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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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species, as evidenced by the species acute and rangewide decline. Therefore, on the basis of the best available scientific and commercial information, we are listing the Franklins bumble bee as endangered in accordance with sections 36 and 4a1 of the Act.
Section 4a3 of the Act requires the Secretary of the Interior Secretary to designate critical habitat concurrent with listing to the maximum extent prudent and determinable. Section 35A of the Act defines critical habitat as i the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species, at the time it is listed, on which are found those physical or biological features I essential to the conservation of the species and II which may require special management considerations or protections; and ii specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species at the time it is listed, upon a determination by the Secretary that such areas are essential for the conservation of the species.
Section 4b2 of the Act states that the Secretary must make the designation on the basis of the best scientific data available and after taking into consideration the economic impact, the impact on national security, and any other relevant impacts of specifying any particular area as critical habitat.
Because the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of habitat is not a threat to the Franklins bumble bee disease and other manmade factors are likely the primary threat to the species within its habitat, in accordance with 50 CFR
424.12a1, we determine that designating critical habitat is not prudent for Franklins bumble bee.
Peer review and public comment. We sought the expert opinions of 10
appropriate and independent specialists regarding the species status assessment report. We received responses from 5
specialists, which informed our determination. We also considered all 53 comments and information received from the public during the comment period.
Previous Federal Actions Please refer to the proposed rule 84
FR 40006 for Franklins bumble bee published on August 13, 2019, for a detailed description of previous Federal actions concerning this species.
On August 27, 2019, the Service published a final rule 84 FR 45020
revising the regulations at 50 CFR part 424 for listing species and designating critical habitat. However, the revisions apply only to relevant rulemakings for which the proposed rule is published after September 26, 2019, the effective
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date of the final rule. Thus, the prior version of the regulations at 50 CFR part 424 continues to apply to any rulemakings for which a proposed rule was published before September 26, 2019, including this final rule for Franklins bumble bee.
Summary of Changes From the Proposed Rule We considered all comments and information we received during the comment period for the proposed rule to list the Franklins bumble bee 84 FR
40006; August 13, 2019. Based on these comments and additional internal review, we made the following changes from the proposed rule in this final rule:
Added to this rule and the SSA
report additional climate change information and analysis, as well as discussion on the likely effects of other potential threats in the future;
Updated this rule and the SSA
report with information from the 2019
survey season;
Corrected a mathematical error in our presentation of neonicotinoid pesticide applications in the historical range of the species in this rule and in the SSA report;
Added information from the SSA
report to this rule regarding nectaring behavior, as well as the commercialization of bumble bees for pollination;
Updated information in this rule on pesticide regulation on National Wildlife Refuge System lands;
Added further detail in the rule on Tribal notifications;
Added several citations and clarifications to the rule to further support content; and Made minor editorial changes to the rule to improve readability.
We carefully considered the additional information we received during the comment period, and while much of this information was helpful, it did not result in any further changes from our proposal to this final rule to list Franklins bumble bee as endangered, nor did it result in a change to our determination that designation of critical habitat is not prudent at this time.
Supporting Documents A species status assessment SSA
team prepared an SSA report for Franklins bumble bee. The SSA team was composed of Service biologists, in consultation with other species experts.
The SSA report represents a compilation of the best scientific and commercial data available concerning the status of the species, including the impacts of past, present, and future
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factors both negative and beneficial affecting the species.
In accordance with our joint policy on peer review published in the Federal Register on July 1, 1994 59 FR 34270, we sought the expert opinions of 10
appropriate and independent specialists regarding the scientific basis for this proposed rule, detailed in the Franklins Bumble Bee Species Status Assessment report SSA report Service 2018a, entire. We received five reviews. The purpose of peer review is to ensure that our listing and critical habitat determinations are based on scientifically sound data, assumptions, and analyses. The peer reviewers have expertise in Franklins bumble bee or Bombus biology and habitat, and their comments helped inform our determinations. We also invited comment on the SSA report from our partner agencies; the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Oregon Department of Agriculture provided us with comments. The comments from peer and partner reviews were carefully considered in the process of finalizing the SSA report that provided the scientific basis for both the proposed rule and this final rule. These comments, along with other public comments on our proposed rule, are available in the docket for this final rule http www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWSR1ES20180044.
I. Final Listing Determination Background A thorough review of the taxonomy, life history, and ecology of Franklins bumble bee is presented in the SSA
report Service 2018a, entire on http
www.regulations.gov under Docket No.
FWSR1ES20180044. Franklins bumble bee is thought to have the most limited distribution of all known North American bumble bee species Plowright and Stephen 1980, p. 479;
Xerces Society and Thorp 2010, p. 6, and one of the most limited geographic distributions of any bumble bee in the world Frison 1922, p. 315; Williams 1998, p. 129. The species has been recorded from the Umpqua and Rogue River Valleys in Oregon Stephen 1957, p. 81 and from northern California, suggesting its restriction to the Klamath Mountain region of southern Oregon and northern California Thorp et al.
1983, p. 8. Elevations where it has been observed range from 162 meters m 540 feet ft in the northern part of its range, to over 2,340 m 7,800 ft in the southern part of its range. All confirmed specimens have been found in an area about 306 kilometers km 190 miles
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