[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25664-25668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10407]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2011-0039; 92220-1113-0000-C6]
RIN 1018-AX94
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the
Gray Wolf in Wyoming From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife and Removal of the Wyoming Wolf Population's Status as an
Experimental Population
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
reopening of the public comment period on our October 5, 2011, proposal
to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming from the List of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. This proposal relied heavily on
Wyoming's wolf management plan and noted that conforming changes to
State law and regulation would be required to allow Wyoming's plan to
be implemented as written. Wyoming recently completed four documents
that clarify Wyoming's approach to wolf management should we delist the
gray wolf in Wyoming, including revised State statutes, revised gray
wolf management regulations (chapter 21), revised gray wolf hunting
season regulations (chapter 47), and an Addendum to the Wyoming Gray
Wolf Management Plan. We are reopening the comment period for the
proposal to allow all interested parties an additional opportunity to
comment on the proposed rule in light of these documents. If you
submitted comments previously, you do not need to resubmit them because
we have already incorporated them into the public record and will fully
consider them in preparation of the final rule.
DATES: We will consider all comments received or postmarked on or
before May 16, 2012. Comments submitted electronically using the
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES section, below) must be
received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for FWS-R6-ES-2011-0039, which is the
docket number for this rulemaking. On the search results page, under
the Comment Period heading in the menu on the left side of your screen,
check the box next to ``Open'' to locate this document. Please ensure
you have found the correct document before submitting your comments. If
your comments will fit in the provided comment box, please use this
feature of http://www.regulations.gov, as it is most compatible with
our comment review procedures. If you attach your comments as a
separate document, our preferred file format is Microsoft Word. If you
attach multiple comments (such as form letters), our preferred format
is a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2011-0039; Division of Policy and
Directives
[[Page 25665]]
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS
2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see ``Public Comments'' in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more
information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on wolves in the
northern Rocky Mountains see http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/, or contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Mountain-Prairie Region Office, Ecological Services Division, 134 Union
Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80228; telephone 303-236-7400. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comments
We will accept written comments and information during this
reopened comment period on the October 5, 2011, proposal (76 FR 61782)
to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming from the List of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in light of four recently revised
documents that clarify Wyoming's approach to wolf management should we
delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, including: revised State statutes; a
revised gray wolf management regulations (chapter 21); a revised gray
wolf hunting season regulations (chapter 47); and an Addendum to the
Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan. Copies of the revised State statute,
Wyoming's ``Gray Wolf Management'' regulations (chapter 21), ``Gray
Wolf Hunting Seasons'' regulations (chapter 47), and the Addendum to
the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan are available: on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov or http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/; or upon request from the Mountain-Prairie Region
Office, Ecological Services Division (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT). We will consider information and recommendations from all
interested parties.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We will not accept
comments sent by email or fax or to an address not listed in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--will be
posted on the Web site. If you submit a hardcopy comment that includes
personal identifying information, you may request at the top of your
document that we withhold this information from public review. However,
we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will post all
hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by appointment,
during normal business hours, at the Mountain-Prairie Region Office
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Background
On October 5, 2011, we proposed to remove the gray wolf in Wyoming
from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (76 FR 61782). This
proposal relied heavily on Wyoming's 2011 wolf management plan (Wyoming
Game and Fish Commission (WGFC) 2011) and noted that conforming changes
to State law and regulation would be required to allow Wyoming's plan
to be implemented as written. These changes have now been finalized by
Wyoming.
Following publication of the proposal, we began discussions with
Wyoming on necessary or advisable revisions to its State statutes. On
January 9, 2012, we notified the Governor of Wyoming that draft
legislative language, developed by the State in consultation with the
Service, should provide an acceptable legal basis for implementing the
State's Gray Wolf Management Plan (Ashe 2012a). This legislation was
passed by the Wyoming legislature during the 2012 session and, on March
7, 2012, was signed by the Governor of Wyoming and became law.
Wyoming also developed an Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf
Management Plan to address concerns raised by the independent peer
review panel that evaluated our proposed rule and its supporting
information. The addendum, developed by the State in consultation with
the Service, provides additional clarification and detail about the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department's approach to managing wolves. On
March 5, 2012, Wyoming released the addendum for public review and
comment. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved a final version
of the addendum on March 22, 2012.
In early 2012, we began discussions with Wyoming on necessary or
advisable revisions to its State regulations including Wyoming's ``Gray
Wolf Management'' regulations (chapter 21) and ``Gray Wolf Hunting
Seasons'' regulations (chapter 47). On March 9, 2012, we notified the
Governor of Wyoming that we regard the draft revised regulations,
developed by the State in consultation with the Service, to be
consistent with State law and Wyoming's conditionally approved Wolf
Management Plan (Ashe 2012b). On March 9, 2012, the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department made the proposed regulations available for public
review and comment. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved a
final version of these revised regulations at their April 25-26, 2012,
meeting.
