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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 31, 2021 / Rules and Regulations TABLE 2BARTRAMS STONECROP POPULATION CURRENT AND FUTURE RESILIENCYContinued Population name
Current condition
Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3

Near Colonia Pacheco

Low

Low

Low

Low

Low.

Cuarenta Casas

Low

Low

Low

Extirpated

Extirpated.

Mountain range Sierra La Escuadra, Chihuahua.
Sierra La Estancia, Chihuahua.

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Summary of Comments and Recommendations In our December 6, 2019, proposed rule 84 FR 67060, we requested that all interested parties submit written comments on the proposal by February 4, 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 rule.
Newspaper notices inviting general public comment were published in the Arizona Daily Star on December 9, 2019, and the Sierra Vista Herald on December 13, 2019. We did not receive any requests for a public hearing. All substantive information provided during the comment period either has been incorporated directly into the final rule or is addressed below.
Peer Reviewer Comments In accordance with our joint policy on peer review published in the Federal Register on July 1, 1994 59 FR 34270, and our August 22, 2016, memorandum updating and clarifying the role of peer review of listing actions under the Act, we sought the expert opinions of three appropriate specialists regarding the 2018 SSA report. The peer reviewers have expertise that includes familiarity with Bartrams stonecrop and its habitat, biological needs, and threats. We received responses from two specialists, which informed the SSA report and proposed rule. The purpose of peer review is to ensure that our listing determinations and 4d rules are based on scientifically sound data, conclusions, and analyses.
In the development of the final rule, we solicited further expert opinion on stressors and the effect of stressors as analyzed in the SSA from six knowledgeable specialists with scientific expertise that included familiarity with Bartrams stonecrop and its habitat, biological needs, and threats Service 2020b, entire. We reviewed all comments we received from the specialists for substantive issues and new information regarding Bartrams stonecrop. The reviewers generally concurred with our methods and conclusions, and provided additional information, clarifications, and suggestions to improve the updated SSA

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report and final rule. Peer reviewer comments and expert opinions are incorporated into the SSA report Service 2020a and this final rule as appropriate.
Public Comments We received 17 public comments in response to the proposed rule. We reviewed all comments we received during the public comment period for substantive issues and new information regarding the proposed rule. Seven commenters provided substantive comments or new information concerning the proposed listing and 4d rule for Bartrams stonecrop. Below, we provide a summary of the substantive issues raised in the public comments we received; however, comments outside the scope of the proposed rule, and those without supporting information, did not warrant an explicit response and, thus, are not presented here.
Identical or similar comments have been consolidated and a single response provided.
1 Comment: A commenter indicated that the Service did not notify the public of the imminent listing of the species and the public needs more time to respond.
Response: On August 8, 2012, we announced our 90-day finding that a petition to list Bartrams stonecrop as endangered or threatened under the Act presented substantial information indicating that listing of the species may be warranted 77 FR 47352. At that time, we requested data or other information from the public regarding the species to inform our status review and determination if listing is warranted. In response to publication of the 90-day finding, increased interest in Bartrams stonecrop and its status led to additional surveys and research beginning in 2013. On October 23, 2017, we sent a letter to interested parties, landowners, and Tribes indicating that an SSA would be conducted for Bartrams stonecrop to inform our listing determination, and we again requested scientific and commercial data or other information on the species.
In addition, the species has been included on our National Listing, which is publicly available on our website, since 2016. We updated the workplan in
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Scenario 4

May 2019 and listed the 12-month finding for Bartrams stonecrop as a FY
2018 carryover action. The courtordered settlement agreement of October 11, 2019, that stipulates delivery of a 12month finding to the Federal Register by November 29, 2019, is also publicly available.
Finally, the December 6, 2019, proposed rule 84 FR 67060 opened a 60-day public comment period on the proposed listing and proposed 4d rule for Bartrams stonecrop.
As such, we complied with all requirements of the Act and conclude that the public was afforded adequate notice of the proposed listing of Bartrams stonecrop.
2 Comment: Three commenters stated that relying on the conservation biology concepts of resiliency, redundancy, and representation to make the proposed listing determination is improper, as they are not found in the Act or the Services implementing regulations and their meanings are uncertain, creating confusion if criteria for listing are being followed.
Response: The SSA framework is an analytical approach developed by the Service to deliver foundational science for informing decisions under the Act Smith et al. 2018, entire. The SSA
characterizes species viability defined as the ability to sustain populations in the wild over time based on the best scientific understanding of current and future abundance and distribution within the species ecological settings using the conservation biology principles of resiliency, redundancy, and representation Shaffer and Stein 2000, pp. 308311. To sustain populations over time, a species must have the capacity to withstand: 1
Environmental and demographic stochasticity and disturbances resiliency, 2 catastrophes redundancy, and 3 novel changes in its biological and physical environment representation. A species with a high degree of resiliency, representation, and redundancy is better able to adapt to novel changes and to tolerate environmental stochasticity and catastrophes. In general, species viability will increase and the risk of extinction will decrease with increases in resiliency, redundancy, and
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