[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 102 (Friday, May 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28884-28886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11382]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2020-0119; FXES11130200000-212-FF02ENEH00]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Revised 
Recovery Plan for Houston Toad

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of our draft revised recovery plan for the Houston toad, 
listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Houston toad 
is a semi-aquatic species endemic to pine and oak forests within 
Austin, Bastrop, Burleson, Colorado, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Milam, and 
Robinson Counties, Texas. 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 July 27, 2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Reviewing documents: You may obtain a copy of the draft revised 
recovery plan in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2020-0119 at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the 
following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R2-
ES-2020-0119.
    <bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R2-ES-2020-0119; 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: Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, 
Austin Ecological Services Field Office, by phone at 512-490-0057, by 
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5d3c393c300227382f2f383333382f1d3b2a2e733a322b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="412025202c1e3b243333242f2f2433012736326f262e37">[email protected]</span></a>, 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 Houston toad (Anaxyrus houstonensis; formerly Bufo 
houstonensis), listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Houston toads are 
endemic to aquatic and terrestrial habitats within pine and oak forests 
in Austin, Bastrop, Burleson, Colorado, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Milam, and 
Robinson Counties, Texas. The draft revised recovery plan includes 
site-specific management actions and objective, measurable criteria 
that, when met, will enable us to remove the Houston toad 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 
Houston toad 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 Houston 
toad on September 17, 1984 (Service 1984). This draft recovery plan 
represents the first

[[Page 28885]]

revision of the 1984 plan and considers updated information on Houston 
toad biology, population status, and threats. The revised recovery plan 
focuses primarily on a strategy for recovery of the Houston toad, 
objective, measurable recovery criteria, a list of prioritized recovery 
actions, and the estimated time and cost to recovery.

Summary of Species Information

    Historically, the Houston toad was documented to occur in the 
following 12 Texas counties: Austin, Bastrop, Burleson, Colorado, Fort 
Bend, Harris, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Milam, and Robertson. In 
recent decades, the Houston toad has experienced rapid habitat loss and 
population declines due to urbanization and drought, and the species' 
distribution has become widely scattered, with small and disconnected 
occurrences documented throughout portions of Austin, Bastrop, 
Burleson, Colorado, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Milam, and Robertson Counties. 
On October 13, 1970, we listed the Houston toad (then under the 
scientific name Bufo houstonensis) as an endangered species under the 
Federal Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 (35 FR 16047), and 
the Houston toad's endangered status was continued under the ESA of 
1973. On January 31, 1978, the Service designated critical habitat for 
the Houston toad in portions of Bastrop and Burleson Counties, Texas 
(43 FR 4022). We currently recognize this species as Anaxyrus 
houstonensis based on the most recent taxonomic evaluation.
    The Houston toad is a small to medium-sized (5 to 8 centimeters [2 
to 3 inches] in length) amphibian covered with raised patches of skin 
that resemble warts. The Houston toad is generally brown and speckled, 
with a pale underside that has small, dark spots. The toad's legs are 
banded, and two dark bands extend from each eye down to the mouth. A 
white stripe that can vary in pigmentation density extends down the 
middle of the back, but it can also be absent in some individuals. 
Houston toads are ectotherms (dependent on external sources of body 
heat), and their skin is highly vulnerable to desiccation. They become 
dormant during harsh weather conditions, such as winter cold 
(hibernation) and summer heat and drought (estivation). The Houston 
toad is an explosive breeder, aggregating in large numbers at breeding 
ponds over a period of a few nights throughout the breeding season in 
late January through June. Females produce large numbers (hundreds or 
thousands) of eggs, which hatch into tadpoles and then metamorphose 
into juvenile toadlets approximately 60 to 65 days after egg 
deposition.
    Habitat for the Houston toad is generally defined as rolling 
uplands covered with pine and/or oak forests underlain by deep sandy 
soils. Houston toads spend most of their lives in terrestrial habitats 
feeding, sheltering, and dispersing. Important components of 
terrestrial Houston toad habitat include forested patches with abundant 
canopy cover and herbaceous vegetation on the forest floor. Because the 
toad is semi-aquatic, water is also an essential component of the 
Houston toad's habitat, and they are known to breed in small pools of 
water or ephemeral ponds. Houston toad populations exhibit a 
metapopulation structure (an assemblage of local subpopulations that 
are interconnected through gene flow, local extirpations, and 
recolonizations), and networks of ponds and individuals dispersing 
among these ponds are essential to maintaining Houston toad viability.
    Habitat loss in the form of destruction, modification, and 
fragmentation (Factor A) has long been considered the most significant 
and immediate threat facing the Houston toad. Within the Houston toad's 
range, such habitat loss has been the result of the conversion to 
housing, agricultural pastures, or other unsuitable landscapes. Fire 
suppression, wildfire, and livestock grazing have altered and degraded 
Houston toad habitat so that its ecosystem function has been adversely 
affected. Habitat fragmentation has also diminished habitat sizes and 
connectivity, resulting in a reduction in or elimination of the genetic 
exchange of individuals, edge effects, barriers to movement, and 
isolation, with subsequent changes in demographic parameters such as 
decreased survivorship and loss of genetic diversity. To a lesser 
extent, predation (Factor C), small population size (Factor E), and the 
effects of climate change (Factor E) are also significant threats to 
Houston toad viability. Known predators of the Houston toad include 
water snakes (Nerodia sp.), bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana), raccoons 
(Procyon lotor), and other carnivores; however, red imported fire ants 
(Solenopsis invicta) are believed to be the most detrimental to Houston 
toad viability, because they are known to prey on newly metamorphosed 
toadlets and compete with juvenile and adult Houston toads for their 
invertebrate food base. Stochastic events from either environmental 
factors or demographic factors are also heightened threats to the 
Houston toad because of its limited range and small population sizes. 
Small populations that are largely isolated from one another provide 
little, if any, opportunity for natural recolonization in the event of 
a local extirpation event. Historically, the species persisted in the 
face of extremely intense drought such as occurred in the 1950s; 
however, resilience to drought has likely decreased as a consequence of 
small and isolated populations. Within Texas, change models project up 
to 20 percent less precipitation, and most regions in Texas are 
predicted to become drier as temperatures increase.

