32968 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 23, 2021 / Notices 

Scientific name/ 

common name Contact person, email, phone 

Status 

(endangered or 

threatened) 

States where the species is 

known to occur 

Final listing rule 

(Federal Register 

citation and 

publication date) 

Contact’s mailing address 

Non-Flowering Plants 

Thelypteris 

inabonensis, T. 

verecunda, T. 

yaucoensis (no common names).

Maritza Vargas, caribbean_

es@fws.gov, 787–851–7297.

Endangered ..... Puerto Rico .............................. 58 FR 35887; 7/2/ 

1993.

USFWS, Road 301, Km 5.1, 

P.O. Box 491, Boquero ́n, PR 

00622. 

What information do we consider in 

our 5-year reviews? 

A 5-year review considers all new 

information available at the time of the 

review. In conducting the review, we 

consider the best scientific and 

commercial data that have become 

available since the most recent status 

review. We are seeking new information 

specifically regarding: 

(1) Species biology, including but not 

limited to life history and habitat 

requirements and impact tolerance 

thresholds; 

(2) Historical and current population 

conditions, including but not limited to 

population abundance, trends, 

distribution, demographics, and 

genetics; 

(3) Historical and current habitat 

conditions, including but not limited to 

amount, distribution, and suitability; 

(4) Historical and current threats, 

threat trends, and threat projections in 

relation to the five listing factors (as 

defined in section 4(a)(1) of the ESA); 

(5) Conservation measures for the 

species that have been implemented or 

are planned; and 

(6) Other new information, data, or 

corrections, including but not limited to 

taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, 

identification of erroneous information 

contained in the List, and improved 

analytical methods. 

Any new information received will be 

considered during the 5-year review and 

ongoing recovery programs for the 

species. 

Request for New Information 

To ensure that 5-year reviews are 

based on the best available scientific 

and commercial information, we request 

new information from all sources. 

Please use the contact information listed 

in the table above that is associated with 

the species for which you are submitting 

information. If you submit information, 

please support it with documentation 

such as maps, bibliographic references, 

methods used to gather and analyze the 

data, and/or copies of any pertinent 

publications, reports, or letters by 

knowledgeable sources. 

How do I ask questions or provide 

information? 

If you wish to provide information for 

any species listed above, please submit 

your comments and materials to the 

appropriate contact in the table above. 

Individuals who are hearing impaired or 

speech impaired may call the Federal 

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 for 

TTY assistance. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, electronic mail address, or 

other personal identifying information 

in your submission, you should be 

aware that your entire submission— 

including your personal identifying 

information—may be made publicly 

available at any time. Although you can 

request that personal information be 

withheld from public review, we cannot 

guarantee that we will be able to do so. 

Authority 

This document is published under the 

authority of the Endangered Species Act 

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

seq.). 

Leopoldo Miranda-Castro, 

Regional Director, South Atlantic-Gulf and 

Mississippi Basin Regions. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13170 Filed 6–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R7–ES–2020–N109; 

FXES11140700000–201–FF07CAFB00] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Draft Recovery Plan for the 

Alaska-Breeding Population of 

Steller’s Eider, First Revision 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, announce the 

availability of the draft first revision of 

the recovery plan for the threatened 

Alaska-breeding population of Steller’s 

eiders (Polysticta stelleri). We request 

review and comment on the revised 

plan from local, State and Federal 

agencies, Tribes, and the public. We 

will also accept any new information on 

the status of the Alaska-breeding 

population of Steller’s eiders throughout 

its range to assist in finalizing the 

recovery plan. 

DATES: Comment submission: To ensure 

consideration, we must receive written 

comments on or before August 23, 2021. 

However, we will accept information 

about the species at any time. 

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You 

may obtain a copy of the draft recovery 

plan by one of the following methods: 

• Internet: Download the document at 

https://www.fws.gov/alaska/pages/ 

endangered-species/stellers-eider. 

• U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; Attention: Neesha Stellrecht, 

Fairbanks Fish and Wildlife Field 

Office; 101 12th Ave.; Fairbanks, AK 

99701. 

• Telephone: Neesha Stellrecht, 907– 

456–0297. 

Comment submission: You may 

submit comments by one of the 

following methods: 

• Mail or hand delivery: Submit 

written comments to the above U.S. 

mail address. 

• Email: neesha_stellrecht@fws.gov. 

Please include ‘‘Steller’s eider recovery 

plan’’ in the subject line. 

For additional information about 

submitting comments, see Availability 

of Public Comments in SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Neesha Stellrecht, by one of the 

methods in ADDRESSES. Individuals who 

are hearing impaired or speech impaired 

may call the Federal Relay Service at 

800–877–8339 for TTY assistance. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

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

announce the availability of the draft 

recovery plan, first revision (draft plan), 

for the threatened Alaska-breeding 

population of Steller’s eiders for public 

review and comment. The original 

recovery plan for this population was 

approved in 2002. The draft revised 

plan, when finalized, would replace the 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 118 / Wednesday, June 23, 2021 / Notices 32969 

2002 version. The draft plan includes 

objective, measurable criteria and 

recovery actions as may be necessary for 

removal of the species from the Federal 

List of Endangered and Threatened 

Wildlife. We request review and 

comment on the draft plan from local, 

State, and Federal agencies, and the 

public. 

