Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 27, 2009 / Proposed Rules 55177 

Flooding source(s) Location of referenced elevation** 

* Elevation in feet 

(NGVD) 

+ Elevation in feet 

(NAVD) 

# Depth in feet above 

ground 

∧Elevation in meters 

(MSL) 

Communities affected 

Effective Modified 

∧ Mean Sea Level, rounded to the nearest 0.1 meter. 

** BFEs to be changed include the listed downstream and upstream BFEs, and include BFEs located on the stream reach between the referenced locations above. Please refer to the revised Flood Insurance Rate Map located at the community map repository (see below) for 

exact locations of all BFEs to be changed. 

Send comments to Kevin C. Long, Acting Chief, Engineering Management Branch, Mitigation Directorate, Federal Emergency Management 

Agency, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472. 

ADDRESSES 

City of Prairie Du Chien 

Maps are available for inspection at 214 East Blackhawk Avenue, Prairie Du Chien, WI 53821. 

Unincorporated Areas of Crawford County 

Maps are available for inspection at 225 North Beaumont Road, Prairie Du Chien, WI 53821. 

Village of De Soto 

Maps are available for inspection at 115 South Houghton Street, De Soto, WI 54624. 

Village of Ferryville 

Maps are available for inspection at 170 Pine Street, Ferryville, WI 54628. 

Village of Lynxville 

Maps are available for inspection at 475 Bench Street, Lynxville, WI 54626. 

Village of Soldiers Grove 

Maps are available for inspection at 102 Passive Sun Drive, Soldiers Grove, WI 54655. 

Village of Steuben 

Maps are available for inspection at 123 Midway Street, Steuben, WI 54657. 

Village of Wauzeka 

Maps are available for inspection at 213B East Front Street, Wauzeka, WI 53826. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 

97.022, ‘‘Flood Insurance.’’) 

Deborah S. Ingram, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Mitigation, Mitigation Directorate, 

Department of Homeland Security, Federal 

Emergency Management Agency. 

[FR Doc. E9–25861 Filed 10–26–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–12–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2009-0064] 

[MO 922105 0083-B2] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; 90-day Finding on a 

Petition To List the American Dipper in 

the Black Hills of South Dakota as 

Threatened or Endangered 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition 

finding. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 

90-day finding on a petition to list the 

distinct population segment (DPS) of 

American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus 

unicolor) in the Black Hills of South 

Dakota as threatened or endangered and 

designate critical habitat under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). For the purposes of this 

finding, we evaluated whether the 

petition presents substantial 

information to indicate whether the 

petitioned entity (the American dipper 

in the Black Hills of South Dakota) is a 

listable entity. Based on our review of 

the best available scientific and 

commercial information, we conclude 

that the American dipper in the Black 

Hills of South Dakota is not a listable 

entity under the Act. Because the 

petition did not present substantial 

information that the American dipper in 

the Black Hills of South Dakota is a 

DPS, we did not evaluate whether the 

information contained in the petition 

regarding threats was substantial. 

Therefore, we will not initiate a status 

review to determine if listing this 

subspecies is warranted in response to 

this petition. However, the public may 

submit to us new information 

concerning the subspecies, its status, or 

threats to it at any time. 

DATES: You may submit new 

information concerning this subspecies 

for our consideration at any time. 

ADDRESSES: This finding is available on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Supporting 

documentation we used in preparing 

this finding is available for public 

inspection, by appointment, during 

normal business hours at the South 

Dakota Ecological Services Office, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, 420 South 

Garfield Avenue, Suite 400, Pierre, SD 

57501. Please submit any new 

information, materials, comments, or 

questions concerning this finding to the 

above address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete 

Gober, Field Supervisor, South Dakota 

Ecological Services Office (see 

ADDRESSES section) (telephone 605– 

224–8693). If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD), call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that we 

make a finding on whether a petition to 

list, delist, or reclassify a species 

presents substantial scientific or 

commercial information indicating that 

the petitioned action may be warranted. 

We are to base this finding on 

information provided in the petition, 

supporting information submitted with 

the petition, and information otherwise 

available in our files at the time we 

make the determination. To the 


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maximum extent practicable, we are to 

make this finding within 90 days of our 

receipt of the petition and publish our 

notice of this finding promptly in the 

Federal Register. 

Our standard for substantial scientific 

or commercial information within the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with 

regard to a 90-day petition finding is 

‘‘that amount of information that would 

lead a reasonable person to believe that 

the measure proposed in the petition 

may be warranted’’ (50 CFR 424.14(b)). 

