Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Notice of Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Lee County Cave Isopod for Review and Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Notice of

Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for the Lee County Cave Isopod

for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability

for public review of a draft Recovery Plan for the Lee County Cave

Isopod (Lirceus usdagalun). The Lee County cave isopod, a subterranean

freshwater crustacean, is endemic to southwestern Virginia, where it

has been documented from two cave systems and two resurgence springs in

Lee County. The Lee County cave isopod was listed as endangered in

1992. The draft recovery plan sets recovery objectives and recommends

recovery activities that, if implemented on schedule, may lead to

delisting of this species by the year 2005. The Service solicits review

and comment from the public on this draft plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received August 4,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan can obtain

a copy from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Virginia

Field Office, P.O. Box 2345, Abingdon, Virginia (telephone 540/623-

1233; fax 540/623-1185) or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region Five,

300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035, (telephone 413/

253-8628; fax 413-253-8482). Comments should be sent to the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Field Office at the above mailing

address, to the attention of Leroy Koch.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Leroy Koch at 540/623-1233 (see ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point

where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is

a primary goal of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered

species program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is

working to prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native

to the United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered

necessary for conservation of

[[Page 33391]]

the species, establish criteria for the recovery levels for

reclassifying or delisting them, and estimate time and cost for

implementing the recovery measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.) requires the development of recovery plans for listed species

unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular

species. Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in 1988, requires that

public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be

provided during recovery plan development. The Service will consider

all information presented during a public comment period prior to

approval of each new or revised recovery plan. The Service and other

Federal agencies will also take these comments into account in the

course of implementing recovery plans.

The document submitted for review is the draft Lee County Cave

Isopod (Lirceus usdagalun) Recovery Plan. The Lee County cave isopod is

a cave-dwelling freshwater crustacean listed as an endangered species.

It is endemic to southwestern Virginia, where it has been documented

from only cave systems and two resurgence springs (presumably

associated with undiscovered cave systems) in Lee County. The aquatic

habitat of this isopode occurs in the central Lee County Karst, a

gently rolling region characterized by exposed limestone ridges with

karren development, numerous sinkholes, blind valleys, sinking streams,

subterranean drainage, and caves. The historic distribution of the

species within the four cave systems comprises six known site

occurrences, one which is considered extirpated due to massive organic

pollution of the cave stream ecosystem. The primary threat to the

remaining sites is potential degration of groundwater quality resulting

from surrounding land uses. All known Lee County cave isopod sites are

on private land, and many landowners in the region are unaware of the

critical link between surface water and groundwater quality, as is

evident by the use of sinkholes as disposal areas for household,

industrial, and agricultural waste products. Logging and sawmill

operations are prominent uses of the lands surrounding the cave systems

in Lee County; such operations represent a potentially significant

threat to karst ecosystems because leachate from organic decomposition

of the sawdust material can travel from surface to groundwater. Other

potential threats to the species' habitat include non-point-source

pollution, inadequate or failing septic systems, toxic spills along

roadways, and accelerating development along U.S. Route 58.

To facilitate protection and recovery of this rare species, the

following objectives and conditions for meeting objectives are

recommended. To reclassify the Lee County cave isopod from endangered

to threatened status: (1) Completely delineate the likely range,

current and historical, of the species' distribution; (2) gain a

sufficient understanding of the surface and subterranean drainage

patterns with the species' known range to enable monitoring and

management; (3) show that populations of the isopod in at least four

cave systems are improving or stable over a two-year monitoring period;

and (4) establish a groundwater monitoring program in systems known to

contain the isopod, with results over a two-year period showing the

groundwater quality and quantity are being maintained at levels needed

to ensure the survival of this species. To delist the Lee County cave

isopod in addition to the preceding conditions: (1) Show that

populations of the isopod in at least four cave systems are stable over

an additional three-year monitoring period; (2) demonstrate that

groundwater quality and quantity are being maintained over an

additional three-year monitoring period at levels needed to ensure the

survival of this species; (3) achieve permanent protection from

significant groundwater contamination for all sites known to support

the Lee County cave isopod.

The Lee County cave isopod draft recovery plan also recommends a

number of activities needed to achieve these recovery objectives.

Ongoing and proposed recovery activities include: surveys to determine

the location and extent of all area supporting this isopod; monitoring

of Lee County cave isopod populations; life history and other research

to determine what constitutes a viable and/or stable population of Lee

County cave isopod; further studies and mapping of the surface and

subterranean drainage systems in which the isopod occurs; monitoring of

water quality and quantity and isopod habitat at selected sites;

identification of those factors that adversely affect the species and

actions to eliminate or minimize such impacts; implementation of

habitat protection measures for known populations of Lee County cave

isopod; educational and awareness programs for landowners, governmental

agencies, and nongovernmental organizations; if and as needed,

restoration of populations of the Lee County cave isopod to former

habitat; and monitoring of recovery progress.

The draft recovery plan revision is being submitted for agency

review. After consideration of comments received during the review

period, the plan will be submitted for final approval.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan

described. All comments received by the date specified above will be

considered prior to approval of the plan.

Authority

The authority for this action is Section 4(f) of the Endangered

Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: June 10, 1997.

Adam O'Hara,

Acting Regional Director, Region 5.

[FR Doc. 97-16010 Filed 6-18-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-M