[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45869-45893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18211]
[[Page 45869]]
Vol. 77
Wednesday,
No. 148
August 1, 2012
Part IV
Department of the Interior
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Fish and Wildlife Service
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50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the British
Columbia Distinct Population Segment of the Queen Charlotte Goshawk
Under the Endangered Species Act; Final Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 77 , No. 148 / Wednesday, August 1, 2012 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 45870]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R7-ES-2009-0049; MO 9221050083-B2]
RIN 1018-AY 43
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the
British Columbia Distinct Population Segment of the Queen Charlotte
Goshawk Under the Endangered Species Act
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, hereby list the
British Columbia distinct population segment (DPS) of the Queen
Charlotte goshawk (Accipiter gentilis laingi) as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This final rule
implements the Federal protections provided by the Act for this
subspecies in British Columbia, Canada, on Vancouver Island and the
surrounding smaller islands, the Queen Charlotte Islands, and the
coastal mainland and adjacent islands west of the crest of the Coast
Mountains. Because the British Columbia DPS is entirely outside the
United States, we are not designating critical habitat.
DATES: This final rule becomes effective August 31, 2012.
ADDRESSES: This final rule is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R7-ES-2009-0049 and comments and
materials received, as well as supporting documentation used in the
preparation of this rule, will be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business hours at: U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite
400, Arlington, VA 22203.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Brockmann, Deputy Field
Supervisor, Juneau Fish and Wildlife Field Office, 3000 Vintage Blvd.
Suite 201, Juneau, AK 99801; telephone (907) 780-1181; fax (907) 586-
7154.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Previous Agency Action
On May 9, 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
received a petition from eight conservation groups and two individuals
to list the Queen Charlotte goshawk as endangered, and to designate
critical habitat. Logging of old-growth forest, where the bird nests
and forages, was the primary threat identified. On August 26, 1994, we
published our 90-day finding that the petition presented substantial
information indicating that listing may be warranted, opened a public
comment period, and initiated a status review to determine whether
listing the subspecies was warranted (59 FR 44124).
Following our status review, we determined that listing the Queen
Charlotte goshawk as threatened or endangered under the Act was not
warranted and published our finding in the Federal Register on June 29,
1995 (60 FR 33784). We expressed concern for long-term viability of the
bird under the existing management plan for the Tongass National Forest
(covering about 80 percent of Southeast Alaska), but we acknowledged
that a new management plan was being drafted, and the new plan was
expected to provide improved protection for the subspecies. The June
1995 ``not warranted'' finding was challenged in the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia, in a suit filed on November 17,
1995, by 8 of the original 10 petitioners, plus 2 additional
conservation organizations and 1 additional individual. The district
court granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs on September 25,
1996, holding that the Service should not have relied on ``possible
future actions'' described in a draft revision to the 1979 Tongass Land
Management Plan (TLMP) ``to provide sanctuary for the goshawk.'' The
decision was remanded to the Service with instructions to make a
listing determination based on the existing 1979 TLMP (Southwest Center
for Biological Diversity v. Babbitt, 939 F. Supp. 49 (D.D.C. 1996)).
On September 4, 1997, we published our new finding that listing the
Queen Charlotte goshawk as threatened or endangered was not warranted
(62 FR 46710). In 1998, this finding was challenged in the same
district court, and on July 20, 1999, the finding was remanded to us,
with instructions to provide a more accurate and reliable population
estimate, and to consider a 1999 revision of the 1997 TLMP. We appealed
the district court's decision to the Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia. The court of appeals agreed with the Service and remanded
the case back to the district court (Southwest Center for Biological
Diversity v. Babbitt, 215 F. 3d 58 (D.C.C. 2000)).
On July 29, 2002, a district court magistrate issued recommended
findings that: (1) We had fulfilled our obligation to use the best
scientific data available; (2) the ``not warranted'' determination was
entitled to deference; (3) our determination that the Queen Charlotte
goshawk would persist in Alaska and the Queen Charlotte Islands was not
unreasonable; (4) Vancouver Island, which constituted one-third of the
subspecies' geographic range, was a ``significant portion'' of the
subspecies' range; and (5) our failure to make a specific finding as to
the conservation status of the subspecies on Vancouver Island was a
material omission. The magistrate recommended a remand to the Service
to make a finding as to whether the Queen Charlotte goshawk should be
listed based on its conservation status on Vancouver Island (Southwest
Center for Biological Diversity v. Norton, No. 98-934, 2002 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 13661, (D.D.C. July 29, 2002)).
