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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 155 / Monday, August 16, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
Summary of Changes From the Proposed Rule We made no substantive changes to the proposed rule in this final rule. We made minor editorial changes in this rule in response to comments we received on the proposed rule.

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Summary of Comments and Recommendations In our April 27, 2020, proposed rule to delist Cumberland sandwort 85 FR
23302, we requested that all interested parties submit written comments on the proposed delisting and our draft postdelisting monitoring PDM plan by June 26, 2020. We also contacted appropriate Federal and State agencies, scientific experts and organizations, and other interested parties and invited them to comment on the proposed delisting and draft PDM plan. A newspaper notice inviting general public comments was published in the Fentress Courier major local newspaper and also announced using online and social media sources.
We received one substantive comment from the public, which is discussed below under 1 Comment, and no requests for a public hearing.
In addition, we reviewed all comments we received from the peer reviewers for substantive issues and new information regarding the proposed delisting rule and PDM plan for Cumberland sandwort. The peer reviewers generally concurred with our methods and conclusions, and they provided additional information, clarifications, and suggestions to improve the final delisting rule. Peer reviewer comments are summarized below under 2 Comment through 4
Comment, and incorporated into this final rule as appropriate.
1 Comment: One commenter expressed concern that the unique habitat of the species would be less protected if the species were delisted.
Our response: Cumberland sandwort habitats on both State and Federal conservation lands will remain protected by rules, regulations, or plans governing the establishment or management of those lands. The species is also still State-protected where it occurs. At this time, Cumberland sandwort meets the standard for delisting under the Act: It no longer meets the Acts definitions of an endangered species or a threatened species. We will continue to work with recovery partners to maintain the species recovered state and conduct post-delisting monitoring, as well.
2 Comment: One peer reviewer requested clarification concerning whether abundance estimates, in
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addition to hand drawn maps and the numbers of patches depicted on the maps, were used in determining population resiliency indices and evaluating population trends. The reviewer also asked how estimates of abundance were determined.
Our response: We explain below under Framework for Monitoring and Evaluating Trends that we used visual estimates of abundance or discrete counts of individuals, where available, to supplement data provided on hand drawn maps when determining population resiliency indices and evaluating population trends.
3 Comment: One peer reviewer informed us that data on global forest loss https
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science-2013-global-forest were available to use in quantifying forest loss in portions of the watersheds where Cumberland sandwort is found.
Our response: We used the data available at the reference provided by the peer reviewer to provide an objective basis for evaluating whether we correctly identified evidence of logging activity in forests near Cumberland sandwort occurrences.
Based on this evaluation, we correctly identified locations where logging activities had taken place in the vicinity of Cumberland sandwort occurrences when preparing the April 27, 2020, proposed rule to delist Cumberland sandwort 85 FR 23302.
4 Comment: One peer reviewer asked whether disturbance from recreational use was likely to increase in proportion to human population growth and increased participation in outdoor activities. The reviewer also asked how Cumberland sandwort population trends in sites where management had occurred to reduce the threat of inadvertent trampling by recreationists compared to population trends in unmanaged sites where the threat of trampling existed.
Our response: We address this comment below under Habitat Loss and Curtailment of Range where we discuss the lack of a clear trend in available data regarding visitation rates to lands where Cumberland sandwort occurs. We also added a discussion comparing population trends in sites where protective measures have been installed to reduce the threat of trampling to trends that have been observed in other sites where the risk of trampling has been previously recorded but no protective measures have been installed.

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Final Delisting Determination Species Information Below, we present a thorough review of the taxonomy, life history, ecology, and overall status of this plant, referencing data from the 2013 5-year review Service 2013 where appropriate.
Taxonomy Cumberland sandwort Arenaria cumberlandensis, a member of the Pink family Caryophyllaceae, was first recognized and described as a species in 1979 Wofford and Kral 1979, entire.
This species, along with several other species of Arenaria, was transferred to the genus Minuartia while retaining the specific epithet McNeill 1980, entire.
The species is listed as Minuartia cumberlandensis Wofford and Kral McNeill in A Fifth Checklist of Tennessee Vascular Plants Chester et al. 2009, p. 43, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System ITIS
2019, and Flora of North America 2019. However, an examination of the taxonomy of Minuartia using DNA
sequences determined that all species in Minuartia section Uninerviae should be elevated to genus Mononeuria, along with Geocarpon minimum Dillenberger and Kadereit 2014, p. 79. The Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States accepted this recommendation, assigning the name Mononeuria cumberlandensis B.E. Wofford & Kral Dillenberger & Kadereit to Cumberland sandwort Weakley 2015, p. 820.
Although changes have been made to the species taxonomy since the time of listing, we are removing the species from the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants using the name by which it was initially listed, Arenaria cumberlandensis =Mononeuria cumberlandensis.
Species Description The following description of Cumberland sandwort is modified from Wofford and Kral 1979, pp. 257259
and Kral 1983, pp. 363364. This species is a delicate perennial that occurs in small cushionlike clumps, with upright stems 10 to 15 centimeters cm 4 to 6 inches in tall that are slender and triangular in shape. Leaves are opposite, 2 to 3 cm 0.8 to 1.2 in long and 1 to 3 millimeters mm 0.04
to 0.12 in wide, and are thin and bright green in color, with glassy margins.
Basal leaves are longer and wider than those at the top of the stems. The flowers are symmetrical, five-parted, and usually solitary at the end of the stems. The sepals a part of the flower that provides protection for the flower
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