If we find that substantial scientific or 

commercial information was presented, 

we are required to promptly review the 

status of the species (status review). 

We base this 90–day finding on 

information provided by the petitioners 

and our evaluation of that information 

in relation to information available in 

our files at the time of the petition 

review. This finding summarizes the 

information included in the petition and 

information available to us at the time 

of the petition review. Under section 

4(b)(3)(A) of the Act and our regulations 

at 50 CFR 424.14(b), our review of a 90– 

day finding is limited to a determination 

of whether the information in the 

petition meets the ‘‘substantial 

[scientific or commercial] information’’ 

threshold. 

Previous Federal Actions 

On March 28, 2003, the Biodiversity 

Conservation Alliance, Center for Native 

Ecosystems, and Jeremy Nichols 

petitioned the Service to list the Black 

Hills American dipper distinct 

population segment (DPS) as an 

endangered or threatened species. We 

received a Notice of Intent to sue from 

the petitioners on July 21, 2003, who 

subsequently filed a complaint with the 

U.S. District Court for the District of 

Columbia on August 20, 2004. On 

January 24, 2005, we reached a 

settlement agreement to publish a 90– 

day finding in the Federal Register by 

January 20, 2006. On January 26, 2006, 

we determined in a 90–day finding that 

the Black Hills American dipper did not 

meet the elements for being a DPS and, 

therefore, was not a listable entity under 

the Act (71 FR 4341). 

Petition 

On October 2, 2008, we received a 

petition dated September 29, 2008, 

requesting that we list the DPS of 

American dipper in the Black Hills of 

South Dakota as threatened or 

endangered under the Act and designate 

critical habitat for that DPS. In addition, 

the petition requested emergency listing 

of the DPS. The petition, submitted by 

the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, 

Center for Native Ecosystems, Native 

Ecosystems Council, and Prairie Hills 

Audubon Society, was clearly identified 

as a petition for a listing rule, and it 

contained the names, signatures, and 

addresses of the requesting parties. 

Included in the petition was supporting 

information regarding the subspecies’ 

taxonomy and ecology, historical and 

current distribution, present status, and 

potential causes of decline. We 

acknowledged the receipt of the petition 

and addressed the request for 

emergency listing in a letter to Mr. 

Duane Short, dated December 5, 2008. 

The letter stated that we determined 

that the Black Hills population would 

need to meet our policy criteria as a DPS 

or a significant portion of the range of 

the subspecies before we can determine 

if emergency listing is necessary. 

Species Information 

The American dipper is a small, gray 

passerine bird that inhabits western 

Canada, Mexico, and the western United 

States, including the Black Hills 

(Pettingill and Whitney 1965, p. 74; 

Anderson 2002, p. 2) of South Dakota. 

The American dipper utilizes 

permanent, clean, cold, and swift 

mountain streams (Price and Bock 1983, 

p. 2; Tyler and Ormerod 1994, p. 3; 

Kingery 1996, p. 4; Feck 2002, p. 2) with 

abundant and healthy populations of 

benthic macroinvertebrates, the dipper’s 

prey (Ealey 1977, p. 104; Price and Bock 

1983, p. 2; Tyler and Ormerod 1994, p. 

38; Kingery 1996, p. 6). Dippers are 

usually found in streams with rock, 

sand, and rubble substrates, which also 

are associated with the highest 

abundance of aquatic invertebrates. 

American dippers establish linear 

territories along a river in early spring 

(Kingery 1996, p. 11). They remain in or 

near their territories most of the year, 

depending upon the availability of open 

water. Dipper nest sites can be found on 

streamside rock cliffs, waterfalls, large 

rocks in midstream, or under bridges 

(Kingery 1996, p. 14). 

Distribution and Abundance 

The Black Hills are the eastern edge 

of the American dipper’s range. The 

dipper is a permanent year-round 

resident of the Black Hills and has 

historically been known to inhabit 

nearly all permanent, fast-flowing 

streams in the area (Pettingill and 

Whitney 1965, p. 74). There are few 

records of American dippers making 

long-distance flights, and these records 

do not substantiate that these 

movements contribute to the 

establishment of new populations 

(Kingery 1996, p. 4; Muelhausen 1970, 

p. 136). No instances of long-distance 

dispersal of dippers between the Black 

Hills and the next nearest populations 

of American dipper to the west in the 

Big Horn Mountains of north-central 

Wyoming and the Laramie Range of 

east-central Wyoming have been 

documented. In addition to the apparent 

lack of long distance movements, the 

dipper population in the Black Hills is 

isolated from other populations by 

geographical barriers to dispersal in the 

form of extensive grasslands, poorquality stream habitat, and the lack of 

water connections to dipper populations 

existing west of the Black Hills 

(Backlund 2001, p. 1). 

