Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), exercise our authority pursuant to section 4(b)(7) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), to emergency list the Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri) as endangered. This subspecies is currently known to occur at only a few small remote islands within the Florida Keys. Current population numbers are not known, but are estimated in the hundreds of butterflies. We are also emergency listing the cassius blue butterfly (Leptotes cassius theonus), ceraunus blue butterfly (Hemiargus ceraunus antibubastus), and nickerbean blue butterfly (Cyclargus ammon) as threatened due to similarity of appearance to the Miami blue, with a special rule pursuant to section 4(d) of the Act. Due to the subspecies' severe reduction in geographic range, small population sizes, and imminent threats, we need to make protective measures afforded by the Act available to the Miami blue immediately. This emergency rule provides Federal protection pursuant to the Act for a period of 240 days. A proposed rule to list the Miami blue butterfly as endangered and to list the cassius blue butterfly, ceraunus blue butterfly, and nickerbean blue butterfly as threatened due to similarity of appearance to the Miami blue is published concurrently with this emergency rule, and it can be found in this issue of the Federal Register in the Proposed Rules section.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 [Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2011-0043 MO 92210-0-0008 RIN 1018-AX83 AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Emergency rule. SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), exercise our authority pursuant to section 4(b)(7) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), to emergency list the Miami blue butterfly ( Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri ) as endangered. This subspecies is currently known to occur at only a few small remote islands within the Florida Keys. Current population numbers are not known, but are estimated in the hundreds of butterflies. We are also emergency listing the cassius blue butterfly ( Leptotes cassius theonus ), ceraunus blue butterfly ( Hemiargus ceraunus antibubastus ), and nickerbean blue butterfly ( Cyclargus ammon ) as threatened due to similarity of appearance to the Miami blue, with a special rule pursuant to section 4(d) of the Act. Due to the subspecies' severe reduction in geographic range, small population sizes, and imminent threats, we need to make protective measures afforded by the Act available to the Miami blue immediately. This emergency rule provides Federal protection pursuant to the Act for a period of 240 days. A proposed rule to list the Miami blue butterfly as endangered and to list the cassius blue butterfly, ceraunus blue butterfly, and nickerbean blue butterfly as threatened due to similarity of appearance to the Miami blue is publis…
Citation: 76 FR 49542
