[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 106 (Friday, June 4, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29975-29977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11700]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2020-0017; FF08E00000 FXES11110800000 212]
RIN 1018-BF94


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Finding on a 
Petition To List the Tiehm's Buckwheat as Threatened or Endangered

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notification of 12-month petition finding.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 
12-month finding on a petition to list Tiehm's buckwheat (Eriogonum 
tiehmii) as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Service has determined, 
after a review of the best available scientific and commercial 
information, that the petitioned action to list Tiehm's buckwheat, a 
plant species native to Nevada in the United States, is warranted. The 
Service, therefore, will promptly publish a proposed rule to list 
Tiehm's buckwheat under the Act.

DATES: The finding in this document was made on June 4, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marc Jackson, Reno Ecological Services 
Field Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Suite 234, Reno, NV 89502; 
telephone 775-861-6337. Persons who use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
    Availability of supporting materials: Our Species Status Assessment 
for Tiehm's buckwheat is available at https://www.fws.gov/reno/content/endangered-species, and at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. 
FWS-R8-ES-2020-0017.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that, within 12 months 
of receipt of a petition to add a species to, or remove a species from, 
the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, a finding 
be made as to whether the requested action is: (a) Not warranted, (b) 
warranted, or (c) warranted, but precluded by other listing activity. 
If the action is found to be warranted, section 4(b)(3)(B)(ii) requires 
a prompt publication in the Federal Register of a general notice and 
the complete text of a proposed regulation to implement such action.
    On October 7, 2019, we received a petition from the Center for 
Biological Diversity (CBD; CBD 2019, entire) requesting that Tiehm's 
buckwheat be listed as threatened or endangered, that critical habitat 
be concurrently designated for this species under the Act, and that the 
petition be considered on an emergency basis. The Act does not provide 
for a process to petition for emergency listing; therefore, we 
evaluated the petition to determine if it presented substantial 
scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned 
action may be warranted. The Service published a 90-day finding on July 
22, 2020 (85 FR 44265), stating that the petition presented substantial 
scientific or commercial information indicating that listing Tiehm's 
buckwheat may be warranted.
    On September 29, 2020, CBD filed a complaint in the U.S. District 
Court for the District of Nevada against the Service alleging 
violations under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et 
seq.); CBD amended the complaint on October 8, 2020, to include a claim 
under the Endangered Species Act that the Service had missed the 1-year 
deadline of October 7, 2020, for issuing a 12-month finding for Tiehm's 
buckwheat. On April 21, 2021, the court issued a decision, and, in 
response to a stipulated request for a revised remedy order, on May 17, 
2021, the court amended the decision and ordered the Service to deliver 
a 12-month finding on Tiehm's buckwheat to the Federal Register by May 
31, 2021. The Service now announces a 12-month finding on the October 
7, 2019, petition to list Tiehm's buckwheat.

Species Description and Habitat

    Tiehm's buckwheat was first discovered in 1983 and described in 
1985. All available taxonomic and genetic research information 
indicates that Tiehm's buckwheat is a valid and

[[Page 29976]]

recognizable taxon and represents a distinct species. Tiehm's buckwheat 
is a low-growing perennial herb, with blueish gray leaves and pale, 
yellow flowers that bloom from May to June and turn red with age. Seeds 
ripen in late-June through mid-July. Tiehm's buckwheat is a narrow-
ranging endemic known only from one population, comprising eight 
subpopulations, in the Rhyolite Ridge area of Silver Peak Range in 
Esmeralda County, Nevada. The single population of Tiehm's buckwheat is 
restricted to approximately 10 acres (4 hectares) across a 3-square-
mile area, located entirely on public lands administered by the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM). The subpopulations are separated by a rural 
county unpaved road where subpopulations 1, 2, and 8 occur north of the 
road, and subpopulations 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 occur south of the road. A 
2019 survey estimated that the total Tiehm's buckwheat population is 
43,921 individual plants. Surveys have not detected additional 
populations of Tiehm's buckwheat.
    Tiehm's buckwheat is a soil specialist specifically adapted to grow 
on its preferred soil type. The species is restricted to dry, open, 
relatively barren slopes with light-colored rocky clay soils derived 
from an uncommon formation of interbedded claystones, shales, 
tuffaceous sandstones, and limestones. Vegetation varies from pure 
stands of Tiehm's buckwheat to sparse associations with a few other 
low-growing herbs and grass species. The abundance and diversity of 
arthropods (insects, mites, and spiders) observed in Tiehm's buckwheat 
subpopulations is especially high (1,898 specimens from 12 orders, 70 
families, and 129 species were found in 2020) for a plant community 
dominated by a single plant species. Primary pollinator visitors to 
Tiehm's buckwheat include wasps, beetles, and flies. Tiehm's buckwheat 
benefits from pollinator services and needs pollination to increase 
seed production.

