36570 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 130 / Monday, July 12, 2021 / Notices 

Dated: July 6, 2021. 

Jerry L Rigdon, 

Deputy Chief, Regulatory Coordination 

Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. 

Citizenship and Immigration Services, 

Department of Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14706 Filed 7–9–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–97–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2020–0040; 

FXES11130200000–201–FF02ENEH00] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Draft Revised Recovery 

Plan for Gila Trout 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, announce the 

availability of our draft revised recovery 

plan for the Gila trout, listed as 

threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act. This fish species is 

endemic to mountain streams within the 

upper Gila River basin in New Mexico 

and Arizona. We provide this notice to 

seek comments from the public and 

Federal, Tribal, State, and local 

governments. 

DATES: We must receive written 

comments on or before September 10, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: 

Reviewing Documents: You may 

obtain a copy of the draft revised 

recovery plan and recovery 

implementation strategy in Docket No. 

FWS–R2–ES–2020–0040 at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Submitting Comments: You may 

submit comments by one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2020–0040. 

• U.S.: Public Comments Processing; 

Attn: Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2019– 

0040; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W; 5275 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803. 

For additional information about 

submitting comments, see Request for 

Public Comments and Public 

Availability of Comments under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shawn Sartorius, Field Supervisor, New 

Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, 

by phone at 505–761–4781, by email at 

nmesfo@fws.gov, or via the Federal 

Relay Service at 800–877–8339 for TTY 

service. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

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

announce the availability of our draft 

revised recovery plan for the Gila trout 

(Oncorhynchus gilae), listed as 

threatened under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 

16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Gila trout are 

endemic to mountain streams in the 

Gila, San Francisco, Agua Fria, and 

Verde River drainages in New Mexico 

and Arizona. The draft revised recovery 

plan includes site-specific management 

actions and objective, measurable 

criteria that, when met, will enable us 

to remove the Gila trout from the list of 

endangered and threatened wildlife. We 

request review and comment on this 

plan from local, State, and Federal 

agencies; Tribes; and the public. We 

will also accept any new information on 

the status of the Gila trout throughout 

its range to assist in finalizing the 

recovery plan. 

Background 

Recovery of endangered or threatened 

animals and plants to the point where 

they are again secure, self-sustaining 

members of their ecosystems is a 

primary goal of our endangered species 

program and the ESA. Recovery means 

improvement of the status of listed 

species to the point at which listing is 

no longer appropriate under the criteria 

set out in section 4(a)(1) of the ESA. The 

ESA requires the development of 

recovery plans for listed species, unless 

such a plan would not promote the 

conservation of a particular species. The 

Service approved the original recovery 

plan for the Gila trout on January 12, 

1979 (Service 1979), with subsequent 

revisions approved on January 3, 1984 

(Service 1984), December 8, 1993 

(Service 1993), and August 19, 2003 

(Service 2003). 

This draft revised recovery plan for 

the Gila trout represents the fourth 

revision and considers updated 

information on genetics, population 

status, and threats (principally wildfire 

effects and hybridization) in the 

development of revised recovery 

objectives, criteria, and actions. We 

used a streamlined approach to recovery 

planning and implementation for the 

Gila trout by preparing separate 

recovery plan and recovery 

implementation strategy documents. 

The information in the draft recovery 

plan provides the biological 

background, a threats assessment, a 

strategy for recovery of the Gila trout, 

quantitative delisting criteria, a list of 

prioritized recovery actions, and the 

estimated time and cost to recovery 

(Service 2020a). The separate recovery 

implementation strategy document 

further describes in detail the specific 

activities needed to implement the 

recovery actions (Service 2020b). 

Summary of Species Information 

Gila trout are endemic to mountain 

streams within the Gila, San Francisco, 

Agua Fria, and Verde River drainages in 

New Mexico and Arizona. Although 

Gila trout were documented to occur in 

the upper Gila River basin since at least 

1885, the species was not described 

until 1950, by which time its 

distribution had been dramatically 

reduced. On March 11, 1967, we listed 

the Gila trout as endangered under the 

Federal Endangered Species 

Preservation Act of 1966 (32 FR 4001). 