Verified historical American dipper 

reports have been recorded on six 

streams or their tributaries in the Black 

Hills: French Creek, Rapid Creek, Box 

Elder Creek, Elk Creek, Whitewood 

Creek, and Spearfish Creek (Backlund 

2001, pp. 2-4). Other streams are unable 

to support self-sustaining populations of 

dipper due to habitat degradation, 

erratic water flows, loss of water flow, 

poor water quality, and other impacts 

(Backlund 2001, p. 4). Currently, nesting 

dippers can be found on only two 

streams in the Black Hills—Spearfish 

Creek and Whitewood Creek (Lovett 

2008, p. 2). 

Dipper nest surveys in the Black Hills 

were started in 1993 by South Dakota 

Game, Fish and Parks, and became more 

extensive from 2003 to 2008. The lowest 

number of dippers reported on 

Spearfish Creek was 10 in 1997, with 

only two nests found (Backlund 2001, p. 

4). In 2008, the number of dippers 

reported on Spearfish Creek was 

approximately 54 adults, with 38 nest 

attempts (Lovett 2008, p. 12). This is the 

second highest number of adults 

compared to 56 adults in both 2005 and 

2006; there were 42 nest attempts in 

2005 and 36 nest attempts in 2006. In 

2008, Whitewood Creek had six adults 

observed and four known nest attempts 

(Lovett 2008, p. 12). Select areas of 

French Creek, Rapid Creek, and 

Boxelder Creek were checked for 

dippers but neither dippers nor active 

nests were found (Lovett 2008, p. 37). 

Distinct Vertebrate Population Segment 

The petitioners have asked us to 

consider listing a DPS of the American 

dipper in the Black Hills of South 

Dakota. Under the Act, we can consider 

for listing any species, subspecies, or 

DPS of any species of vertebrate fish or 

wildlife that interbreeds when mature. 

To implement the measures prescribed 

by the Act and its congressional 

guidance, we developed a joint policy 

with the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration entitled 

Policy Regarding the Recognition of 

Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments 


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under the Act (61 FR 4722; February 7, 

1996) (DPS Policy). Under the DPS 

policy, we must consider three elements 

in making our decision whether an 

entity qualifies as a DPS that warrants 

listing as endangered or threatened 

under the Act. The three elements are: 

(1) The population segment’s 

discreteness in relation to the remainder 

of the species to which it belongs; (2) 

the population segment’s significance to 

the species to which it belongs; and (3) 

the population segment’s conservation 

status in relation to the Act’s standards 

for listing—that is, when treated as if it 

were a species, is the population 

segment endangered or threatened? For 

the purposes of this finding, we 

evaluated whether the petition 

presented substantial information to 

indicate whether the petitioned entity 

(the American dipper in the Black Hills 

of South Dakota) is a listable entity. 

Discreteness 

The DPS policy states that a 

population segment of a vertebrate 

species may be considered discrete if it 

satisfies either one of the following two 

conditions: (1) It must be markedly 

separated from other populations of the 

same taxon as a consequence of 

physical, physiological, ecological, or 

behavioral factors, or (2) it must be 

delimited by international governmental 

boundaries within which significant 

differences in control of exploitation, 

management of habitat conservation 

status, or regulatory mechanisms exist 

that are significant in light of section 

4(a)(1)(D) of the Act. 

Substantial information is presented 

in the petition to indicate that the Black 

Hills population may be markedly 

separated from other populations of the 

American dipper as a consequence of 

physical factors. The Black Hills is an 

isolated mountain range located within 

the plains of western South Dakota and 

northeastern Wyoming (Raventon 1994, 

p. 15). The Great Plains, which entirely 

surround the Black Hills, create a major 

physical barrier separating the Black 

Hills American dipper populations from 

other Rocky Mountain populations to 

the west (Hall et al. 2002, p. 3). The Big 

Horn Mountains, approximately 241 to 

322 kilometers (km) (150 to 200 miles 

(mi)) to the west, is the closest mountain 

range to the Black Hills (Froiland 1990, 

p. 11). The expanse of grassland 

separating the Black Hills from other 

mountain ranges is incapable of 

supporting American dippers and 

represents a significant barrier to 

dispersal (Backlund 2001, p. 1; Voelker 

2002, p. 582). The streams and rivers of 

the Great Plains are described as 

typically silt-laden, turbid, alkaline, and 

subject to erratic flows which precludes 

their use by dippers (Smith and Hubert 

1989, p. 27). 

