Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 76, April 22, 2009, Pages 18285-18448 Page: 18,340
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Federal Register/Vol. 74, No. 76/Wednesday, April 22, 2009/Proposed Rules
designation of the Tehachapi slender
salamander as a sensitive species
provides no protection to the
salamander.
The California Endangered Species
Act (CESA) provides protections for the
Tehachapi slender salamander both
through the prohibition on take of state
listed species without authorization and
the requirement that any take
authorized under the statute must be
fully mitigated. However, the
interpretation of "take" under state law
may be narrower than under the ESA
and may not fully address impacts to
the species resulting from habitat loss or
degradation. Moreover, while CESA
offers protections for the Tehachapi
slender salamander on state and
privately owned land, it does not
constrain Federal activities, particularly
those occurring on Federal lands, where
a substantial proportion of Tehachapi
slender salamanders occur. Because the
Tehachapi slender salamander is not
protected under Federal law, Federal
agencies are not required to consider the
effects of their actions on the species or
mitigate for those impacts.
Based on CNDDB data and land
boundary confirmation from BLM, we
believe that approximately one third of
the known occurrences of the Caliente
Canyon population of the Tehachapi
slender salamander occurs on BLM land
(Kuritsubo pers. com. 9/2/2008). BLM
has identified the Tehachapi slender
salamander as a sensitive species and
surveys for the salamander prior to
conducting activities that may affect the
species in areas containing suitable
habitat in accordance with agency
policy directives. However, although
BLM considers the presence of
salamanders when planning and
implementing management activities
(Kuritsubo 2007, p. 1; Larson 2008, p. 1)
it is not legally required to, and does not
necessarily, avoid or mitigate the
impacts of agency actions on the
species.
The prohibition on "take" of the
Tehachapi slender salamander under
CESA may not fully address impacts to
the species resulting from habitat loss
on state and private lands, and neither
CESA nor Federal law currently protects
the salamander and its habitat from the
impacts of Federal activities,
particularly those that occur on Federal
lands. Therefore, we believe that there
are potential threats to the species with
respect to this factor. We have
determined that the petition presents
substantial information that the
Tehachapi slender salamander may be
threatened due to the inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms. Wehope to gain further information on the
magnitude of the threats under Factor D
during the status review.
E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors
Affecting Continued Existence
The petitioner pointed out that the
small size of the populations and
localized occurrences of the species
make it particularly vulnerable to
environmental, genetic, and
demographic stochastic events. In
addition, the petitioner states that
available scientific information
indicates that climate change
exemplified by hotter and drier
summers and more extreme weather
patterns threatens the Tehachapi
slender salamander.
Stochastic Events
The petition did not include
information on the size of the Caliente
Creek and Tehachapi Mountain
populations of the Tehachapi slender
salamander, and we have no
information on this in our files. Nor do
we have information concerning the
species' status to indicate whether the
populations are increasing, decreasing,
or stable. We note that the number of
documented occurrences of the species
since it was discovered is small. Based
on the best scientific and commercial
information that we have to date, the
species does appear to be rare because
of its limited distribution, few recorded
individuals, and specific habitat
requirements. The species may be
vulnerable to stochastic events (e.g.,
severe drought) because the range of the
species is limited, the species is
composed of only two populations that
are separate from each other, there is an
apparent lack of gene flow between the
two populations, and the species
occupies a restricted mesic habitat
(Hansen and Wake 2005, p. 694; Hansen
2007, p. 1).
Therefore, we find the petition and
information readily available to the
Service presents substantial information
to indicate stochastic events may be a
threat to the species.
Climate Change
As cited in the petition, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
reported in 1997 (p. 1) that the earth's
climate is predicted to change as a result
of human activities that alter the
atmosphere by causing a cumulative
increase in greenhouse gases,
particularly carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons.
In the report, the EPA (1997, p. 2) states
that average temperatures and frequency
of extreme rainfall in the United States
are expected to rise. The EPA predictsthat California may experience an
increase of 5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.8
degrees Celsius) and an overall increase
in precipitation of 20 to 30 percent by
2100. The report states that Fresno,
California, approximately 162 mi (261
km) north of the Tehachapi Mountains,
has experienced an average increase in
temperature of 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit
(0.8 degrees Celsius) over the past 100
years. Despite the trend observed for the
United States in increased rainfall,
Fresno has experienced a decrease in
precipitation by up to 20 percent over
the past century (EPA 1997, p. 2). The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change provides a more recent report
that supports EPA's prediction on a
global scale and adds that rising air and
ocean temperature is unquestionable
(IPCC 2007, p. 4).
We acknowledge that temperatures in
southern California where the
Tehachapi slender salamander occurs
are likely to increase. We also agree that,
if hotter and drier summers and more
extreme weather patterns were to occur
within its range, the Tehachapi slender
salamander may be negatively affected.
However, we believe that climate
change models that are currently
available are not yet capable of making
meaningful predictions of climate
change for specific, local areas such as
the range of the Tehachapi slender
salamander (Parmesan and Matthews
2005, p. 354). We do not have models
to predict how the climate in the range
of the Tehachapi slender salamander
will change, and we do not know how
any change may alter the range of the
species. Although the petitioner
provides information on climate change
models and trends, we do not have
information on past and future weather
patterns within the specific range of the
species to conclude that the species may
be threatened by climate change.
Therefore, we find the information
presented in the petition does not
provide substantial information to
indicate that climate change may be a
threat to the species. However, we will
continue to evaluate the potential affects
of climate change on the species and its
habitat during our status review.
Based on the information submitted
in the petition, we have determined that
substantial information has been
presented that the Tehachapi slender
salamander may be threatened due to
other natural or manmade factors
(stochastic events) affecting its
continued existence (Factor E).
Finding
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act requires
that we make a finding on whether a
petition to list, delist, or reclassify aspecies presents substantial scientific or
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United States. Office of the Federal Register. Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 76, April 22, 2009, Pages 18285-18448, periodical, April 22, 2009; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc132938/m1/62/?rotate=90: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.