The Gila trout’s endangered status was 

continued under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, and we reclassified 

it as a threatened species on July 18, 

2006, with a special rule under section 

4(d) of the ESA (71 FR 40657). 

Gila trout are readily identified by 

their iridescent gold sides, which blend 

to a darker shade of copper on the 

opercles (bony plates surrounding the 

gills). Spots on the body are small and 

profuse, generally occurring above the 

lateral line and extending onto the head, 

dorsal fin, and caudal fin. These spots 

are irregularly shaped on the sides and 

increase in size dorsally. A few 

scattered spots are sometimes present 

on the anal fin, and the adipose fin is 

typically large and well spotted. Dorsal, 

pelvic, and anal fins have a white to 

yellowish tip that may extend along the 

leading edge of the pelvic fins. A yellow 

cutthroat mark is present on most 

mature specimens. Parr marks (vertical 

bars present when trout are less than a 

year old) are commonly retained by 

adults, and a faint, salmon-pink band is 

also present on adults, particularly 

during spawning season, when the 

normally white belly may be streaked 

with yellow or reddish orange. 

Spawning of Gila trout occurs mainly in 

April and begins when water 

temperatures reach about 8 °C (46 °F), 

but day length may also be an important 

cue. Gila trout fry [20 to 25 millimeters 

(mm), or 0.8 to 1.0 inches (in) total 

length] emerge in 56 to 70 days. Females 

reach maturity between two to four 

years after hatching, and males typically 

reach maturity at two or three years. 

Most individuals are mature at a length 

of 150 mm (6 in) or greater, and live five 

years. Thus, the majority of adult female 

Gila trout spawn only twice before 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 130 / Monday, July 12, 2021 / Notices 36571 

dying, and most adult males only spawn 

three or four times before dying. 

Gila trout require perennial 

streamflow and coldwater aquatic 

habitats with unimpaired water quality 

to maintain persistent, viable 

populations. Flow regimes vary 

depending on the site-specific 

characteristics of stream reaches (e.g., 

stream gradient, seepage, substrate 

composition, channel dimensions, and 

watershed hydrology). Suitable water 

temperature regimes are characterized 

by maximum water temperatures that do 

not exceed approximately 20 °C (68 °F) 

for six or more consecutive hours in a 

24-hour period on more than three 

consecutive days, and maximum 

temperature that do not exceed 24 °C 

(77 °F). Suitable water quality for Gila 

trout is characterized by high dissolved 

oxygen concentration, low turbidity and 

conductivity, low levels of total 

dissolved solids, near-neutral pH, and 

low conductivity. In addition to 

perennial stream flow and suitable 

water temperature and water quality, 

Gila trout require a diversity of habitats 

sufficient to sustain all life stages of the 

species (i.e., eggs, fry, juveniles, and 

adults). This includes suitable spawning 

habitat, habitat where fry can find 

shelter and food, and areas suitable for 

occupancy by juvenile and adult Gila 

trout. Sufficient pool habitat and 

spawning habitat are likely the two most 

important habitat features with respect 

to Gila trout population persistence. 

Fragmentation of the historical 

distribution of Gila trout has resulted in 

several populations confined to small, 

isolated habitats throughout the range of 

the species. Collections from streams in 

the upper Gila River Basin and San 

Francisco River Basin, along with 

genetic analyses, indicate that five 

lineages of Gila trout exist: Main 

Diamond Creek, South Diamond Creek, 

Whiskey Creek, Spruce Creek, and Iron 

Creek. The distribution of these lineages 

has fluctuated since 1975, when only 

five remnant populations (i.e., a selfsustaining group of Gila trout inhabiting 

a single stream) were known. Currently, 

there are 17 extant populations of Gila 

trout inhabiting approximately 137.5 km 

(85.2 mi) of stream habitat. These 

include five populations of the Main 

Diamond Creek lineage, four 

populations of the South Diamond 

Creek lineage, three populations of the 

Whiskey Creek lineage, two populations 

of the Spruce Creek lineage, two 

populations of the Iron Creek lineage, 

and one population (Dude Creek), 

which is considered a mixed-lineage 

population (i.e., a stream or 

metapopulation that contains multiple 

lineages of Gila trout, instead of a single 

lineage). Recently, the Spruce Creek and 

Whiskey Creek lineages each lost a 

population following large-scale, highseverity wildfires in 2011 and 2012, 

respectively. 

