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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 28, 2021 / Proposed Rules
received one response. The Service also sent the SSA report to partners, including scientists with expertise with this species, for review. We received one review from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
I. Proposed Listing Determination Background The South Llano Springs moss is an aquatic moss that grows on submerged or partially submerged rocks. The deep, loosely interwoven mats are blue-green to blackish-brown when shaded and yellow-green when exposed to full sun.
Like all mosses, the South Llano Springs moss forms clonal colonies of leafbearing stems.
The South Llano Springs moss has an extremely limited range: It has only been documented in two locations and is thought to be extirpated from one of those. The remaining extant site is from Seven Hundred Springs, on the South Llano River in Edwards County, Texas.
The extirpated site, referred to as the Redfearn site, was about 5 kilometers km 3.1 miles mi downstream from Seven Hundred Springs in Kimble County, Texas, though the exact location is unknown. Both sites occur within the Edwards Plateau. Wyatt and Stoneburner 1980, pp. 514, 516 visited 10 other springs in the Llano and South Llano River watersheds in 1978 and 1979, but found no additional populations.
The South Llano Springs moss was discovered at Seven Hundred Springs in 1932, and was most recently confirmed there in 1979 Wyatt and Stoneburner 1980, entire. When last observed, the South Llano Springs moss was abundantly dispersed in the spring outflow, partially submerged in shaded areas within an area of about 10 by 100
meters m 33 by 328 feet ft between the springs and the river below on privately owned land Wyatt and Stoneburner 1980, p. 516. Observation of the habitat from the opposite side of the river in 2017 indicated that the habitat appears to be in excellent condition Service 2017, entire. This is the best available information we have for this site; consequently, we consider the Seven Hundred Springs population to be extant. The South Llano Springs moss was last documented at the Redfearn site in 1971. The two specimen labels from these collections state that they were collected 1 mile south of Telegraph with one specimen collected on a dam and the other from limestone at the edge of the creek. On topographic maps, Telegraph is a location consisting of a single store that is not directly along the river; however,
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there is a road connecting Telegraph to the South Llano River with a bridge, and this may be the location from which Redfearn was measuring. Due to the vague location description, there is uncertainty around the exact location of the Redfearn site. In 2017, we conducted surveys along 5.7 km of the South Llano River, including the 2.25
km in which we believe Redfearn collected his specimens. All aquatic moss species encountered were collected and a sample of each of the four species encountered was sent to a bryologist at the Missouri Botanical Garden for identification. None of the species collected were found to be the South Llano Springs moss. This is the best available information we have for this site; consequently, we consider the Redfearn population to be extirpated. It is possible that the species does not occur anywhere else. However, few surveys for this species have been conducted. Consequently, it is possible that this species occurs elsewhere along Paint Creek or the South Llano River.
The best available data indicate that only the Seven Hundred Springs population persists.
A thorough review of the taxonomy, life history, and ecology of the South Llano Springs moss is presented in the SSA report version 1.1; Service 2018, entire.
Regulatory and Analytical Framework Regulatory Framework Section 4 of the Act 16 U.S.C. 1533
and its implementing regulations 50
CFR part 424 set forth the procedures for determining whether a species is an endangered species or a threatened species. The Act defines an endangered species as a species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, and a threatened species as a species that is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The Act requires that we determine whether any species is an endangered species or a threatened species because of any of the following 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.
These factors represent broad categories of natural or human-caused
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actions or conditions that could have an effect on a species continued existence.
In evaluating these actions and conditions, we look for those that may have a negative effect on individuals of the species, as well as other actions or conditions that may ameliorate any negative effects or may have positive effects.
We use the term threat to refer in general to actions or conditions that are known to or are reasonably likely to negatively affect individuals of a species. The term threat includes actions or conditions that have a direct impact on individuals direct impacts, as well as those that affect individuals through alteration of their habitat or required resources stressors. The term threat may encompasseither together or separatelythe source of the action or condition or the action or condition itself.
However, the mere identification of any threats does not necessarily mean that the species meets the statutory definition of an endangered species or a threatened species. In determining whether a species meets either definition, we must evaluate all identified threats by considering the expected response by the species, and the effects of the threatsin light of those actions and conditions that will ameliorate the threatson an individual, population, and species level. We evaluate each threat and its expected effects on the species, then analyze the cumulative effect of all of the threats on the species as a whole.
We also consider the cumulative effect of the threats in light of those actions and conditions that will have positive effects on the species, such as any existing regulatory mechanisms or conservation efforts. The Secretary determines whether the species meets the definition of an endangered species or a threatened species only after conducting this cumulative analysis and describing the expected effect on the species now and in the foreseeable future.
The Act does not define the term foreseeable future, which appears in the statutory definition of threatened species. Our implementing regulations at 50 CFR 424.11d set forth a framework for evaluating the foreseeable future on a case-by-case basis. The term foreseeable future extends only so far into the future as the Services can reasonably determine that both the future threats and the species responses to those threats are likely. In other words, the foreseeable future is the period of time in which we can make reliable predictions. Reliable does not mean certain; it means sufficient to
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