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.
    Our recovery strategy for the Houston toad is to address the 
threats to the species and reduce them to a point such that the 
viability of the Houston toad can be maintained in the wild over time. 
We use the conservation principles of redundancy (i.e., the ability of 
a species to withstand catastrophic events; spreading risk among 
multiple populations to minimize the potential loss of the species from 
catastrophic events), representation (i.e., the ability of a species to 
adapt to changing environmental conditions over time, via the range of 
genetic and ecological variation found within the species), and 
resiliency (i.e., the ability of a population to withstand 
environmental and demographic stochasticity and disturbance) to better 
inform our view of what contributes to the Houston toad's viability and 
how best to conserve the species. The primary objectives of the 
recovery effort for the Houston toad involve acquiring, protecting, 
enhancing, restoring, and managing habitat within multiple recovery 
units, and implementing population restoration efforts such that 
multiple, resilient metapopulations with the appropriate genetic and 
ecological diversity are distributed throughout the species' range. We 
have identified six recovery units across the Houston toad's current 
range that are essential to the survival and recovery of the species. 
These recovery units encompass

[[Page 28886]]

portions of all six Texas counties where the Houston toad is extant, 
and represent the areas most likely to encapsulate at least one 
metapopulation. 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 conservation of 
undisturbed forested areas that are protected from future development, 
and the establishment of multiple Houston toad metapopulations composed 
of interconnected subpopulations. The site-specific management actions 
needed to address threats to Houston toad viability and achieve the 
recovery criteria involve: (1) Conserving, restoring, and protecting 
habitat; (2) captive propagation and supplementation; (3) establishing 
a monitoring program; (4) conducting research; (5) expanding monitoring 
into new areas; (6) conducting public education and outreach; (7) 
identifying effective habitat management strategies; and (8) 
effectively planning and coordinating recovery implementation.

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 
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. 2021-11382 Filed 5-27-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-55-P


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