For Gila trout to be able to sustain 

populations in the wild over time 

(viability), the species requires 

combinations of sufficiently large, 

healthy populations that, where 

possible, have connectivity to dendritic 

stream networks to maintain adequate 

population sizes and genetic variation. 

Dendritic stream networks provide Gila 

trout with access to suitable habitat 

enabling the species to respond to 

changes in their biological and physical 

environment (representation), 

environmental stochasticity (resiliency), 

and catastrophic events (redundancy). 

Few, if any, extant populations of Gila 

trout are large enough to survive 

extremes in environmental conditions, 

and the existing genetic diversity of the 

species is limited to five remnant 

lineages. Recovery actions implemented 

to date have increased the number of 

populations of Gila trout; however, the 

spatial distribution of populations is 

constrained by the patchy distribution 

and geographic isolation of cold-water 

streams, many of which are singlestream systems that are relatively small. 

Significant factors affecting the viability 

of Gila trout include habitat loss and 

fragmentation (Factor A) that result from 

large-scale, high-severity wildfire and 

the effects of climate change; 

unregulated angling (Factor B); 

predation and competition from 

nonnative fish that are naturalized 

throughout the Gila trout’s historical 

range (Factor C); and hybridization with 

rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) 

and small, isolated population sizes 

(Factor E). 

Recovery Plan Goals 

The objective of a recovery plan is to 

provide a framework for the recovery of 

a species so that protection under the 

ESA is no longer necessary. A recovery 

plan includes scientific information 

about the species and provides criteria 

and actions necessary for us to be able 

to reclassify the species to threatened 

status or remove it from the lists of 

endangered and threatened wildlife and 

plants. Recovery plans help guide our 

recovery efforts by describing actions 

we consider necessary for the species’ 

conservation, and by estimating time 

and costs for implementing needed 

recovery measures. 

In this revised recovery plan, we 

transition from a strategy of crisismanagement focused on preventing 

extinction to an approach of 

establishing sustainable populations 

throughout the historical range of the 

Gila trout, populations that contain the 

breadth of genetic diversity of the 

species. The recovery strategy for the 

Gila trout will entail incremental 

replacement of nonnative salmonids 

with Gila trout in suitable habitat 

throughout a significant portion of the 

historical range of the species. This 

strategy will be implemented by 

conducting actions to substantially 

improve redundancy, representation, 

and resiliency to the point that the 

species is no longer at risk for extinction 

and may be delisted. Recovery 

objectives include securing the existing 

genetic diversity of Gila trout, 

increasing the geographic distribution of 

the species, and increasing the size, 

dendritic population structure, and 

interconnectedness of populations. The 

revised recovery plan provides recovery 

criteria aimed at managing or 

eliminating threats to meet the goal of 

delisting the species. These recovery 

criteria are based on the area of 

occupied habitat within the Gila trout’s 

presumed historical range, the 

conservation of genetically distinct Gila 

trout lineages, the establishment of 

dendritic metapopulations, and the 

absence and management of nonnative 

salmonids within Gila trout habitat. The 

site-specific management actions 

needed to address the threats to Gila 

trout viability and achieve the recovery 

criteria involve: (1) Repatriation of Gila 

trout to streams within its presumed 

historical range; (2) establishment and 

maintenance of captive propagation and 

hatchery facilities; (3) management of 

nonnative salmonids; (4) monitoring of 

Gila trout populations; (5) conducting 

public education and outreach; and (6) 

developing and implementing 

regulations to maintain sustainable Gila 

trout populations in streams open to 

sport fishing. 

