[Federal Register: September 24, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 185)]

[Notices]               

[Page 57356-57357]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr24se04-120]                         



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



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR



Fish and Wildlife Service



 

Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the Nene or Hawaiian Goose 

(Branta sandvicensis)



AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.



ACTION: Notice of document availability for review and comment.



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



SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we) announces the 

availability of the Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the Nene or 

Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis) for public review and comment.



DATES: Comments on the draft revised recovery plan must be received on 

or before November 23, 2004.



ADDRESSES: Hard copies of the draft revised recovery plan will be 

available for inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours 

at the following location: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific 

Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3-122, 

Box 50088, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850 (telephone: 808-792-9400; facsimile: 

808-792-9580). Requests for copies of the draft revised recovery plan 

and written comments and materials regarding this plan should be 

addressed to the Field Supervisor at the above Honolulu address. This 

plan is currently available on the World Wide Web at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans

.





FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ann Marshall, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, or Dr. Eric VanderWerf, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, at the 

above address and telephone number.



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:



Background



    Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants is a 

primary goal of our endangered species program and the Endangered 

Species Act (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Recovery means improvement 

of the status of listed species to the point at which listing is no 

longer appropriate under the criteria set out in section 4(a)(1) of the 

Act. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for the 

conservation of the species, establish criteria for downlisting or 

delisting listed species, and estimate time and cost for implementing 

the measures needed for recovery.

    The Act requires the development of a recovery plan for a listed 

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

species. Section 4(f) of the Act requires that public notice and an 

opportunity for public review and comment be provided during recovery 

plan development. We will consider all information presented during the 

public comment period on each new or revised recovery plan. Substantive 

technical comments may result in changes to a recovery plan. 

Substantive comments regarding recovery plan implementation may not 

necessarily result in changes to a recovery plan, but will be forwarded 

to appropriate Federal or other entities so that they can take these 

comments into account during the course of implementing recovery 

actions. Individual responses to comments will not be provided.

    The nene is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and is listed as 

endangered by the Federal government and by the State of Hawaii. 

Currently, there are wild populations on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, 

and Kauai comprised of approximately 350, 250, and 620 individuals, 

respectively. In addition, 11 captive-bred nene were released on the 

island of Molokai in December 2001 and an additional 13 nene were 

released on Molokai in 2002 as part of a Safe Harbor Agreement.

    Nene are currently found at elevations ranging from sea level to 

almost 2,500 meters (8,000 feet) in a variety of habitats including 

nonnative grasslands (such as golf courses, pastures, and rural areas); 

sparsely vegetated high elevation lava flows; cinder deserts; native 

alpine grasslands and shrublands; open native and non-native alpine 

shrubland-woodland community interfaces; mid-elevation native and non-

native shrubland; and early successional cinderfall. This distribution 

has been determined largely by the locations of release sites of 

captive-bred nene. Limiting factors affecting nene recovery include 

predation by introduced mammals, insufficient nutritional resources for 

both breeding females and goslings, limited availability of suitable 

habitat, human-caused disturbance and mortality, behavioral problems 

associated with small populations sizes and captive-bred birds, genetic 

homogeneity and expression of deleterious recessive genes, and possibly 

avian disease.

    Recovery objectives for the nene are to restore and maintain self-

sustaining populations on the islands of Hawaii,



[[Page 57357]]



Maui Nui, and Kauai. Additionally, sufficient suitable habitat must be 

identified, protected, and managed in perpetuity on each of these 

islands such that the species no longer requires protection under the 

Endangered Species Act.

    The draft revised recovery plan specifies that nene can be 

considered for downlisting to threatened status when the following 

criteria have been reached and maintained for a period of 15 years: (1) 

Self-sustaining populations exist on Hawaii, Maui Nui (Maui, Molokai, 

Lanai, Kahoolawe), and Kauai; (2) sufficient suitable habitat for 

nesting, summer flocking, and migration is identified, protected, and 

managed in perpetuity to sustain the target population levels on each 

island; and (3) population size shows a stable or increasing trend 

after attaining the specified number of populations and individuals per 

island. Self-sustaining is defined in this case as maintaining (or 

increasing) population levels without additional releases of captive-

bred nene. However, habitat manipulation, such as pasture management or 

predator control, may be necessary for populations to remain stable.

    The draft revised recovery plan further specifies that nene can be 

considered for delisting when population levels on Hawaii, Maui Nui, 

and Kauai have each shown a stable or increasing trend (from 

downlisting levels) for an additional minimum of 15 years.



Public Comments Solicited



    We will accept written comments and information during this comment 

period. If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments and 

materials concerning this draft revised recovery plan by any of these 

methods:

    1. You may submit written comments and information by mail, 

facsimile, or in person to: Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana 

Boulevard, Room 3-122, Box 50088, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850 (facsimile: 

808-792-9580).

    2. You may send comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to: 

nene_rp@r1.fws.gov. If you submit comments by e-mail, please avoid the use 



of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include 

your name and return address in your e-mail message.

    Comments and materials received, as well as supporting 

documentation used in preparation of the draft revised recovery plan, 

will be available for inspection, by appointment, during normal 

business hours at the address under (1) above.



    Authority: The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the 

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



    Dated: July 20, 2004.

David J. Wesley,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 04-21172 Filed 9-23-04; 8:45 am]



BILLING CODE 4310-55-P