Highlights of Recently Released Wyoming Management Documents
Population Management--The Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf
Management Plan reaffirms Wyoming's commitment to manage the wolf
population with a buffer above the agreed-upon population minimums of
at least 10 breeding pairs and at least 100 wolves in Wyoming outside
of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation at
the end of the calendar year (WGFC 2012, pp. 3-5). The addendum adopts
this approach, as it would provide the greatest assurance that minimum
agreed-upon population targets can be confidently exceeded on an annual
basis, and that Wyoming would not risk managing wolves near minimum
recovery levels (WGFC 2012, p. 5). Furthermore, Wyoming clarified that
the buffer would be applied solely within Wyoming's portion of the
population in the Wyoming Trophy Game Management Area (WTGMA) (i.e.,
wolves in Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian
Reservation would not constitute the buffer) (WGFC 2012, p. 5).
Regarding the size of the buffer, no specific number or range was
offered. Instead, Wyoming noted that the buffer would be determined
through an adaptive management approach and may fluctuate based on
natural population dynamics and the effects of specific management
actions (WGFC 2012, p. 4).
The Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan also
reaffirms and clarifies Wyoming's intention to use an adaptive
management framework based on intensive monitoring efforts to ensure
minimum population objectives are never compromised (WGFC 2012, pp. 5-
7). The addendum explains that, because of additional human-caused
mortality, Wyoming would monitor the wolf population more intensively
than the Service has in the past, and that this effort would become
more intense as the
[[Page 25666]]
population approaches minimum population objectives (WGFC 2012, p. 5).
Regarding management responses, the addendum clarifies that if the
minimum population objectives are approached, the State would
sequentially limit: Control actions for unacceptable impacts to
ungulates; harvest levels; control for damage to private property; and
lethal take permits (WGFC 2012, p. 7). The last item in this sequential
list (lethal take permits) is discussed further below. Regarding
hunting specifically, the addendum notes that Wyoming would employ an
iterative, adaptive, and public process whereby season structures, hunt
areas, and quotas are evaluated and adjusted based on the response of
the wolf population to prior management actions (WGFC 2012, pp. 4-7).
Furthermore, the addendum notes Wyoming's authority to revise, reduce,
or close hunting seasons if necessary (WGFC 2012, pp. 6-7).
The Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan also confirms
the State's intention to manage wolf numbers to gradually reduce the
wolf population over a series of years (WGFC 2012, p. 6). This will
give the State an opportunity to understand how to best manage wolves
in Wyoming, while not risking relisting of wolves under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (WGFC 2012, p.
6). Within the WTGMA, at the end of 2011, there were at least 177
wolves in at least 29 packs (including 16 breeding pairs), as well as
at least 4 lone wolves; within the seasonal WTGMA, at the end of 2011,
there were at least 10 wolves in at least 2 packs (including 1 breeding
pair), as well as at least 5 lone wolves (Jimenez 2012, in litt.). If
we delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, the State intends to authorize a
hunting quota of 52 wolves in 2012, and once reproduction is accounted
for, the State believes this would reduce the population by about 10
percent within the WTGMA (Mills 2012, pers. comm.). Specifically,
Wyoming estimates the population within the WTGMA would be around 170
wolves and 15 breeding pairs at the end of 2012 (Mills 2012, pers.
comm.). We note that this first year goal is comfortably above the
minimum agreed-upon population targets.
In the permanent predator area, we estimated there were at least 22
wolves in at least 5 packs (including 2 breeding pairs), and at least 6
lone wolves at the end of 2011 (Jimenez 2012, in litt.). Additionally,
1 pack with 3 wolves (the Owl Creek pack on the Wind River Indian
Reservation) borders and likely spends a significant portion of its
time in the predator area (Jimenez 2012, in litt.). We believe few of
the wolf packs in predator portions of Wyoming would persist to the end
of 2012, although some individuals from these packs could survive as
lone animals. Similarly, some of the current lone wolves in the
predator area would be killed. Because none of the packs resident to
the WTGMA are known to spend a significant portion of their time in the
predator portions of Wyoming (Jimenez 2012, in litt.), the predator
designation would not be expected to meaningfully impact wolves in the
WTGMA (Jimenez 2012, pers. comm.).
