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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Rules and Regulations suppression, agricultural intensification, urban development, and livestock grazing will increase in intensity to the point where they will be threats to the viability of the species in the future Bureau of Land Management 2016, p.
103; Portland State University 2015, p.
7; U.S. Forest Service 1989, IV87 to IV
90, IV113 to IV119; U.S. Forest Service 1990, pp. 4149 to 4179;
Service 2018a, p. 32.
Future changes in temperature and precipitation may lead to changes in the vegetation community in Franklins bumble bee habitat. However, as a habitat generalist, Franklins bumble bee appears to forage on a variety of floral resources, and we have no information to suggest that they would not seek the nectar of whatever floral resource was in bloom at the time they emerge from their nests. Additionally, the risk of catastrophic wildfire and seasonal flooding, as well as other effects from storm events, are naturally present in the ecosystems within the range of the Franklins bumble bee. The effects of climate change may affect the frequency and intensity of these events, thereby affecting the availability of floral resources, the suitability of nest locations, and the survival of overwintering queens. However, we cannot project the likelihood of when or where these events will occur, or how intense they will be if they do occur.
We agree that Franklins bumble bee habitat is not unlimited. As we point out in the beginning of the SSA report, Franklins bumble bee is the most narrowly endemic bumble bee in North America, and possibly the world. In accordance with listing Franklins bumble bee as endangered under the Act, we will develop a recovery outline for this species. Current and possible future threats will be considered during recovery planning for this species.
4 Comment: One commenter disagreed that critical habitat could not be defined. They point to our proposed rule, which states that surveys have been done in areas that appear to have good habitat for Bombus and Franklins bumble bee, as evidence that there are known and defined characteristics of potential critical habitat in previously occupied areas.
Our Response: While we acknowledge that some general habitat associations of Bombus are known, the Franklins bumble bee has been found in a wide array of habitat types, from foraging in montane meadows in a remote wilderness area of California to nesting in a residential garage in the city limits of Medford, Oregon. Furthermore, elevation does not appear to limit the species dispersal capabilities. No
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habitat study for the Franklins bumble bee has been completed; such a study was initiated in 2006, when the Franklins bumble bee was last seen, but could not continue due to the subsequent absence of the species. As such, we cannot with specificity articulate the physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the Franklins bumble bee, or determine whether or not any area would meet the definition of critical habitat for the Franklins bumble bee see discussion under Prudency Determination, below.
Even if physical and biological features can be articulated for the species, the regulations in effect at the time the species was proposed for listing indicated that we may find that designating critical habitat is not prudent if it is not beneficial to the species. With the exception of the inundation of two sites with older historical occurrences of Franklins bumble bee locations by the construction of Applegate Dam, and a report of soil modification on a portion of the Gold Hill site 4 years after the last occurrence of Franklins bumble bee in the area, no noticeable destruction, modification, or curtailment of habitat or range can be identified in areas where the species had been previously located.
No significant destruction or modification of Franklins bumble bee habitat can be attributed to natural fire, prescribed fire, agricultural intensification, urban development, livestock grazing, or the effects of climate change. Additionally, as discussed above, the Franklins bumble bee has been documented using a wide variety of habitats throughout its range.
Because habitat for the Franklins bumble bee is not limiting, and because the bee is considered to be flexible with regards to its habitat, the availability of habitat does not limit the conservation of the Franklins bumble bee now, nor will it in the future see response to Comment 3. Therefore, we have determined that designation of critical habitat for the Franklins bumble bee is not beneficial to the species and, therefore, not prudent.
5 Comment: Two commenters disagreed that the designation of critical habitat would not be beneficial to the conservation of the species. They argue it would be beneficial due to the following: 1 Critical habitat would promote connectivity between habitat patches, which will help reduce the risk of inbreeding depression and promote recovery of the species; 2 many studies have shown the link between quality habitat and nutrition and health of bumble bee colonies, and critical habitat would be beneficial because it would
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give Franklins bumble bee access to more high-quality habitat to combat the threats of pathogens and pesticides and to recover from them; 3 competition and disease from nonnative honey bees, as well as pesticides from both agriculture and siliviculture, are threats that will be unregulated without the designation of critical habitat; 4
critical habitat would provide concrete objective locations in which to protect the species through section 7 of the Act;
and 5 critical habitat would inform the species recovery plan and where exactly the Service would implement recovery actions to ameliorate threats to the species.
Our Response: The implementing regulations of the Act upon which the August 13, 2019, proposed rule 84 FR
40006 and this final rule are based set forth that the factors the Service may consider in determining that a critical habitat designation would not be prudent include, but are not limited to, whether the species is threatened by taking or other human activity, and identification of critical habitat can be expected to increase the degree of threat to the species; or whether such designation of critical habitat would not be beneficial to the species 50 CFR
424.12a1. We determine that the designation of critical habitat would not be beneficial to the species because the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of the species habitat or range Factor A is not a threat to the Franklins bumble bee and because we cannot with specificity articulate the physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the Franklins bumble bee, or determine whether or not any area would meet the definition of critical habitat for the Franklins bumble bee see discussion under Prudency Determination, below.
As mentioned in our response to Comments 3 and 4, no noticeable destruction, modification, or curtailment of Franklins bumble bee habitat or range can be identified in areas where the species had been previously located, and could not be shown to have affected the resiliency of any population of Franklins bumble bee. None of the potential threats to Franklins bumble bee habitat we assessed appears to threaten the viability of the species USFWS 2018a, pp. 2341. Therefore, we find that because the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of a species habitat or range is not a threat to Franklins bumble bee, designating critical habitat is not beneficial and, therefore, not prudent.
Furthermore, regarding section 7
consultation, because of the listing of
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