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khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS2

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 28, 2021 / Proposed Rules stochastic events. Regulatory mechanisms such as the Forest Services and BLMs Sensitive Species Program and habitat management programs under the Northwest Forest Plan which provides for species management and habitat protection for activities on their lands will continue to be implemented for a large portion of the DPS. As a result, the North Coast DPSs resiliency would most likely be only slightly reduced from the threats it will face in the foreseeable future over the next 40
years due to its heightened current condition. Therefore, due to the DPSs current and projected high occupancy level, its abundance, connectivity, and distribution of populations within the DPS as well as implementation of measures to reduce threats, we have determined that the North Coast DPS
will continue to have a sufficient degree of resiliency, redundancy, and representation such that we do not anticipate the future threats to limit the DPSs ability to maintain populations in the wild.
After review of the threats identified above and cumulative effects facing the North Coast DPS, as well as existing conservation measures, we conclude that threats have likely impacted individuals or localized populations of the North Coast DPS. However, the magnitude and extent of these impacts into the future will not significantly impact the resiliency, representation, or redundancy for the DPS or result in a decline in the overall distribution or general demographic condition of the DPS such that it is likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future throughout the DPSs range.
North Sierra DPS: The major threats that likely have or are contributing to declines of the foothill yellow-legged frog in the North Sierra DPS include altered stream hydrology Factor A, nonnative species Factor C, habitat impacts agriculture, mining, urbanization including development and roads Factor A and recreation Factor E, and the effects of climate change Factor E. The North Sierra DPS
is in the most hydrologically altered part of the foothill yellow-legged frogs range and contains a high density of hydropower dams CDFW 2019b, p. 97.
While the North Sierra DPS has a high proportion of forest and shrub cover 86
percent, it may be affected by agricultural activities vineyards adjacent to habitat in the foothill portions of the northern Central Valley Service 2021, supplementary figure 1, p. 224. The northern Sierra Nevada North Feather and North Sierra DPSs is also suspected to be the most impacted from the latent effects from
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historical mining Hayes et al. 2016, pp.
5354.
Despite the threats acting on the North Sierra DPS, its populations have the lowest risk of decline across the DPSs range due to it having a large proportion of occupied streams containing populations that are both robust and stable. The majority 65
percent of the DPSs 278 analyzed stream segments are currently in the low relative risk category. The North Sierra DPS is made up of a dense network of occupied stream segments that are distributed across the range of the DPS.
There are few documented extirpations of occurrences in the North Sierra DPS.
As a result, the resiliency, redundancy, and representation across the DPS are considered sufficient to reduce the impact of threats and currently maintain populations in the wild.
In the future, the North Sierra DPS is expected to decline due to alterations associated with regulated water flows.
However, these declines are not expected to impact the North Sierra DPS
to such a degree that populations would be significantly impacted. The PVA
determined that the North Coast DPS
would have the lowest risk of decline under the lower change scenario and the second-lowest risk of decline under the mean and higher change scenarios. As a result, we expect resiliency, redundancy, and representation across the DPS to remain sufficient for the DPS
to maintain populations in the wild into the foreseeable future.
We have reviewed the current threats identified above and cumulative effects facing the North Coast and North Sierra DPSs, and evaluated the condition of the resiliency, representation, and redundancy for each of the DPSs. Based on the favorable conditions currently measured by the resiliency, redundancy and representation across the DPSs, the threats acting on the two DPSs are not of such magnitude, extent, and imminence that they are causing the two DPSs to be in danger of extinction now throughout their ranges.
The future threats acting on and driving the status of the two DPSs include altered hydrology either through stream flows or past stream alterations and the effects of climate change, which may result in increased hydrological changes or severity of habitat loss from wildfire impacts. We anticipate that, although the risk of decline will increase due to the threats acting on the two DPSs into the future, the two DPSs resiliency, representation, and redundancy are projected to sufficiently reduce the effect of future impacts to such a degree that
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populations of both DPSs would be able maintain viability into the future.
Thus, after assessing the best scientific and commercial information available, we conclude that the North Coast DPS in northern California and Oregon and the North Sierra DPS
located primarily in Yuba, Sierra, Nevada, and Placer Counties, California are not currently in danger of extinction and not likely to become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout their respective ranges.
Status of the North Coast DPS and North Sierra DPS of the Foothill YellowLegged Frog Throughout a Significant Portion of Their Range Under the Act and our implementing regulations, a species may warrant listing if it is in danger of extinction or likely to become so in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Having determined that the North Coast DPS and North Sierra DPS are not in danger of extinction or likely to become so in the foreseeable future throughout all of their respective ranges, we now consider whether either may be in danger of extinction or likely to become so in the foreseeable future in a significant portion of their respective rangesthat is, whether there is any portion of the DPSs ranges for which it is true that both 1 the portion is significant; and 2 the DPS is in danger of extinction now or likely to become so in the foreseeable future in that portion.
Depending on the case, it might be more efficient for us to address the significance question or the status question first. We can choose to address either question first. Regardless of which question we address first, if we reach a negative answer with respect to the first question that we address, we do not need to evaluate the other question for that portion of the DPSs range.
In undertaking this analysis for the North Coast DPS and North Sierra DPS, we choose to address the status question firstwe consider information pertaining to the geographic distribution of both the DPSs and the threats that the DPSs face to identify any portions of the range where the DPSs are endangered or threatened.
For the North Coast DPS and North Sierra DPS, we considered whether the threats are geographically concentrated in any portion of the DPSs ranges at a biologically meaningful scale. We examined the following threats:
Hydrological alteration of streams Factor A, latent effects from historical mining Factor A, predation from nonnative species bullfrogs and crayfish Factor C, other impacts to
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