Regarding genetics, Wyoming's gray wolf management regulations
indicate the State is committed to managing gray wolves in Wyoming to
ensure that genetic diversity and connectivity issues do not threaten
the population (Chapter 21, section 4(a)(ii)). This regulation goes on
to say this commitment would be accomplished by encouraging effective
migrants into the population in accordance with the Wyoming Gray Wolf
Management Plan (Chapter 21, section 4(a)(ii)). The Addendum to the
Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan indicates the Wyoming Game and Fish
Department would strive for a minimum genetic target of ~1 effective
migrant per generation (WGFC 2012, pp. 6-7). If this minimum target is
not achieved, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would first consider
changes to the monitoring program, if the increased monitoring is
likely to overcome the failure to document the desired level of gene
flow (WGFC 2012, p. 6). If the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
determines increased monitoring is unlikely to detect adequate levels
of genetic interchange, or they determine that sufficient interchange
is not occurring regardless of monitoring efforts, they would alter
management, including reducing mortality quotas in dispersal corridors
or reducing total mortality quotas over a series of years to increase
the probability that migrants into the population survive and reproduce
(WGFC 2012, pp. 6-7). Translocation of wolves between subpopulations
would only be used as a stop-gap measure, if necessary to increase
genetic interchange (WGFC 2012, p. 7). These efforts would be
coordinated with Montana and Idaho (WGFC 2012, p. 7).
Variations or Clarifications From What Was Described in the Proposed
Rule
Lethal Take Permits--Consistent with the Wyoming Gray Wolf
Management Plan (WGFC 2011, pp. 22-23, 32), the proposed rule explained
that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department ``may'' issue lethal take
permits in chronic depredation areas. However, Wyoming law (W.S. 23-1-
304(n)) states that permits ``shall be issued'' to landowners or
livestock owners in cases where wolves are harassing, injuring,
maiming, or killing livestock or other domesticated animals, and where
wolves occupy geographic areas where chronic wolf predation occurs.
This mandatory approach to issuance of lethal take permits is a
significant change from both current management and our summary of
anticipated State management provided in the proposed rule. Another
meaningful change from current Federal management is Wyoming's
allowance for lethal take permits for ``harassment.'' While these
factors indicate lethal take permits could become a significant source
of mortality if we delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, numerous safeguards
are in place that limit their potential to meaningfully and
detrimentally impact the population.
For example, State statute requires that permits be issued, and
renewed as necessary, in 45-day increments (W.S. 23-1-304(n)), and
State regulations limit the take allowance for each permit to a maximum
of 2 gray wolves, and specify that each permit can only apply to a
specified limited geographic or legally described area (Chapter 21,
section 7(b)(ii)). These requirements ensure application of this source
of take is limited in time and geography. Similarly, State regulations
indicate that purported cases of wolf harassment, injury, maiming, or
killing must be verified by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
(Chapter 21, section 6(b)). We believe this requirement for Wyoming
Game and Fish Department verification would limit potential abuse for
this source of mortality. Finally, and most importantly, State law
(W.S. 23-1-304(n)) and the implementing regulation (Chapter 21, section
7(b)(iii)) clarify that existing permits would be cancelled, and
issuance of new permits would be suspended, if the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department determines further lethal control ``could'' compromise
the State's ability to maintain a population of at least 10 breeding
pairs and at least 100 wolves in Wyoming outside of Yellowstone
National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation at the end of the
calendar year. Importantly, the word ``could'' (as opposed to would or
will) provides authority for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to
manage for a buffer above the minimum target and limit control from
lethal take permits, if necessary, to maintain an adequate minimum
buffer. However, the
[[Page 25667]]
Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan explains that the
State law's mandatory approach to issuance of lethal take permits
requires that Wyoming's adaptive management framework limit other
discretionary sources of mortality before it limits this source of
mortality (WGFC 2012, p. 7).
On the whole, the available information indicates that, if we
delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, Wyoming's approach to lethal take
permits may impact population abundance (particularly at a localized
level where wolf-livestock conflict is high), but that Wyoming has
instituted sufficient safeguards to ensure that this source of
mortality would not compromise the State's ability to maintain a
population of at least 10 breeding pairs and at least 100 wolves in
Wyoming outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian
Reservation at the end of the calendar year.
Management on the Wind River Indian Reservation--Another issue
incorrectly characterized in the proposed rule is wolf management
within the Wind River Indian Reservation. Specifically, the proposed
rule noted that wolves would be classified as game animals within the
Wind River Indian Reservation's boundaries. This assumption was
reflected in the proposal's discussion of the percentage of Wyoming
where wolves would be protected or managed as a game animal, as this
calculation considered the entire reservation as game. However, the
Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan clarifies that, if we
delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, wolves would be classified as
predators on non-Indian fee titled lands within the Wind River Indian
Reservation's boundaries (WGFC 2012, p. 3). This altered interpretation
would have minimal impact on wolf management and abundance, as these
inholdings tend to be concentrated on the eastern side of the
reservation outside of reported areas of wolf activity (Shoshone and
Arapaho Tribal Fish and Game Department 2007, Figure 1). Furthermore,
this change in our understanding is likely of little biological
consequence as the proposed rule noted an expectation that the
reservation would likely support only a ``very modest * * * number of
wolves.'' Therefore, this change does not alter our perspective on the
viability of the Wyoming wolf population should delisting move forward.