Information in the petition, as 

supported by information readily 

available in our files, suggests that there 

is a substantial physical isolation of the 

Black Hills population of the American 

dipper. Therefore, the petition presents 

substantial information indicating that 

the Black Hills population of the 

American dipper meets the condition 

for discreteness under our DPS policy 

that the population is markedly 

separated from other populations of the 

same taxon. The Black Hills population 

of the American dipper is located 

entirely within the United States, 

therefore the international governmental 

boundaries provision for discreteness 

does not apply. 

Significance 

Under our DPS policy, if we 

determine that a population segment is 

discrete, we further consider that 

population’s biological and ecological 

significance to the taxon to which it 

belongs, within the context that the DPS 

policy be used ‘‘sparingly’’ while 

encouraging the conservation of genetic 

diversity (61 FR 4722; February 7, 

1996). This consideration may include, 

but is not limited to: (1) Persistence of 

the discrete population segment in an 

ecological setting unusual or unique for 

the taxon; (2) evidence that loss of the 

population segment would result in a 

significant gap in the range of the taxon; 

(3) evidence that the discrete population 

segment represents the only surviving 

natural occurrence of a taxon that may 

be more abundant elsewhere as an 

introduced population outside its 

historical range; and (4) evidence that 

the discrete population segment differs 

markedly from other populations of the 

subspecies in its genetic characteristics. 

These four considerations are addressed 

here: 

(1) Persistence of the population 

segment in an ecological setting that is 

unusual or unique for the taxon. 

The American dipper occupies 

permanent, clean, cold, and swift 

mountain streams throughout the 

western half of North America, 

including the Black Hills (Kingery 1996, 

p. 2). The petition contends that the 

streams in the Black Hills inhabited by 

dippers may be a unique ecological 

setting because the Black Hills 

themselves are a unique ecosystem. We 

recognize that the Black Hills have 

many unique ecological features, but 

information readily available in our files 

(Kingery 1996) indicates that the Black 

Hills are not unusual. These mountain 

ecosystems share commonalities, such 

as clean, cold, swift mountain streams 

with suitable substrate that provide the 

habitats for invertebrate species used by 

dippers. In that respect, the Black Hills 

are similar to other western mountain 

ecosystems that also support American 

dippers. 

In addition, the petition claims that 

Black Hills streams have features that 

make them ecologically unique. Streams 

throughout the Rocky Mountains vary in 

many features, including elevation, 

gradient, substrate, parent geological 

material, and riparian vegetation, such 

that virtually every stream could be 

considered ‘‘unique.’’ Information 

readily available in our files (Kingery 

1996) indicates that the key features of 

Black Hills streams used by dippers— 

cold temperatures, good water quality, 

suitable substrate, and swift flow—are 

the same key features of dipper-utilized 

streams elsewhere throughout the Rocky 

Mountains. Accordingly, we do not 

believe the petition presents substantial 

information that the clean, cold, swift 

streams of the Black Hills occupied by 

dippers are an ecological setting that is 

unusual or unique for this subspecies. 

(2) Evidence that loss of the discrete 

population segment would result in a 

significant gap in the range of taxon. 

The petition claims that the Black 

Hills dipper population is at the eastern 

edge of its global distribution and its 

loss would result in a significant gap in 

the range of the dipper. Information 

readily available in our files (Kingery 

1996, NatureServe.org 2007) states that 

the American dipper’s breeding range 

extends from western Alaska eastward 

across north-central Alaska; southward 

along the Pacific Coast, and throughout 

the Rocky Mountains into New Mexico. 

The subspecies is absent from the Great 

Basin area except for scattered 

populations. The subspecies’ range 

includes mountain streams in an area 

that is approximately 5,000 km (3,107 

mi) from north to south and 

approximately 1,800 km (1,118 mi) from 

west to east at its widest point. Within 

that range, there are thousands of 

suitable streams and tens of thousands 

of kilometers of occupied streams. The 

Black Hills dipper population, which 

occupies two streams that represent less 

than 80 km (50 mi) of occupied stream 

habitat, is a small population relative to 

the entire range. Populations of dippers 

exist throughout suitable streams in the 

Rocky Mountains. The Black Hills 

dipper population is small, and there is 

no information in the petition or readily 

available in our files to suggest that it 

makes a significant contribution to the 

taxa. The dipper-occupied streams in 

the Black Hills are on the eastern edge 

of the dipper’s overall range in the 


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United States; however, mountain 

streams in the southern parts of the 

subspecies’ range (the i.e. front ranges of 

Colorado and, Mexico) are as far or 

farther east than the Black Hills. 

