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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 28, 2021 / Proposed Rules
availability of an abundant, high-quality food source. Grasslands in the bottom of canyons that are currently used for pasture or livestock are likely not usable by the Penasco least chipmunk because the grasses are likely not tall enough to provide shelter and cover Service 2018, p. 43.
U.S. Forest Service lands are managed for multiple uses. In the Sacramento Mountains, these uses currently include recreation, livestock grazing, and special use permits for a variety of actions.
Recreational use includes camping, hiking, biking, and motorized vehicle use, among other activities. The historical role of livestock grazing and timber harvest are described in the SSA
report Service 2018, pp. 3038 in terms of altering forest composition, structure, and fire regimes. However, grazing within the White Mountains Wilderness Allotment has been closed for 20 years and will remain closed Williams, pers. comm. 2020.
The most significant recreational, development, and land use activities likely to affect the Penasco least chipmunk in the White Mountains are related to the opening, operating, and maintaining of the Ski Apache Resort on Lookout Mountain Service 2018, p. 44.
Access roads to Ski Apache and the adjacent Buck Mountain were constructed in 1960 Dyer and Moffett 1999, p. 451. The Resort opened in 1961 and has since been owned and operated by the Mescalero Apache Tribe Ski Apache Resort 2018, entire. Ski Apache hosts both winter and summer recreation and occurs mostly on Forest Service land, operating under a Special Use permit issued by the Forest Service.
Some of the activities also occur on Mescalero Apache Tribal lands. We address impacts and use of the area regardless of ownership. Summer use of Ski Apache Resort includes gondola rides, mountain biking, hiking, and ziplining Service 2018, p. 44.
In 2016, three Penasco least chipmunks were observed on two survey trap lines on Lookout Mountain within Ski Apache Resort Service 2018, p. 45. Lookout Mountain was selected to survey for several reasons, the main one being that it is located in the same large patch of subalpine meadow/tundra as that of Sierra Blanca Peak Frey and Hays 2017, p. 9, where many historical records show that Penasco least chipmunk were located. Two of the three Penasco least chipmunk observations in 2016 were located just off the access road that leads to, and is in close proximity to, the Ski Apache zip line infrastructure. Vehicle use on the access road and human use for the zip line have the potential to be a
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stressor to the Penasco least chipmunk due to vehicle strikes and disturbance from human presence.
Disease A variety of pathogens and diseases have the potential to affect or have affected the Penasco least chipmunk. Of these, sylvatic plague has the greatest likelihood of being a stressor to the subspecies Service 2018, p. 46. The plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, a highly virulent organism that can quickly cause lethal disease in susceptible mammals Abbott and Rocke 2012, p. 7. Transmission of Y. pestis typically occurs through fleas, whereby fleas feed on infected hosts and move to new hosts. The plague is most commonly transmitted through fleas, but can also be transferred through inhalation, eating of infected animals, or through bites, scratches, or direct contact with infected animals, tissues, or fluids Abbott and Rocke 2012, p. 18.
Modes of transmission of Y. pestis in wildlife are likely similar, whereby flea transmission is most common, but other avenues may also occur.
Rodents are the major group of animals infected by Y. pestis, and some species may act as a reservoir or as an amplifying host for the organism Abbott and Rocke 2012, p. 18.
Generally, an amplifying host is a host in which disease agents, such as viruses or bacteria, increase in number Abbott and Rocke 2012, p. 71; in this case, amplifying hosts also applies to hosts that are more uniformly susceptible to plague and undergo dramatic die-offs during outbreaks of plague Abbott and Rocke 2012, p. 17. It is unknown if the plague has affected the Penasco least chipmunk in the past, is currently affecting the subspecies now, or will in the future. However, there is supporting evidence that suggests that the plague has been and could be a significant stressor to the viability of Penasco least chipmunk Service 2018, p. 46.
The Y. pestis organism likely arrived in New Mexico at a time that is approximately coincident with observed declines of Penasco least chipmunk populations that is, beginning in the early 1950s through the 1960s.
Chipmunks, in general, and least chipmunks more specifically, have been tested in the laboratory and are susceptible to the plague Quan and Karman 1962, p. 128. Some epizootics caused by the plague have been observed in chipmunks and other ground squirrels Smith et al. 2010, entire.

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Nonnative Species Feral hogs have become established as a nuisance species in New Mexico and elsewhere in the United States USDA
Wildlife Services 2010, entire. In New Mexico, feral hogs occur within Lincoln and Otero Counties. One of the last remaining locations in New Mexico with significant feral hog numbers is the Lincoln National Forest, including the 47,000-acre USFS White Mountain Wilderness Area USDA 2019, pp. 112
114. This area includes the majority of the known locations of recent Penasco least chipmunk occurrences Service 2018, pp. 4748. Feral hogs are voracious, flexible, and opportunistic omnivores USDA Wildlife Services 2010, p. 6 and will persistently root in an area until the resources are depleted USDA Wildlife Services 2010, p. 7.
Rooting can be extremely destructive to habitat. Feral hogs cause long-term degradation of native ecosystems and plant communities and spread of invasive weeds through their rooting behavior USDA Wildlife Services 2010, pp. 1012, 1920. In addition to influencing habitat, feral hogs consume a multitude of vertebrate and invertebrate species USDA Wildlife Services 2010, p. 13. In 2010, USDA
Wildlife Services 2010, p. 14 reported that 90% of the small mammal species listed under the Act were in areas of expanding feral hog populations and documented how feral hogs could influence small mammal populations through heavy and persistent predatory activities. In addition to direct predation, feral hogs can strip an area of food resources and are competitors with native species for food and water resources USDA Wildlife Services 2010
pp. 1213. An active feral hog population control program in the White and Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico by the U.S. Department of Agriculture ended in 2018. It is anticipated that feral hog population in the White Mountains, including within the proposed Penasco least chipmunk critical habitat, will exponentially increase as a result.
Additionally, feral hogs are susceptible to at least 30 viral and bacteriological diseases, 20 of which can be transmitted from non-human animals to humans, and at least 37 parasites have been identified USDA Wildlife Services 2010, p. 15. Among the many diseases, pathogens, and parasites that feral hogs carry, in New Mexico feral hogs have tested positive for swine brucellosis and pseudorabies. While the ability of feral hogs to transfer disease to wildlife is not well-studied, pseudorabies virus is highly contagious,
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