Management Authority and Hunting--Following publication of the
proposed rule, many members of the public expressed confusion about
what it means to be included in the WTGMA and whether hunting would
occur within National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System
units. First, let us clarify that nothing in the proposed rule would
alter, or in any way affect, the jurisdiction or authority of the State
of Wyoming, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service with respect to the regulation of hunting in any unit of the
National Park System or National Wildlife Refuge System. Whatever
jurisdiction or authority the State and the respective Services had to
authorize, prohibit, or regulate hunting in such areas prior to any
final rule would be unchanged by the promulgation of that rule (except,
of course, that, if adopted, the proposed rule would remove the
protections of the Endangered Species Act from wolves wherever they may
occur in Wyoming).
Wyoming regulations (Chapter 21, section 2; Chapter 47, section 4)
and the Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan (WGFC 2012,
p. 3) clarify management authority over various portions of the WTGMA.
Specifically, Wyoming clarified that the State of Wyoming has no
management authority in Yellowstone National Park, on lands
administered by the National Park Service within Grand Teton National
Park, on National Wildlife Refuges, and on lands within the Wind River
Indian Reservation except non-Indian owned fee titled lands (as
discussed above) (WGFC 2012, p. 3). Wyoming further clarified that, if
we delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, wolves present within Grand Teton
National Park and the National Elk Refuge would be designated as trophy
game animals solely for the purposes of counting wolves toward the
State's agreed-upon management objectives (WGFC 2012, p. 3), and that
any planned allowance for hunting would not apply in these areas
(Chapter 47, section 4(a)). Although some hunting is currently allowed
in the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway under the Parkway's
enabling legislation and Wyoming law, Wyoming's hunting regulations are
clear that gray wolf hunting would be closed in the Parkway for at
least 2012 (Chapter 47, section 4(i)).
While such clarifications are important to have a complete
understanding of wolf management, if we delist the gray wolf in
Wyoming, these characterizations of authority and clarifications of
intention have little, to no, biological impact on the ability of
Wyoming's regulatory framework to satisfy its agreed-upon management
objectives.
Service Assessment
The Service has reviewed the recently finalized Wyoming wolf
management documents (including revised State statutes, revised gray
wolf management regulations (chapter 21), revised gray wolf hunting
season regulations (chapter 47), and an Addendum to the Wyoming Gray
Wolf Management Plan), and concludes that the revisions to these
documents are consistent with the conditionally approved Wyoming Gray
Wolf Management Plan. Based on our review, we believe Wyoming's
regulatory framework would likely maintain a population of at least 10
breeding pairs and at least 100 wolves in Wyoming outside of
Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation at the
end of the calendar year and, when considered in the context of
management across the entire State and the entire Northern Rocky
Mountain (NRM) region, that the regulatory framework would likely
maintain Wyoming's share of a recovered NRM gray wolf population and
contribute to the continued maintenance of the larger NRM gray wolf
population above minimum recovery levels.
Peer Review
In accordance with our joint policy on peer review published in the
Federal Register on July 1, 1994 (59 FR 34270), we intend to subject
this proposal to peer review. Specifically, the peer review will
evaluate the proposal in light of the four recently completed documents
that clarify Wyoming's approach to wolf management should we delist the
gray wolf in Wyoming, including: Revised State statutes; revised gray
wolf management regulations (chapter 21); revised gray wolf hunting
season regulations (chapter 47); and an Addendum to the Wyoming Gray
Wolf Management Plan. We anticipate this peer review will be completed
and provided to the Service during the public comment period. Once
available, we intend to post the peer review comments online at http://www.regulations.gov and http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/. We will consider all comments and information provided
by the public and peer reviewers during this comment period in
preparation of a final determination on our proposed delisting.
Accordingly, the final decision may differ from our proposal.
References Cited
A complete list of references cited is available: On the Internet
at http://www.regulations.gov or http://www.
[[Page 25668]]
fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/; or upon request from
the Mountain-Prairie Region Office, Ecological Services Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are staff members of the
Mountain-Prairie Region Office, Ecological Services Division, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: April 17, 2012.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-10407 Filed 4-30-12; 8:45 am]
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