On May 24, 2004, a district court judge issued an order that
adopted the magistrate's recommendations, except for the magistrate's
finding that Vancouver Island constituted a significant portion of the
range for the Queen Charlotte goshawk. Instead, the district court
directed the Service upon remand to reconsider and explain any
determination as to whether or not Vancouver Island is a significant
portion of the subspecies' range, and assess whether the Queen
Charlotte goshawk is endangered or threatened on Vancouver Island
(Southwest Center for Biological Diversity v. Norton, No. 98-0934
(D.D.C. May 24, 2004)).
On November 8, 2007, we published our ``Response to Court on
Significant Portion of the Range, and Evaluation of Distinct Population
Segments, for the Queen Charlotte Goshawk'' (72 FR 63123) (Response to
Court). In the Response to Court, we found that Vancouver Island was a
significant portion of the Queen Charlotte goshawk's range, that
Southeast Alaska and British Columbia each supported distinct
population segments, and that listing was warranted for the British
Columbia DPS, but not for the Southeast Alaska DPS.
On November 3, 2009, we published a proposed rule to list the Queen
Charlotte goshawk as threatened on Vancouver Island and the
surrounding, smaller islands, and on the mainland coast of British
Columbia. We also proposed to list the subspecies as endangered on the
Queen Charlotte Islands (74 FR 56757). Upon publication, we initiated a
60-day public comment period, and requested information and comments,
particularly on threats to the subspecies. We also solicited peer
reviews from individuals with expertise in Queen Charlotte
[[Page 45871]]
goshawk biology and/or forest management in British Columbia.
Queen Charlotte Goshawk Biology and Habitat
The Queen Charlotte goshawk is a comparatively small, dark
subspecies of northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) that nests and
forages in the temperate, rainforest-dominated archipelagos and coastal
mainland of Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. Taxonomic treatments
and reviews have generally accepted the Queen Charlotte goshawk (A. g.
laingi) as distinct from the subspecies found across most of North
America (A. g. atricapillus) (reviewed in USFWS 2007a, pp. 12-13). For
purposes of the Species at Risk Act, the Government of Canada has
dropped the common name ``Queen Charlotte goshawk'' in favor of
``Northern Goshawk laingi subspecies'' (Canada Gazette II,
2005:139(2):p. 79). In British Columbia, the recovery team working on
the subspecies has adopted this protocol (NGRT 2008, p. vii).
Natural history and threats to the subspecies are described in
detail in our status reviews (USFWS 2007; USFWS 2010) and evaluated in
our most recent finding, published in the Federal Register on November
8, 2007 (72 FR 63123). Below, we briefly summarize key aspects of the
Queen Charlotte goshawk's natural history.
Goshawks typically nest and forage in old-growth forest, but use
mature second-growth (previously harvested, regenerating stands that
have developed adequate structure) for either purpose where old-growth
forest is limited (Titus et al. 1994, pp. 19-24; Iverson et al. 1996,
pp. 27-40; McClaren and Pendergast 2003, pp. 4-6). Non-forested land,
recently clear-cut areas, and young second-growth stands are avoided
(Iverson et al. 1996, pp. 27-40).
``Old growth'' or ``old forest'' refers to a structural stage of
forest characterized by several age classes of trees, including
dominant trees that have reached the maximum size typical for the site,
accumulations of dead, dying, and decaying trees and logs, and younger
trees growing in gaps between the dominant trees. Such stands are
typically over 250 years old within the range of the Queen Charlotte
goshawk, and have not been previously harvested.
Forest regeneration following timber harvest usually results in
dense second-growth stands that may support populations of some prey
species, but research across North America suggests that goshawks avoid
these habitats, presumably because they are too dense for the hawks to
effectively hunt (Iverson et al. 1996, p. 64; DeStefano and McCloskey
1997, p. 38; Beier and Drennan 1997, p. 570; reviewed by Greenwald et
al. 2005, pp. 125-126 and USFWS 2007, pp. 62-67). Goshawks, however,
have been observed hunting in 10-20-year-old second-growth stands by
flying above the forest canopy (Bloxton 2002, pp. 42-43).
As second-growth stands approach economic maturity, the forest
structure develops adequately to allow goshawks to nest and forage
below the canopy. Second growth reaches economic maturity when its
growth rate begins to slow. Trees of this age typically have not
reached maximum size. Canopies of these stands are usually uniformly
dense unless the stand was harvested in a multi-age system or has been
thinned. We refer to such stands as ``mature,'' or ``mature second
growth.'' In this document, ``young second growth'' refers to second
growth that has not yet reached economic maturity.
Mature forest with structure suitable for goshawk nesting and
foraging may develop as early as 45 to 50 years following harvest on
the most productive sites in the southern portion of the Queen
Charlotte goshawk's range (Doyle 2004, pp. 27-28; McClaren 2003a, p.
