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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 149 / Friday, August 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations The habitat needs of running buffalo clover on Federal, State, and locally owned lands are often included in plans or agreements for those lands Factor D.
The Monongahela National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan U.S.
Forest Service 2011, pp. II27II28
and Wayne National Forest Revised Land and Resource Management Plan U.S. Forest Service 2006, pp. 222, D
16 both include habitat management and protection measures for running buffalo clover, as does the Wayne National Forests recently signed memorandum of understanding. The Bluegrass Army Depot in Kentucky protects and manages running buffalo clover under an Endangered Species Management Plan Floyd 2006, pp. 30
37, included as part of their Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan, and all running buffalo clover populations at the Army Depot are covered by these management actions Littlefield 2017.
A memorandum of understanding between the Ohio Historical Society, Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides for running buffalo clover habitat protection and management. These plans and agreements also provide for education and outreach efforts and surveying and monitoring for running buffalo clover.
Some of these agreements automatically renew at the end of their 5-year period while others have the option to renew.
The agreement with the Ohio Historical Society does not have an expiration date. We expect that these plans and agreements will remain in place and habitat management will continue after delisting running buffalo clover.
In total, 22 populations are under some form of management that incorporates specific needs of running buffalo clover, and 66 additional populations occur on publicly owned lands where regulatory mechanisms now exist that prevent loss from development Factor D. Although the species benefits from active management, it does not appear to rely on management actions as demonstrated by the 59 populations that have been found over the last 10 years at sites where natural processes and/or various human activities are maintaining some suitable habitat for running buffalo clover. For these reasons, threats from habitat destruction, habitat succession, and invasive species have been reduced or are being adequately managed such that they are not affecting the species viability.
Collection When the species was listed in 1987, overutilization for scientific or
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educational purposes Factor B was identified as a threat, given that only one population consisting of four individuals was known at the time 52
FR 21478, June 5, 1987. Today, with 175 populations known, collection for scientific or educational purposes is very limited and distributed among many populations and is no longer considered a threat Service 2017, p.
17.
Running buffalo clover is listed as endangered or threatened under State laws in Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky Factor D. The laws in Ohio and Missouri prohibit commercial taking of listed plants. We are aware of only one unpermitted collection in 2015
when a population in West Virginia appeared to have been dug up and the main plant group removed Douglas 2015. The purpose of the collection is unknown. Despite this one event, running buffalo clover is not known to be used for any commercial or recreational purposes, and we have no information that commercial or recreational collection will occur in the future.
Disease At the time of listing in 1987, disease Factor C was also predicted to threaten running buffalo clover 52 FR 21478, June 5, 1987. Jacobs and Bartgis 1987, p. 441 suggested that the decline of this species may have partially centered on a pathogen introduced from the exotic white clover; however, no specific disease has been identified over the intervening years Service 2008, p. 10.
A number of viral and fungal diseases, including cucumber mosaic virus and the comovirus, are reported to have attacked the species in greenhouses at the Missouri Botanical Garden Sehgal and Payne 1995, p. 320, but no evidence has been gathered showing these viruses impact on the decline of running buffalo clover in the wild Service 2008, p. 10.
Parasitism Parasitism by root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne spp. is common in clovers and often limits productivity in cultivated clovers used as forage crops Quesenberry et al. 1997, p. 270 Factor C. Investigations have been conducted on the effects of root-knot nematodes on native North American clovers, including running buffalo clover. After inoculation of the parasite, running buffalo clover displayed high resistance to three of the four nematode species analyzed, and only an intermediate response to the fourth species of nematode Quesenberry et al. 1997, p.

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270. Thus, the threat from this parasite is not considered significant.
Herbivory Herbivory by a variety of species has been reported for running buffalo clover Factor C. In Missouri, running buffalo clover plants are repeatedly grazed by rabbits, rodents, and slugs Pickering 1989, p. 3. Similar observations have been made in Kentucky Davis 1987, p.
11. The Fayette County, West Virginia, population was eaten to the ground by a groundhog, but more than a dozen rooted crowns were observed at the population the following year. Whitetailed deer can also consume large amounts of running buffalo clover Miller et al. 1992, pp. 6869. Although a population may be entirely consumed during a growing season, plants may return again the next year. The best available information indicates that herbivory is not a threat to the species.
Small Population Size Running buffalo clover populations often display widely fluctuating population size USFWS 2020, unpublished data. The cause for changes in population size may be due to disturbance, weather patterns, management strategy, natural succession, or other unknown factors.
Small populations are at an increased risk of extirpation due to these stochastic events, which could impact all individuals in a small population Factor E. The cyclic nature of running buffalo clover and the high probability of small populations disappearing one year and returning a subsequent year, may lead to difficulty in protecting small populations. However, the number 110 and distribution of Cand D-ranked populations now known across the species range indicate that small population size is not a threat to the running buffalo clover.
Inadequate Seed Dispersal The loss of large herbivores, such as bison and white-tailed deer, after European settlement may have resulted in no effective means of dispersal remaining for running buffalo clover Cusick 1989, p. 477 Factor E. Deer have now returned to pre-settlement numbers, but dispersal and establishment of new populations of running buffalo clover by white-tailed deer may not be significant Ford et al.
2003, p. 427. With 175 occurrences of running buffalo clover now known, inadequate seed dispersal does not appear to be having population-level effects.

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