We find that the petition does not 

present substantial information that loss 

of the population segment would result 

in a significant gap in the range of the 

taxon because it did not provide 

substantial information that the 

population in the Black Hills is 

significant to the taxa as a whole. 

(3) Evidence that the discrete 

population segment represents the only 

surviving natural occurrence of a taxon 

that may be more abundant elsewhere as 

an introduced population outside its 

historical range. 

The petition does not address this 

consideration. As stated above under 

‘‘Distribution and Abundance,’’ the 

American dipper survives naturally 

throughout much of western North 

America. As such, this consideration is 

not applicable to the Black Hills 

population of the American dipper. 

(4) Evidence that the discrete 

population segment differs markedly 

from other populations of the 

subspecies in its genetic characteristics. 

The petition does not address this 

consideration. We are aware that a 

genetic analysis was conducted to 

determine whether the Black Hills 

population of the American dipper is 

genetically distinct from other American 

dipper populations in North America 

(Anderson et al. 2007). The research 

analyzed samples from six populations 

(Black Hills, South Dakota; Big Horn 

Mountains, Wyoming; and four 

locations in west-central Montana and 

east-central Idaho). Information from 

this research suggests that genetic 

differences could exist among the 

dipper populations studied. However, 

the study did not address the 

significance of the Black Hills 

population of American dipper to the 

taxon as a whole. The results of the 

study do not lead us to believe there are 

significant genetic differences to meet 

the criteria in our DPS policy for 

significance based on genetics. 

The information as provided in the 

petition does not meet the four 

considerations for significance. Only the 

first two considerations are actually 

addressed in the petition and do not 

present substantial information in favor 

of significance. Little information is 

available in our files to support the third 

and fourth considerations, and no 

information was presented in the 

petition with respect to those criteria. 

Conservation Status 

We did not need to evaluate whether 

the information contained in the 

petition regarding the conservation 

status in relation to the Act’s standards 

for listing was substantial, because the 

petition does not present substantial 

information that the American dipper in 

the Black Hills of South Dakota is a DPS 

and, therefore, a listable entity under 

the Act. 

Finding 

We have reviewed the information 

presented in the petition and have 

evaluated that information in relation to 

information readily available in our 

files. On the basis of our review, we find 

that the petition does not present 

substantial scientific or commercial 

information to indicate that listing the 

American dipper in the Black Hills of 

South Dakota may be warranted. This 

finding is based on the lack of 

substantial scientific evidence to 

indicate that the American dipper in the 

Black Hills of South Dakota may meet 

the elements of being a valid DPS and, 

therefore, a listable entity under the Act. 

Although the population appears to 

meet the criteria for being discrete, 

neither the information in the petition 

nor the information readily available in 

our files suggests that the Black Hills 

dipper population may be significant in 

relation to the remainder of the taxon. 

Therefore, we conclude that the 

American dipper in the Black Hills of 

South Dakota does not satisfy the 

elements of being a DPS under our 1996 

policy and, therefore, is not a listable 

entity under section 3(16) of the Act. 

Because the petition does not present 

substantial information that the 

American dipper in the Black Hills of 

South Dakota is a DPS, we did not 

evaluate whether the information 

contained in the petition regarding the 

conservation status was substantial. 

Although we will not commence a 

status review in response to this 

petition, we will continue to monitor 

the American dipper’s population status 

and trends, potential threats, and 

ongoing management actions that might 

be important with regard to the 

conservation of the species in the Black 

Hills of South Dakota. We encourage 

interested parties to continue to gather 

data that will assist with these 

conservation efforts. New information 

should be submitted to the Field 

Supervisor, South Dakota Ecological 

Services Office (see ADDRESSES). 

The petitioners also request that 

critical habitat be designated for the 

American dipper in the Black Hills of 

South Dakota. Because the petition does 

not present substantial information that 

the American dipper in the Black Hills 

of South Dakota may be a DPS, we are 

not required to address the designation 

of critical habitat, and therefore, will not 

be doing so. 

If you wish to provide information 

regarding the American dipper in the 

Black Hills, you may submit your 

information or materials to the Field 

Supervisor of the South Dakota 

Ecological Services Office (see 

ADDRESSES) at any time. 

References Cited 

A complete list of all references is 

available upon request from the Field 

Supervisor (see ADDRESSES). 

Author 

The primary authors of this document 

are staff members at the South Dakota 

Ecological Services Office (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

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

Dated: October 9, 2009 

Daniel M. Ashe 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FR Doc. E9–25524 Filed 10–26–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–S 


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