19), but may take over 100 years on less productive sites (Iverson et
al. 1996, p. 71). These stands are typically harvested within a decade
or two of reaching economic maturity, if they are in an area open to
logging. On lands managed for sustained-yield timber harvest,
approximately 10 to 20 percent of the second growth is typically mature
and suitable as goshawk habitat, although this percentage varies with
harvest history, stand treatments, and current demand for timber
(Daniel et al. 1979, pp. 304-344). Unharvested retention areas (e.g.,
stream buffers) provide old-growth habitat in addition to any mature
second growth in harvested landscapes.
Goshawks hunt primarily by flying between perches and launching
attacks from those perches. They take a variety of medium-sized birds
and mammals, depending largely on local availability (Squires and
Reynolds 1997, p. 1), which varies markedly among the islands in the
Queen Charlotte goshawk's range. Red squirrels (Tamiasciurus
hudsonicus) and sooty grouse (Dendragopus fuliginosis) (formerly blue
grouse, D. obscurus) form the bulk of the diet in many locations, with
thrushes, jays, crows, ptarmigan, and woodpeckers frequently taken as
well (Ethier 1999, pp. 21-22 and 32-47; Lewis 2001, pp. 81-107; Lewis
et al. 2004, pp. 378-382; Doyle 2005, pp. 30-31; Doyle 2006, pp. 138-
139; Lewis et al. 2006, pp. 1154-1156). During winter, many avian prey
species migrate from the region, reducing the variety and abundance of
prey available (Ethier 1999, p. 22; MacDonald and Cook 1999, pp. 23-24;
Nagorsen 2002, pp. 92-97; Doyle 2005, p. 31). Winter diets of the Queen
Charlotte goshawk are largely unknown, although Titus et al. (2003, p.
49) used stable isotopes from feathers to characterize diets of
individual birds, and suggested that squirrels, passerines, and for
some goshawks, ``intertidal marine birds'' and ptarmigan may be
important prey outside the nesting season. Doyle (2004, p. 27; 2006,
pp. 138-139) suggested that red squirrels and grouse are likely to be a
key year-round prey, where they exist, since they remain active during
the winter.
Prey availability is defined by prey abundance and suitability of
habitat for successful hunting. Commercial logging can reduce both.
Studies in coastal British Columbia have documented that density of
important prey species including varied thrush (Ixoreus naevius), hairy
woodpecker (Picoides villosus), and red-breasted sapsucker (Sphyrapicus
ruber) are reduced by clearcut logging (Savard et al. 2000, pp. 59-63).
Species consistently favored by clearcut logging tended to be small
birds such as sparrows and warblers (Savard et al. 2000, pp. 32-33),
which are not a major component of goshawk diets (Lewis et al. 2006,
pp. 1153-1156). Red squirrel densities on the Queen Charlotte Islands
were low in young second growth stands, but increased with age, peaking
in 40 to 49-year-old stands (Doyle 2004, p. 23).
Old growth and mature second-growth forests provide productive
habitat for prey species in a setting where goshawks can effectively
hunt. Timber harvest is believed to result in prey population declines
because few potential prey species within the range of the Queen
Charlotte goshawk are adapted to open and edge habitats (Doyle 2006,
pp. 138-139; Doyle and Mahon 2003, p. 1; reviewed by Iverson et al.
1996, pp. 59-61; USFWS 2007, pp. 42-45). Goshawk researchers have
suggested that when and where logged areas grow into dense second-
growth stands, hunting is impaired because these stands do not offer
adequate flight space (e.g., Iverson et al. 1996, p. 71; DeStefano and
McCloskey 1997, p. 38; Beier and Drennan 1997, p. 570; reviewed by
Greenwald et al. 2005, pp. 125-126; USFWS 2007, pp. 62-67), although
goshawks in coastal forests of western Washington have been observed
hunting over dense second-growth stands (Bloxton 2002, pp. 42-43).
Outside the range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk, where prey adapted
[[Page 45872]]
to open habitats are more common, goshawks have been observed hunting
forest edges and openings (e.g., Kenward 1982, pp. 69-79; Kenward 2006,
pp. 155-165.).
