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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 149 / Friday, August 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations http www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWSR3ES20180036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrice Ashfield, Field Supervisor, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Ohio Ecological Services Field Office, 4625
Morse Road, Suite 104, Columbus, OH
43230; telephone 6144168993.
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf TDD may call the Federal Relay Service at 8008778339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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Executive Summary Why we need to publish a rule. Under the Act, a species may be removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants List if it is determined that the species has recovered and no longer meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species. Removing a species from the List can be completed only by issuing a rule.
What this document does. This rule removes the running buffalo clover Trifolium stoloniferum from the List in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations 50 CFR 17.12h based on its recovery.
The basis for our action. Under the Act, we determine that a species is an endangered species or a threatened species based on any of five factors: A
The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; B overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; C disease or predation; D the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or E
other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence. We must consider the same factors when removing a species from the List i.e., delisting a species. We may delist a species if we find, after conducting a status review based on the best scientific and commercial data available, that: 1 The species is extinct;
2 the species does not meet the definition of an endangered species or a threatened species e.g., because it has recovered; or 3 the listed entity does not meet the statutory definition of a species 50 CFR 424.11e. We have determined that the running buffalo clover is not in danger of extinction now nor likely to become so in the foreseeable future based on a comprehensive review of its status and listing factors. Accordingly, we have determined that the species may be delisted based on recovery as a result of:
1 An increase in the number of known populations; 2 resiliency to existing and potential threats; 3 the implementation of management
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agreements to maintain suitable habitat for the species; and 4 protection on public lands.
Peer review and public comment. We evaluated the species needs, current conditions, and future conditions to prepare our August 27, 2019, proposed rule 84 FR 44832. We sought and evaluated comments from independent specialists to ensure that our determination is based on scientifically sound data, assumptions, and analyses.
We also invited these peer reviewers to comment on the draft PDM plan. We considered all comments and information we received during the public comment period on the proposed delisting rule and the draft PDM plan when developing this final rule.
Previous Federal Actions We published a final rule listing running buffalo clover as an endangered species under the Act on June 5, 1987
52 FR 21478. The Running Buffalo Clover Recovery Plan Service 1989
was approved on June 8, 1989, and revised in 2007 72 FR 35253, June 27, 2007.
Running buffalo clover was included in a cursory 5-year review of all species listed before January 1, 1991 56 FR
56882, November 6, 1991. The 5-year review did not result in a recommendation to change the species listing status. We completed comprehensive 5-year reviews of the status of running buffalo clover in 2008, 2011, and 2017 Service 2008, 2011, 2017. These reviews recommended reclassification from endangered to threatened status, based on achievement of the recovery criteria at that time.
On August 27, 2019, we proposed to delist the running buffalo clover due to recovery 84 FR 44832. In that document, we requested information and comments from the public and peer reviewers regarding the proposed rule and the draft PDM plan for running buffalo clover.
Summary of Changes From the Proposed Rule In preparing this final rule, we reviewed and fully considered all comments we received during the comment period from the peer reviewers, States, and public on the proposed rule to delist running buffalo clover 84 FR 44832, August 27, 2019.
As a result, we incorporated new information into Distribution, Habitat, and Biology under Background in this final rule. We also updated the number of populations with management agreements that meet delisting criterion 3 and reassessed the species status in light of that modification.

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Background The following discussion contains updates to the information that was presented in the proposed rule to remove running buffalo clover from the List. A thorough discussion of the species description, habitat, and life history is also found in the proposed rule.
Taxonomy and Species Description Running buffalo clover is a member of the Fabaceae pea family. This shortlived perennial forms long runners stolons from its base and produces erect flowering stems, 1030
centimeters cm 412 inches in tall.
The flower heads are round and large, 912 millimeters mm 0.30.5 in.
Flowers are white, tinged with purple.
Distribution The known historical distribution of running buffalo clover includes Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and West Virginia Brooks 1983, pp. 346, 349.
There were very few reports rangewide between 1910 and 1983. Prior to 1983, the most recent collection had been made in 1940, in Webster County, West Virginia Brooks 1983, p. 349. The species was thought extinct until it was rediscovered in 1983, in West Virginia Bartgis 1985, p. 426. At the time of listing in 1987, only one population was known to exist, but soon afterward, several additional populations were found in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Populations were rediscovered in the wild in Missouri in 1994 Hickey 1994, p. 1. A single population was discovered in Pennsylvania in 2017 Grund 2017 with additional populations discovered since then.
One hundred seventy-five extant populations of running buffalo clover are known from three ecoregions, as described by Bailey 1998: Hot Continental, Hot Continental Mountainous, and Prairie. These include 15 occurrences in Ohio and Pennsylvania that have either been discovered or of which we have been notified since publication of the proposed delisting rule. For recovery purposes, the populations are divided into three regions based on proximity to each other and overall habitat similarities. These regions are Appalachian West Virginia, southeastern Ohio, and Pennsylvania, Bluegrass southwestern Ohio, central Kentucky, and Indiana, and Ozark Missouri. The majority of populations occur within the Appalachian and Bluegrass regions.

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