

two criteria without further 

augmentation. To help meet these 

criteria, the draft recovery plan 

identifies recovery actions for each 

criteria. 

Recovery Planning Process 

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 Service’s 

endangered species program. Recovery 

means improving the status of a listed 

species to the point at which listing is 

no longer necessary according to the 

criteria specified under section 4(a)(1) of 

the Act. The Act requires recovery plans 

for listed species unless such a plan 

would not promote the conservation of 

a particular species. To help guide 

recovery efforts, we prepare recovery 

plans to promote the conservation of the 

species. 

The purpose of a recovery plan is to 

provide a recommended framework for 

the recovery of a species so that 

protection of the Act is no longer 

necessary. Pursuant to section 4(f) of the 

Act, a recovery plan must, to the 

maximum extent possible, include: 

(1) A description of site-specific 

management actions as may be 

necessary to achieve the plan’s goal for 

the conservation and survival of the 

species; 

(2) Objective, measurable criteria 

which, when met, would support a 

determination under section 4(a)(1) of 

the Act that the species should be 

removed from the List of Endangered 

and Threatened Species; and 

(3) Estimates of time and costs 

required to carry out those measures 

needed to achieve the plan’s goal and to 

achieve intermediate steps toward that 

goal. 

We used our new recovery planning 

and implementation (RPI) process to 

develop the draft recovery plan for 

Pagosa skyrocket. The RPI process helps 

reduce the time needed to develop and 

implement recovery plans, increases the 

relevancy of the recovery plan over 

longer timeframes, and adds flexibility 

so that the recovery plan can be more 

easily adjusted to new information and 

circumstances. Under our RPI process, a 

recovery plan will include the three 

statutorily required elements for 

recovery plans—objective and 

measurable criteria, site-specific 

management actions, and estimates of 

time and cost—along with a concise 

introduction and our strategy for how 

we plan to achieve species recovery. 

The RPI recovery plan is supported by 

a separate species status assessment for 

the Pagosa skyrocket (SSA; Service 

2020). The SSA is an in-depth, but not 

exhaustive, review of the species’ 

biology and threats, an evaluation of its 

biological status, and an assessment of 

the resources and conditions needed to 

maintain long-term viability. The SSA 

provides the scientific background and 

threats assessment for Pagosa skyrocket, 

which are key to the development of the 

recovery plan. A third, separate working 

document, called the recovery 

implementation strategy (RIS), steps 

down the more general descriptions of 

actions in the recovery plan to detail the 

specifics needed to implement the 

recovery plan, which improves the 

flexibility of the recovery plan. The RIS 

will be adaptable, with new information 

on actions incorporated, as needed, 

without requiring a concurrent revision 

to the recovery plan, unless changes to 

the three statutory elements are 

required. 

Peer Review 

In accordance with our July 1, 1994, 

peer review policy (59 FR 34270; July 1, 

1994); our August 22, 2016, Director’s 

Memo on the Peer Review Process; and 

the Office of Management and Budget’s 

December 16, 2004, Final Information 

Quality Bulletin for Peer Review 

(revised June 2012), we solicited 

independent scientific reviews of the 

information contained in the SSA 

report. Results of this structured peer 

review process can be found at https:// 

www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/science/ 

peerReview.php. We also submitted our 

SSA report to our Federal and State 

partners for their scientific review. 

There is no overlap of occupied habitat 

or critical habitat with Tribal lands. We 

incorporated the results of the peer and 

partner review in the SSA report, as 

appropriate. The SSA report is the 

scientific foundation for the draft 

recovery plan. 

Request for Public Comments 

All comments we receive by the date 

specified (see DATES) will be considered 

prior to approval of the recovery plan. 

Written comments and materials 

regarding the recovery plan should be 

sent via one of the means in the 

ADDRESSES section. 

We will consider all information we 

receive during the public comment 

period, and particularly look for 

comments that provide scientific 

rationale or factual background. The 

Service and other Federal agencies and 

partners will take these comments into 

consideration in the course of 

implementing an approved final 

recovery plan. We are specifically 

seeking comments and suggestions on 

the following questions: 

• Understanding that the time and 

cost presented in the draft recovery plan 

will be fine-tuned when localized 

recovery implementation strategies are 

developed, do you think that the 

estimated time and cost to recovery are 

realistic? Is the estimate reflective of the 

time and cost of actions that may have 

already been implemented by Federal, 

State, county, or other agencies? Please 

provide suggestions or methods for 

determining a more accurate estimation. 

• Do the draft recovery criteria 

provide clear direction to partners on 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 29, 2021 / Notices 34273 

what is needed to recover Pagosa 

skyrocket? How could they be improved 

for clarity? 

• Are the draft recovery criteria both 

objective and measurable given the 

information available for Pagosa 

skyrocket now and into the future? 

Please provide suggestions. 

• Understanding that specific, 

detailed, and area-specific recovery 

actions will be developed in the RIS, do 

you think that the draft recovery actions 

presented in the draft recovery plan 

generally cover the types of actions 

necessary to meet the recovery criteria? 

If not, what general actions are missing? 