Queen Charlotte goshawk nests are typically located in large trees
within mature or old-growth forest stands that have greater volume and
canopy cover than the surrounding forest (Iverson et al. 1996, pp. 47-
56; Flatten et al. 2002, pp. 2-3; McClaren 2003a, p. 12; McClaren and
Pendergast 2003, pp. 4-6; Doyle 2005, pp. 12-14; USFWS 2007, pp. 26-
30). Nesting pairs appear to be territorial, with nests spaced somewhat
uniformly across available habitat. Nesting density, as measured by
mean distance between adjacent nesting areas, appears to vary with
habitat quality (primarily prey availability). Mean distance between
nesting areas ranged from 4.3 miles (mi) (6.9 kilometers (km)) on
Vancouver Island (McClaren 2003a, p. 13) to 6.7 mi (10.8 km) on the
Queen Charlotte Islands (NGRT 2008, p. 8), yielding average nesting
territories (circular plots centered on the nest area) of approximately
10,000 acres (ac) (3,700 hectares (ha)) on Vancouver Island and 25,000
ac (10,000 ha) on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Queen Charlotte goshawks
appear to nest at lower densities than northern goshawks studied
elsewhere (reviewed by McClaren 2003a, pp. 13 and 21; Doyle 2005, p.
15; and USFWS 2007, pp. 45-47).
Studies of northern goshawks across the western United States
suggest that successful goshawk home ranges typically contain between
40 and 60 percent suitable foraging habitat (mature and old-growth
forest) (e.g., Reynolds et al. 1992, p. 27; Patla 1997, pp. 71-74;
Patla and Trost 1997, p. 34; Finn et al. 2002, pp. 431-433). These
observations are consistent with findings for Queen Charlotte goshawks
(Doyle 2005, p. 14; Iverson et al. 1996, p. 55; USFWS 1997, pp. 36-38).
Goshawks in Southeast Alaska have been documented using landscapes with
as little as 23 percent cover by old forest (Iverson et al. year, p.
55).
Individual nests are frequently not used in subsequent years as
pairs often move to an alternate nest. Most alternate nests are
clustered within a few hundred acres (200 to 500 ha) (McClaren 2003a,
p. 13; Flatten et al. 2001, pp. 9-11), although females have been
documented leaving the nesting area altogether, nesting in subsequent
years with a new mate in a different territory up to 95 mi (152 km)
away. Males have been documented moving up to 2 mi (3.2 km) between
subsequent nests, but apparently remain in their nesting territory in
subsequent years (Flatten et al. 2001, pp. 9-10).
Nest occupancy (percentage of nest areas with adult goshawks
present) and nesting activity (percentage of nest areas with eggs laid)
appear to vary with habitat suitability, prey availability, and
weather, with greater occupancy or activity in areas with less
fragmented forest habitat and in years with higher prey abundance and
warmer, drier weather (Doyle and Smith 1994, p. 126; Patla 1997, pp.
34-35; Finn et al. 1998, p. 1; Ethier 1999, pp. 31 and 36; Finn et al.
2002, pp. 270-271; McClaren et al. 2002, p. 350; McClaren 2003a, pp. 11
and 16; Desimone and DeStefano 2005, pp. 317-318; Fairhurst and Bechard
2005, pp. 231-232; Patla 2005, pp. 328-330; Salafsky et al. 2005, pp.
242-244).
When prey availability and weather are suitable and nesting is
initiated, nest success (percent of active nests that fledge at least
one young) is typically high (87 percent rangewide, 1991 to 2004), as
is productivity (1.6 to 2.0 fledglings per active nest) (USFWS 2007, p.
54). Fledglings typically spend about 6 weeks within several hundred
yards (several hundred meters) of their nests learning flight and
hunting skills before dispersing (McClaren et al. 2005, p. 257).
Retention of mature forest structure near the nest is believed to be
important for supporting this developmental stage (Reynolds et al.
1992, pp. 15-16; Kennedy et al. 1994, p. 80; Ethier 1999, p. 31; Finn
et al. 2002, pp. 270-271; McClaren 2003a, pp. 11 and 16; Desimone and
DeStefano 2005, pp. 317-318; McClaren et al. 2005, pp. 260-261; Patla
2005, pp. 328-330).
Range
In our previous status reviews and findings, we identified the
range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk as the islands and mainland of
Southeast Alaska and the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island
in British Columbia (60 FR 33784; 62 FR 46710; 72 FR 63123; USFWS
2007). In April 2008, the ``Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis
laingi) Recovery Team'' (NGRT) in Canada released a recovery strategy
for the Queen Charlotte goshawk. The NGRT reviewed morphometric and
radio-telemetry data, and distribution of coastal habitat and prey, and
determined that, in addition to Vancouver Island and the Queen
Charlotte Islands, the coastal mainland of British Columbia west of the
Coast Range (including the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeographic zone and
wet Coastal Western Hemlock subzones and variants) is also within the
range of the subspecies (NGRT 2008, pp. 3-6). We believe that the
NGRT's determination is the best available information on the range of
the bird in Canada. Therefore, for purposes of this listing, we define
the range of the DPS to include that portion of British Columbia that
includes Vancouver Island and its surrounding islands, the mainland
coast west of the crest of the Coast Range and adjacent islands, and
the Queen Charlotte Islands (see map at http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/endangered/pdf/goshawk/Goshawk_2.pdf).