Recovery Planning 

Section 4(f) of the Endangered Species 

Act (Act) of 1973, as amended (Act; 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. Also pursuant to section 4(f) of 

the Act, a recovery plan must, to the 

maximum extent practicable, include (1) 

a description of site-specific 

management actions as may be 

necessary to achieve the plan’s goals for 

the conservation and survival of the 

species; (2) objective, measurable 

criteria that, when met, would support 

a determination under section 4(a)(1) 

that the species should be removed from 

the List of Endangered and Threatened 

Species; and (3) estimates of the time 

and costs required to carry out those 

measures needed to achieve the plan’s 

goal and to achieve intermediate steps 

toward that goal. 

The Service has revised its approach 

to recovery planning. The revised 

process is intended to reduce the time 

needed to develop and implement 

recovery plans, increase recovery plan 

relevancy over a longer timeframe, and 

add flexibility to recovery plans so they 

can be adjusted to new information or 

circumstances. A recovery plan will 

include statutorily required elements 

(objective, measurable criteria; sitespecific management actions; and, 

estimates of time and costs), along with 

a concise introduction and our strategy 

for how we plan to achieve species 

recovery. The recovery plan is 

supported by a separate Species Status 

Assessment. The essential component to 

flexible implementation under this 

recovery process is producing a separate 

working document called the Recovery 

Implementation Strategy 

(implementation strategy). The 

implementation strategy steps down 

from the more general description of 

actions in the recovery plan to detail the 

specific, near-term activities needed to 

implement the recovery plan. The 

implementation strategy will be 

adaptable by being able to incorporate 

new information without having to 

concurrently revise the recovery plan, 

unless changes to statutory elements are 

required. The implementation strategy 

will be developed following publication 

of the final recovery plan and will be 

made available on the Service’s website 

at that time. 

Species Background 

The Alaska-breeding population of 

Steller’s eider (Polysticta stelleri), a 

small sea duck, was listed as a 

threatened distinct population segment 

under the Act in 1997 (62 FR 31748) 

due to the contraction of its breeding 

range in Alaska. Steller’s eiders spend 

the majority of their lives in the marine 

environment, occupying terrestrial 

habitats only during the nesting season, 

which occurs from approximately early 

June to early September. Nesting in 

Alaska is concentrated in tundra 

wetland habitat near Utqiag ̇vik, and 

occurs at lower densities elsewhere on 

Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain. Alaskabreeding Steller’s eiders molt and 

winter in the southern Bering Sea and 

northern Pacific Ocean, where they 

intermix with Russia-breeding Steller’s 

eiders. Combined, these two breeding 

populations comprise the Pacificwintering population of Steller’s eiders. 

Considerable uncertainty about the 

drivers of population growth and the 

factors inhibiting recovery of the 

Alaska-breeding population exists; 

however, known threats include 

ingestion of lead ammunition, shooting, 

collisions with human-built structures, 

human disturbance in nesting areas, 

nest predation, and changes to the 

ecological community in the nesting 

area (e.g., less extreme cycles of 

lemming abundance). Refer to the 

Species Status Assessment Report 

(USFWS 2019) for a full discussion of 

the population’s biology and threats. 

Draft Recovery Plan 

Recovery Criteria 

The ultimate recovery goal is to 

remove the Alaska-breeding population 

of Steller’s eiders from the Federal List 

of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

(delist) by ensuring the long-term 

viability of the population in the wild. 

In the draft plan, we have identified the 

following two recovery criteria 

alternatives, based on the best available 

information about the species. 

1. If the abundance of the Pacificwintering population is known to be 

increasing or stable, over 20 years the 

number of Steller’s eiders must be ≥50, 

200, and 100, near Utqiag ̇vik, in the 

Utqiag ̇vik Triangle, and in the Arctic 

Coastal Plain study areas, respectively, 

or the total number of Steller’s eiders 

breeding in Alaska must be ≥350, with 

a wide enough distribution to ensure 

adequate redundancy and 

representation; or 

2. If the trend of the Pacific-wintering 

population is unknown or decreasing, 

over 20 years the number of Steller’s 

eiders breeding in Alaska must be ≥75, 

300, and 150, near Utqiag ̇vik, in the 

Utqiag ̇vik triangle, and in the Arctic 

Coastal Plain study areas, respectively, 

or the total number of Steller’s eiders 

breeding in Alaska must be ≥525, with 

a wide enough distribution to ensure 

adequate redundancy and 

representation. 

Additionally, threats including (but 

not limited to) ingestion of lead 

ammunition, mortality from shooting, 

collisions with structures, human 

disturbance in the breeding area, nest 

predation, and changes to the ecological 

community must be found to not affect 

the ability of the population to meet and 

maintain the demographic criteria 

above. 

Recovery Strategy 

To achieve the recovery criteria, the 

recovery strategy for Alaska-breeding 

Steller’s eiders includes working with 

Federal agencies and other partners to 

improve survival and reproductive rates 

by eliminating known threats such as 

lead contamination, shooting, collisions, 

and disturbance, and protect both 

breeding and non-breeding habitats. 

Considerable uncertainty about the 

ecology, population dynamics, and 

constraints to population growth 

remains; therefore, a number of recovery 

actions are focused on monitoring 

population size and continuing research 

to improve our understanding of 

Steller’s eider ecology, threats, and 

efficacy of management actions. 

Availability of Public 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.). 

Gregory Siekaniec, 

Regional Director, Alaska Region. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13153 Filed 6–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 


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