Are any of the draft recovery actions 

unnecessary for achieving recovery? 

Have we prioritized the actions 

appropriately? 

Public Availability of Comments 

We will summarize and respond to 

the issues raised by the public in an 

appendix to the approved final recovery 

plan. 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. 

You may request at the top of your 

comment that we withhold this 

information from public review; 

however, 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, 16 

U.S.C. 1533(f). 

Matthew Hogan, 

Deputy Regional Director, Lakewood, 

Colorado. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13827 Filed 6–28–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

[FWS–R4–ES–2021–N165; 

FVHC98220410150–XXX–FF04H00000] 

Florida Trustee Implementation Group 

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Final 

Restoration Plan 2 and Environmental 

Assessment: Habitat Projects on 

Federally Managed Lands, Sea Turtles, 

Marine Mammals, Birds, and Provide 

and Enhance Recreational 

Opportunities; and Finding of No 

Significant Impact 

AGENCY: Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA); the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA); the Final Programmatic 

Damage Assessment Restoration Plan 

and Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (Final PDARP/PEIS) 

and Record of Decision; and the Consent 

Decree, the Federal and State natural 

resource trustee agencies for the Florida 

Trustee Implementation Group (FL TIG) 

have prepared the Florida Trustee 

Implementation Group Final 

Restoration Plan 2 and Environmental 

Assessment: Habitat Projects on 

Federally Managed Lands; Sea Turtles; 

Marine Mammals; Birds; and Provide 

and Enhance Recreational 

Opportunities (Final RP2/EA), and 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI). In the Final RP2/EA, the FL 

TIG analyzed projects to help restore 

injured habitats, sea turtles, marine 

mammals, and birds, and to compensate 

for lost recreational use in the Florida 

Restoration Area as a result of the 

Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. The 

Final RP2/EA describes and, in 

conjunction with the associated FONSI, 

selects the preferred restoration projects 

considered by the FL TIG to partially 

restore natural resources and ecological 

services injured or lost as a result of the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The 

approximate cost to implement the FL 

TIG’s proposed action is $62,000,000. 

The purpose of this notice is to inform 

the public of the availability of the Final 

RP2/EA and FONSI. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You 

may download the Final RP2/EA from 

either of the following websites: 

• https://www.doi.gov/ 

deepwaterhorizon 

• https://www.gulfspillrestoration.

noaa.gov/restoration-areas/florida 

Alternatively, you may request a CD 

of the Final RP2/EA (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nanciann Regalado, at nanciann_

regalado@fws.gov or 678–296–6805, or 

via the Federal Relay Service at 800– 

877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

On April 20, 2010, the mobile 

offshore drilling unit Deepwater 

Horizon, which was being used to drill 

a well for BP Exploration and 

Production, Inc. (BP), in the Macondo 

prospect (Mississippi Canyon 252– 

MC252), experienced a significant 

explosion, fire, and subsequent sinking 

in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in an 

unprecedented volume of oil and other 

discharges from the rig and from the 

wellhead on the seabed. The DWH oil 

spill is the largest offshore oil spill in 

U.S. history, discharging millions of 

barrels of oil over a period of 87 days. 

In addition, well over 1 million gallons 

of dispersants were applied to the 

waters of the spill area in an attempt to 

disperse the spilled oil. An 

undetermined amount of natural gas 

was also released into the environment 

as a result of the spill. 

The Trustees conducted the natural 

resource damage assessment (NRDA) for 

the DWH oil spill under the Oil 

Pollution Act 1990 (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 

2701 et seq.). Pursuant to OPA, Federal 

and State agencies act as trustees on 

behalf of the public to assess natural 

resource injuries and losses and to 

determine the actions required to 

compensate the public for those injuries 

and losses. The OPA further instructs 

the designated trustees to develop and 

implement a plan for the restoration, 

rehabilitation, replacement, or 

acquisition of the equivalent of the 

injured natural resources under their 

trusteeship to baseline (the resource 

quality and conditions that would exist 

if the spill had not occurred). This 

includes the loss of use and services 

provided by those resources from the 

time of injury until the completion of 

restoration. 

The DWH Trustees are: 

• U.S. Department of the Interior 

(DOI), as represented by the National 

Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, and Bureau of Land 

Management; 

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), on behalf of 

the U.S. Department of Commerce; 

• U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA); 

• U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA); 

• State of Louisiana Coastal 

Protection and Restoration Authority, 

Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, 

Department of Environmental Quality, 

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, 

and Department of Natural Resources; 

• State of Mississippi Department of 

Environmental Quality; 

• State of Alabama Department of 

Conservation and Natural Resources and 

Geological Survey of Alabama; 

• State of Florida Department of 

Environmental Protection and Fish and 

Wildlife Conservation Commission; and 

• State of Texas: Texas Parks and 

Wildlife Department, Texas General 

Land Office, and Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality. 

On April 4, 2016, the United States 

District Court for the Eastern District of 

Louisiana entered a Consent Decree 

resolving civil claims by the Trustees 

against BP arising from the DWH oil 

spill: United States v. BPXP et al., Civ. 

No. 10–4536, centralized in MDL 2179, 


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