Threats

    The naturally occurring Tiehm's buckwheat population (represented 
by one population with eight subpopulations) and a seedling transplant 
experiment suffered detrimental herbivory in 2020. All of the naturally 
occurring subpopulations experienced greater than 50 percent damage or 
loss of individual plants, while almost all transplants were lost to 
rodent herbivores in a 2-week period. An environmental DNA analysis 
(i.e., trace DNA found in soil, water, food items, or other substrates 
with which an organism has interacted) conducted on damaged Tiehm's 
buckwheat roots, nearby soils, and rodent scat strongly linked small 
mammal herbivory to the widespread damage and loss of the naturally 
occurring Tiehm's buckwheat population. This was the first time 
herbivory was documented on the species, although, prior to 2019, 
surveys of the population were infrequent. The significance of 
herbivory in the naturally occurring population depends not only on its 
frequency and intensity, but whether damaged plants can recover and 
survive, as we are uncertain if the species will be able to recover 
from this damage and loss. Rodent herbivore pressure precluded seedling 
survival in experimental plots. Further studies and monitoring need to 
be conducted to determine if management to reduce rodent herbivory is 
necessary to maintain Tiehm's buckwheat individuals and subpopulations, 
or if it was just a random catastrophic event that is not likely to 
occur on a regular basis.
    The specialized soils on which Tiehm's buckwheat occurs are high in 
lithium and boron, making this location of high interest for mineral 
development. In May 2020, Ioneer USA Corporation (Ioneer) submitted a 
plan of operations to BLM for the proposed Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron 
project. The proposed project is awaiting BLM permitting and approval 
for mineral development in the areas where the Tiehm's buckwheat 
population occurs. Ioneer's proposed Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron 
project, if permitted by BLM, would result in the loss of habitat and 
subpopulations 4, 5, 6, and 7, even with the voluntary protection 
measures included in Ioneer's s project proposal. The potential impact 
from the proposed project, combined with the loss resulting from the 
recent herbivory event, would reduce the total Tiehm's buckwheat 
population by 70 to 88 percent, or from 43,921 individuals to roughly 
5,289-8,696 individuals. The number of individuals estimated to survive 
is a range because we do not know yet if the plants damaged from 
herbivory will be able to recover and survive. The low end of this 
range is based on permanent loss of damaged plants, while the high end 
represents conditions if all the herbivore-damaged plants recover. Dust 
deposition, generated from increased vehicle traffic associated with 
mine operations, may also negatively affect the overall health and 
physiological processes of the subpopulations remaining (1, 2, 3, and 
8) after full implementation of the project.
    Ioneer is proposing to salvage all remaining plants in 
subpopulations 4, 5, 6, and 7 by transplanting them to another 
location. However, we are uncertain whether the salvage operation will 
succeed because current research indicates that Tiehm's buckwheat is a 
soil specialist, that adjacent unoccupied sites are not suitable for 
all early life-history stages, and there has been no testing and 
multiyear monitoring on the feasibility of successfully transplanting 
the species. The impact to Tiehm's buckwheat from mining, salvage 
operations, or both would be permanent and irreversible under the 
proposed project because the plants and the land on which they are 
currently growing, including any existing seed bank in the soil, would 
be completely removed, and in place of that site there would be a 
terminal quarry lake. The terminal quarry lake would develop when the 
mining operation ceased pumping out the anticipated groundwater that 
would infiltrate the quarry. Elimination of these subpopulations may 
remove corridors for pollinator movement, seed dispersal, and 
population expansion. There is strong evidence that subpopulation 6 is 
the most resilient of the eight Tiehm's buckwheat subpopulations. This 
subpopulation contains multiple life stages of individual plants, 
including the majority of older and larger plants across all 
populations. In addition, subpopulation 6 has the most variety in size 
classes of individual plants, indicating it is likely experiencing the 
most recruitment. Loss of subpopulation 6, in particular, may have an 
immense impact on the overall resiliency and continued viability of the 
entire Tiehm's buckwheat population.
    In addition to the direct impacts from the physical removal of 
subpopulations as a result of the project, road development and vehicle 
traffic associated with the proposed mine, as well as livestock grazing 
which currently occurs within the Tiehm's buckwheat population as part 
of the BLM's Silver Peak allotment, may create conditions that further 
favor the establishment of nonnative invasive species within Tiehm's 
buckwheat habitat. Mineral exploration has already impacted Tiehm's 
buckwheat habitat by contributing to the spread of saltlover (Halogeton 
glomeratus), a nonnative invasive plant species, within all 
subpopulations of the species. Mineral exploration activities can 
result in disturbance to natural soil conditions that support Tiehm's 
buckwheat and encourage spread of saltlover, which alters the substrate 
by making the soil

