Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS2

73936

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 28, 2021 / Proposed Rules
Status of the North Coast DPS and North Sierra DPS of the Foothill YellowLegged Frog Throughout All of Their Ranges We have carefully assessed the best scientific and commercial information available regarding the past, present, and future threats to the North Coast DPS and the North Sierra DPS of the foothill yellow-legged frog and its habitat. Below we summarize our assessment of status of the North Coast DPS and the North Sierra DPS under the Act. In the SSA report, we provided information regarding the current and future conditions of the North Coast DPS in Oregon and California as separate analysis units. To be consistent, we describe the conditions of the Oregon and California portions of the DPS separately below, but we combine these analyses and present the DPS as one entity for our determination of overall status under the Act.
North Coast DPS Oregon: The major threats that are affecting the foothill yellow-legged frog in the North Coast DPS in Oregon include altered hydrology Factor A, nonnative species Factor C, agriculture including water diversion and fluctuation caused by irrigation Factor A, mining Factor A, urbanization including development and roads Factor A, and recreation Factor E.
Current conditions of the North Coast DPS in Oregon include legacy impacts from historical habitat loss and alteration of habitat and resulting range contraction. The current extent of the DPSs range in Oregon has been fragmented and the populations remaining have lost some connectivity, with smaller populations sometimes being isolated. Evidence of this isolation has been supported by genetic research that found the DPS in Oregon subdivided into three genetic groups based on locality McCartney-Melstad et al. 2018, p. 117, figure 3. Abundance information also appears to indicate the fragmented populations are lower in abundance than past abundance estimates Borisenko and Hayes 1999, pp. 2021; Olson and Davis 2009, p. 26.
Although occupancy and connectivity are poor for the DPS in Oregon as a whole, there appear to be some strongholds for the foothill yellowlegged frog Service 2021, figure 55, p.
151. The areas in the central and southwestern portions of the DPS in Oregon appear to be most stable with numerous occupied stream segments that are both close together and at a relatively low risk of decline. According to the PVA, the average relative risk of population decline in the North Coast
VerDate Sep<11>2014

23:09 Dec 27, 2021

Jkt 256001

DPS in Oregon is the second-lowest across all DPSs. In addition, the majority of stream segments in this unit are in the low relative risk of decline category. This is partly because most stream segments in Oregon do not have regulated flows which are associated with dams. In addition, conservation efforts such as rangewide conservation planning and habitat connectivity prioritization are focusing management on the North Coast DPS in Oregon Service 2021, table 9, pp. 117120.
Although habitat impacts resulting from present-day threats are currently negatively affecting the North Coast DPS
in Oregon, the DPS in Oregon still has a sufficient degree of resiliency, redundancy, and representation, due to the lessened magnitude and extent of threats acting on the DPS, such that we do not consider these present-day effects to place the species in danger of extinction.
North Coast DPS-California: Altered stream hydrology Factor A is among the most impactful threats to the North Coast DPS in California. Other major threats that likely have or are contributing to localized declines in the DPS in California include nonnative species Factor C, habitat impacts from agriculture, mining, and urbanization including development and roads Factor A, and recreation Factor E.
Trespass cannabis cultivation Factor A
is also an extensive threat in the North Coast DPS in California CDFW 2019b, pp. 9798. Illegal water diversions and pesticides for illegal cannabis are reportedly linked to local declines of foothill yellow-legged frogs in the Eel River and South Fork Trinity River Service 2019, p. 33.
Despite several documented local extirpations, the North Coast DPS in California contains the most abundant foothill yellow-legged frog populations and the majority 1,443 of 2,425 for the species of stream segments that have had recent 20002020 detections of the species Service 2021, Table 10, Figure 48. Stream segments with recent detections also have good connectivity and are distributed over a large area.
The North Coast DPS in California also contains a large number of stream segments 382 in the low risk of decline category. In addition, conservation efforts such as rangewide conservation planning and other regulatory measures to manage streams to benefit the North Coast DPS are currently being implemented in California Service 2021, table 9, pp. 117120. Although habitat impacts resulting from presentday threats are currently negatively affecting the North Coast DPS in California, the DPS in California still
PO 00000

Frm 00024

Fmt 4701

Sfmt 4702

has a sufficient degree of resiliency, redundancy, and representation, due to the health and number of populations and magnitude and extent of threats acting on the DPS, such that we do not consider these present-day effects to place the DPS in danger of extinction.
After assessing the best scientific and commercial information available, and based on the information on the North Coast DPSs overall current condition above, we have determined that the North Coast DPS in California and Oregon of the foothill yellow-legged frog is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all of its range.
Below, we review the North Coast DPSs future condition and status.
Future Condition of the North Coast DPS: Over the next 40 years our timeframe of foreseeable future, the projected increases in risk of decline and the increasing risk of serious threats indicate that the resiliency of the North Coast DPS will decrease in the future Service 2021, table 19, pp. 180181.
This decline is expected to be largely related to the altered stream hydrology in California in the mainstem river systems and threats associated with severe wildfire events exacerbated by changes in climatic conditions.
However, the North Coast DPS in Oregon has the lowest risk of decline under the mean and higher change scenarios and has the second-lowest risk of decline under the lower change scenario. In addition, the percent forest and shrub cover for the entire DPS is projected to change very little by 2060
less than 0.3 percent of total area under the mean change scenario in the North Coast DPS overall California and Oregon data summarized together Sleeter and Kreitler 2020, unpublished data. This would result in a relatively stable upland habitat conditions for the DPS over this timeframe. This DPS
overall is also likely to be more resilient to projected changes in climate variables i.e., stream temperature and annual streamflow. For example, projected increases in stream temperature could increase population growth rates in those streams that tend to be cooler than in the rest of the species range. In addition, although resiliency for the North Coast DPS will be reduced, the reduction will not be significantly different from current condition. This is mostly because the North Coast DPS has a large number of occupied stream segments, contains populations with high abundances, is distributed relatively uniformly across a large geographic area, and has good connectivity between populations, making it able to withstand the anticipated variation and increase of
E:FRFM28DEP2.SGM

28DEP2