Request for Public Comments 

Section 4(f) of the ESA requires us to 

provide public notice and an 

opportunity for public review and 

comment during recovery plan 

development. It is also our policy to 

request peer review of recovery plans 

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

appendix to the approved recovery plan, 

we will summarize and respond to the 

issues raised by the public and peer 

reviewers. 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. 

Responses to individual commenters 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
36572 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 130 / Monday, July 12, 2021 / Notices 

will not be provided, but we will 

provide a summary of how we 

addressed substantive comments in an 

appendix to the approved recovery plan. 

We invite written comments on the 

draft recovery plan. In particular, we are 

interested in additional information 

regarding the current threats to the 

species and the implementation of the 

recommended recovery actions. 

Public Availability of Comments 

All comments received, including 

names and addresses, will become part 

of the administrative record and will be 

available to the public. 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. If you submit a 

hardcopy comment that includes 

personal identifying information, you 

may request at the top of your document 

that we withhold this information from 

public review. However, we cannot 

guarantee that we will be able to do so. 

Authority 

We developed our draft recovery plan 

and publish this notice under the 

authority of section 4(f) of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Amy L. Lueders, 

Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14733 Filed 7–9–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–HQ–WSFR–2021–N161; 

FF09W25000–212–FXGO166409WSFR0; 

OMB Control Number 1018–0100] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Administrative 

Procedures for U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Financial Assistance Programs 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are 

proposing to renew an information 

collection with revisions. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before August 

11, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under Review—Open for 

Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. Please provide a copy 

of your comments to the Service 

Information Collection Clearance 

Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, 

Falls Church, VA 22041–3803 (mail); or 

by email to Info_Coll@fws.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 1018– 

0100 in the subject line of your 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Madonna L. Baucum, Service 

Information Collection Clearance 

Officer, by email at Info_Coll@fws.gov, 

or by telephone at (703) 358–2503. 

Individuals who are hearing or speech 

impaired may call the Federal Relay 

Service at 1–800–877–8339 for TTY 

assistance. You may also view the 

information collection request (ICR) at 

http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we 

provide the general public and other 

Federal agencies with an opportunity to 

comment on new, proposed, revised, 

and continuing collections of 

information. This helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. It also helps the 

public understand our information 

collection requirements and provide the 

requested data in the desired format. 

On October 9, 2020, we published in 

the Federal Register (85 FR 64158) a 

notice of our intent to request that OMB 

approve this information collection. In 

that notice, we solicited comments for 

60 days, ending on December 8, 2020. 

We received one comment in response 

to the notice that did not address the 

information collection requirements. 

The commenter expressed general 

concerns about lack of transparency in 

Federal financial assistance funding, 

specifically funding awarded to a State 

fish and game agency and foreign 

assistance. The Service complies with 

all Federal financial assistance public 

transparency requirements. Data on all 

Service financial assistance programs 

are available at https://beta.sam.gov/. 

Data on all Service award actions are 

available at https://

www.usaspending.gov/. Data on the 

Service’s foreign assistance authorities 

and activities are available at https://

www.foreignassistance.gov/. The 

Service also issues press releases for a 

wide variety of financial assistance 

programs. The Wildlife and Sport Fish 

Restoration Program routinely issues 

press releases for the mandatory formula 

grants to States awarded under the 

Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration 

Act and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish 

Restoration Act. The public can access 

Service press release archives at https:// 

www.fws.gov/news/. 

As part of our continuing effort to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burdens, we are again soliciting 

comments from the public and other 

Federal agencies on the proposed ICR 

that is described below. We are 

especially interested in public comment 

addressing the following: 

(1) Whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether or not the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden for this collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

(4) How might the agency minimize 

the burden of the collection of 

information on those who are to 

respond, including through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of response. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. 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. 

Abstract: We issue financial 

assistance through grants and 

cooperative agreement awards to 

individuals; commercial organizations; 

institutions of higher education; 

nonprofit organizations; foreign entities; 

and State, local, and Tribal 

governments. The Service administers a 


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