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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 214 / Tuesday, November 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules
responses to the concentration of threats, are likely to accelerate the time horizon in which the species becomes in danger of extinction in this portion of its range. As a result, the alligator snapping turtle is not in danger of extinction now in this portion range of the species range.
We also considered the threat of habitat degradation and loss compounded with historical overharvest that has affected the species along the fringe areas of the range as there has been some range contraction in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and possibly in Oklahoma likely due to changes in the habitat. These areas are all on the fringe of the range, where conditions are likely marginal and more dynamic. The species does not occur in large numbers or densities in these areas because the core areas are associated with the more southern portions of the species range. The species occurrence within these areas is inherently low because of the variable pressures associated with dynamic conditions.
The alligator snapping turtle is not in danger of extinction now in this portion range of the species range.
After analyzing the portions of the range where threats are concentrated, we found there are no significant portions of the range where the species is at risk of extinction and do not meet the definition of endangered. Therefore, we determine that the species is likely to become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all of its range. This is consistent with the courts holdings in Desert Survivors v. Department of the Interior, No. 16
cv01165JCS, 2018 WL 4053447 N.D.
Cal. Aug. 24, 2018, and Center for Biological Diversity v. Jewell, 248 F.
Supp. 3d, 946, 959 D. Ariz. 2017.

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Determination of Status Our review of the best scientific and commercial data available indicates that the alligator snapping turtle meets the Acts definition of a threatened species.
Therefore, we propose to list the alligator snapping turtle as a threatened species in accordance with sections 320 and 4a1 of the Act.
Available Conservation Measures Conservation measures provided to species listed as endangered or threatened species under the Act include recognition, recovery actions, requirements for Federal protection, and prohibitions against certain practices.
Recognition through listing results in public awareness and conservation by Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies; private organizations; and individuals. The Act encourages
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cooperation with the States and other countries and calls for recovery actions to be carried out for listed species. The protection required by Federal agencies and the prohibitions against certain activities are discussed, in part, below.
The primary purpose of the Act is the conservation of endangered and threatened species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The goal of such conservation efforts is the recovery of these listed species so that they no longer need the protective measures of the Act. Subsection 4f of the Act calls for the Service to develop and implement recovery plans for the conservation of endangered and threatened species. The recovery planning process involves the identification of actions that are necessary to halt or reverse the species decline by addressing the threats to its survival and recovery. The goal of this process is to restore listed species to a point where they are secure, selfsustaining, and functioning components of their ecosystems.
Recovery planning consists of preparing draft and final recovery plans, beginning with the development of a recovery outline and making it available to the public subsequent to a final listing determination. The recovery outline guides the immediate implementation of urgent recovery actions and describes the process to be used to develop a recovery plan. The plan may be revised to address continuing or new threats to the species as new substantive information becomes available. The recovery plan also identifies recovery criteria for review of when a species may be ready for reclassification from endangered to threatened downlisting or removal from protected status delisting, and methods for monitoring recovery progress. Recovery plans also establish a framework for agencies to coordinate their recovery efforts and provide estimates of the cost of implementing recovery tasks. Recovery teams composed of species experts, Federal and State agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and stakeholders are often established to develop recovery plans. When completed, the recovery outline, draft recovery plan, and the final recovery plan for alligator snapping turtle will be available on our website http www.fws.gov/
endangered, or from our Louisiana Ecological Services Field Office see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Implementation of recovery actions generally requires the participation of a broad range of partners, including other Federal agencies, States, Tribes, nongovernmental organizations,
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businesses, and private landowners.
Examples of recovery actions include habitat restoration e.g., restoration of native vegetation, research, protective regulations, adjustments to fishing techniques to reduce bycatch, captive propagation and reintroduction, and outreach and education. The recovery of many listed species cannot be accomplished solely on Federal lands because their range may occur primarily or solely on non-Federal lands.
Achieving recovery of these species requires cooperative conservation efforts on private, State, and Tribal lands.
If the alligator snapping turtle is listed, funding for recovery actions will be available from a variety of sources, including Federal budgets, State programs, and cost share grants for nonFederal landowners, the academic community, and nongovernmental organizations. In addition, pursuant to section 6 of the Act, the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas would be eligible for Federal funds to implement management actions that promote the protection or recovery of the alligator snapping turtle.
Information on our grant programs that are available to aid species recovery can be found at: http www.fws.gov/grants.
Although the alligator snapping turtle is only proposed for listing under the Act at this time, please let us know if you are interested in participating in recovery efforts for the species.
Additionally, we invite you to submit any new information on the species whenever it becomes available and any information you may have for recovery planning purposes see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Section 7a of the Act requires Federal agencies to evaluate their actions with respect to any species that is proposed or listed as an endangered or threatened species and with respect to its critical habitat, if any is designated. Regulations implementing this interagency cooperation provision of the Act are codified at 50 CFR part 402. Section 7a4 of the Act requires Federal agencies to confer with the Service on any action that is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a species proposed for listing or result in destruction or adverse modification of proposed critical habitat. If a species is listed subsequently, section 7a2 of the Act requires Federal agencies to ensure that activities they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species or destroy or adversely modify its critical habitat. If a Federal
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