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more saline and less suitable as habitat for Tiehm's buckwheat. Mineral 
exploration vehicles also can carry the seeds of nonnative invasive 
plant species into the area. Road improvements also allow easier and 
greater access for recreational vehicles and off-highway vehicles 
(OHVs), with OHV impacts documented in subpopulation 1. Both livestock 
grazing and OHV use can kill or damage individual plants and modify 
Tiehm's buckwheat habitat through fragmentation and soil compaction.
    In addition, Tiehm's buckwheat is adapted to dry upland sites, 
subject only to occasional saturation by rain and snow. Under climate 
change predictions, we anticipate alteration of precipitation and 
temperature patterns, as models forecast warmer temperatures and slight 
increases in precipitation. The timing and type of precipitation 
received (snow vs. rain) may impact plant transpiration and the soil 
water recharge needed by Tiehm's buckwheat. Additionally, variability 
in interannual precipitation combined with increasing temperatures, as 
recently seen from 2015 through 2020, may make conditions less suitable 
for Tiehm's buckwheat by bolstering local rodent populations. High 
rodent abundance combined with high temperatures and drought may have 
contributed to the large herbivore impacts in 2020 in both the 
transplant experiment and native population. Thus, climate change may 
exacerbate impacts from other threats currently affecting this species 
and its habitat.
    Tiehm's buckwheat does not currently receive regulatory protection 
from the State of Nevada. BLM has designated Tiehm's buckwheat as a 
sensitive species. However, BLM's regulations require operators to 
avoid adverse effects only to species listed as threatened or 
endangered under the Act and their habitat (43 CFR 3809.420(b)(7)), not 
sensitive species. Also, under BLM's regulations operators may explore, 
place mining claim monuments, and cause a surface disturbance of up to 
5 acres after an operator gives notice to BLM and waits 15 days (43 CFR 
3809.21(a)). BLM lacks discretion to require conservation measures for 
sensitive species as a condition for exploring for or developing 
minerals subject to disposal under the Mining Law of 1872, as amended 
(30 U.S.C. 22-54). In some circumstances, operators may include 
voluntary commitments to undertake protection or conservation measures 
as part of their proposed mining operations, as Ioneer has done in its 
proposed mine plan.

Finding

    Based upon the preceding information, the totality of threats 
described above, and other information contained in the Tiehm's 
buckwheat Species Status Assessment (SSA), the Service has determined 
that the petitioned action to list Tiehm's buckwheat under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, is warranted. The Service, 
therefore, will promptly publish a proposed rule to list Tiehm's 
buckwheat. We will open a public comment period at the time of 
publication of the proposed rule. Any information received from the 
public prior to the publication of the proposed rule will be considered 
and addressed when we address comments received on the proposed rule.

Author

    This document was prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Reno Fish and Wildlife Office, 1340 Financial Blvd., Suite 234, Reno, 
NV 89521 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Regional Office, 2800 
Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.

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. 2021-11700 Filed 6-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P