Notice2025-11891
Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Field Release of Aceria salsolae (Acari: Eriophyidae), a Mite for Biological Control of Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus), in the Contiguous United States
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 27, 2025
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Abstract
We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared a revised draft environmental assessment relative to permitting the release of the blister mite, Aceria salsolae De Lillo and Sobhian (Acari: Eriophyidae), for the biological control of Russian thistle (Salsola tragus L.) within the contiguous United States. Based on the revised draft environmental assessment and other relevant data, we have reached a preliminary determination that the release of this control agent within the contiguous United States will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment. We are making the revised draft environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 122 (Friday, June 27, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 122 (Friday, June 27, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27522-27523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11891]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2024-0040]
Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Field
Release of Aceria salsolae (Acari: Eriophyidae), a Mite for Biological
Control of Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus), in the Contiguous United
States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared a revised draft environmental
assessment relative to permitting the release of the blister mite,
Aceria salsolae De Lillo and Sobhian (Acari: Eriophyidae), for the
biological control of Russian thistle (Salsola tragus L.) within the
contiguous United States. Based on the revised draft environmental
assessment and other relevant data, we have reached a preliminary
determination that the release of this control agent within the
contiguous United States will not have a significant impact on the
quality of the human environment. We are making the revised draft
environmental assessment available to the public for review and
comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July
28, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Enter APHIS-2024-0040 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
<bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2024-0040, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., #AP760, Beltsville, MD 20705.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> or in our reading room, which is located
in Room 1620 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is
there to help you, please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kirsten Dyer, Agriculturist,
Pests, Pathogens and Biocontrol Permitting, Pest Exclusion and Import
Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705; (352)
554-0556; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5e15372c2d2a3b30701a273b2c1e2b2d3a3f70393128"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f7bc9e8584839299d9b38e9285b782849396d9909881">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is proposing to issue permits for the release of the
blister mite, Aceria salsolae De Lillo and Sobhian (Acari:
Eriophyidae), for the biological control of Russian thistle (Salsola
tragus L.) within the contiguous United States. The action is proposed
to reduce the severity of infestations of Russian thistle in the
central and western United States.
Russian thistle, or tumbleweed, is an alien weedy annual plant that
infests about 41.3 million hectares (100 million acres) in the western
United States. It is native to the mountainous regions of southwest
Asia and was accidentally first introduced in the early 1870s in South
Dakota. Since then, it has spread over most of the central and western
United States and southern Canada. It grows primarily in fallow or
disturbed soil, along roadsides and irrigation canals, and in waste
areas in arid and semiarid zones. Russian thistle is listed as a
noxious weed in five states and causes millions of dollars in damage by
disrupting automobile traffic, clogging irrigation canals, displacing
native plant species, providing habitat to insect pests of many fruits
and vegetables, and is highly flammable, contributing to a rapid spread
of wildfires.
Permitting the release of A. salsolae in the contiguous United
States is necessary to help control invasive Russian thistle. A.
salsolae is a recently discovered eriophyid mite species, which are
usually extremely host specific and therefore generally pose low risk
to nontarget plants, making them a likely candidate for classical
biological control of weeds. A. salsolae has been reported only from S.
tragus and is the only eriophyid mite collected from these plants. A.
salsolae causes severe damage to the plant by feeding on epidermal
cells in the meristematic tissue, stunting growth and preventing
development of branches and flowers needed for reproduction. Host-
specificity testing indicates A. salsolae is unlikely to attack non-
target species.
Russian thistle is very difficult to control as current chemical,
mechanical, and cultural controls are not effective against this
widespread weed. However, Russian thistle is an excellent target for
biological control as it has no close taxonomic relatives in North
America. Classical biological control is a potentially useful
management strategy for an invasive pest species whenever effective
resident natural enemies are lacking in the new distribution range.
On March 10, 2009, APHIS published a draft EA \1\ in the Federal
Register (74 FR 10223-10224, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0143) concluding
that after reviewing host specific testing of 39 species and 12
varieties of host plants from 5 families, including 25 native species
of North America, A. salsolae was not expected to directly harm any
plants outside of the targeted Russian thistle and there was no
population increase of A. salsolae on nontarget plant species. The
draft EA was made available in the Federal Register for a 30-day
comment period. However, because of comments APHIS received on the EA,
a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) and, subsequently, permits
allowing the environmental release of A. salsolae were never issued.
Since that time, additional research has been conducted providing new
host specificity information that enabled APHIS to strengthen its
support for the release of A. salsolae within the contiguous United
States for classical biological control of Russian thistle. Due to this
additional research, we revised the prior EA and have decided to make
the revised draft EA available to the public for a second round of
public comments. APHIS' review and analysis of the potential
environmental impacts associated with the proposed release are
documented in the revised draft environmental assessment (EA) titled
``Field release of Aceria salsolae (Acari: Eriophyidae), a Mite for
Biological Control of Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus), in the
Contiguous United States'' (March 2025). Based on our findings in the
revised draft EA, we are proposing to issue permits for the release of
the mite, A. salsolae, as a biological control agent to reduce the
[[Page 27523]]
severity of infestations of Russian thistle. We are making the revised
draft EA available to the public for review and comment. We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before the date listed
under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To view the notice, supporting documents, and the comments
we received, go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> and enter APHIS-2008-
0143 in the Search field.
_____________________________________-
The revised draft EA may be viewed on the <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> website
or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to
<a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> and information on the location and hours of the
reading room). You may also request paper copies of the revised draft
EA by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the draft EA when
requesting copies.
The revised draft EA has been prepared in accordance with: (1) The
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.); (2) regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality
for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508); (3) U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations implementing NEPA
(7 CFR part 1b); and (4) APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR
part 372).
Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of June 2025.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-11891 Filed 6-26-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 27, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.