Summary of Comments and Recommendations
Peer Review
In accordance with our peer review policy published on July 1, 1994
(59 FR 34270), we solicited expert opinion on our proposed rule from
knowledgeable individuals with scientific expertise that included
familiarity with the Queen Charlotte goshawk and its habitat,
biological needs, and threats, and from forest managers familiar with
forest conditions and management in British Columbia. We contacted five
experts, and received responses from British Columbia Ministry of
Environment (two reviewers), British Columbia Ministry of Forests and
Range (two reviewers), and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (one
reviewer). These were the only comments provided by State or Provincial
government agencies, and are considered recommendations from the
States.
We reviewed all comments we received from the peer reviewers for
substantive issues and new information regarding the proposed listing
of the subspecies. The reviewers made several suggestions to improve
the accuracy and completeness of the rule, including new information
that was not available when we completed our status review. Most
reviewers stated that our conclusions appeared to be reasonable; one
believed that our conclusions may be reasonable, with clarification of
a few key, technical points. Peer review comments are addressed in the
following summary and incorporated into the final rule as appropriate.
Peer Reviewer Comments
(1) Comment: Scientific uncertainty is not clearly expressed.
Our Response: We have carefully reviewed the proposed rule, and
modified the language to be less assertive where uncertainty exists.
For example, we have added qualifying language such as ``may be,''
``suggests,'' ``appears to be,'' or ``is likely to'' where data or
logic suggest an interpretation that is equivocal. Where appropriate,
we
[[Page 45873]]
have added discussions of alternative explanations or interpretations.
Our analyses of forest resources rely on data sets compiled from
various sources. We made several assumptions and adjustments to produce
estimates of habitat availability across land ownerships and
jurisdictions, and to make projections of future conditions. These
assumptions and adjustments are described in our status review (USFWS
2007) and updated appendices (USFWS 2010), and are not repeated in
detail in this final rule. We have added text acknowledging that the
various sources of data for forest cover vary in their reliability.
(2) Comment: Use of literature to support specific points is
inconsistent, inappropriate, or incomplete.
Our Response: We have used a wide variety of literature to support
this rule. In doing so, we have endeavored to use peer-reviewed,
published literature reporting on work from within the range of the
Queen Charlotte goshawk whenever possible, as our first choice. Where
such literature was not available, we have relied on unpublished
reports and abstracts from scientific meetings that report on Queen
Charlotte goshawks. We have also used many publicly available forest
management documents, including plans, reports, agreements, and
official agency news releases.
We have used peer-reviewed publications on goshawks from outside
the range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk when deemed necessary to show
consistency or diversity of findings across broad geographic areas,
such as North America or western North America. In some cases, we have
reported (or added) observations from coastal forests adjacent to the
range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk, where we believe those
observations offer useful insight. We have, in a few cases, used more
general references, such as textbooks, when summarizing topics
peripheral to the subject of goshawk biology and conservation. We have
relied on draft documents only if they were available to the public,
through agency Web sites, for example. We have avoided draft
manuscripts that were in preparation and not generally available to the
public. In a few cases, we have cited preliminary research results
released openly at interagency meetings, but have characterized these
as preliminary and unconfirmed.
Reviewers have suggested several additional references, most of
which were not available when we prepared our status review (USFWS
2007) or the proposed rule. These have been incorporated into the final
rule where appropriate.
(3) Comment: The Service's Queen Charlotte Goshawk Status Review
(USFWS 2007) is primarily a literature review which does not present
original field data so should not be cited as a reference; nor should
other literature reviews.
Our Response: The final rule includes a summary of goshawk biology
and habitat relations, but it is not intended to be an exhaustive
treatise on the topic. More detail on many of the topics discussed in
the final rule is available in our status review (USFWS 2007). Where
that document contains a review of relevant literature, we refer the
reader to it, with the phrase ``reviewed by USFWS 2007, pp. * * *'' We
use the phrase ``reviewed by * * *'' to identify other literature
reviews used in preparation of this rule, as well.
The status review and its companion (updated) appendices (USFWS
2010) also contain compilations and original analyses of unique data
sets on forest resources across the range of the goshawk, drawn from a
variety of sources. These data and the assumptions associated with them
have been reviewed by the U.S. Forest Service and the British Columbia
Ministry of Forests and Range. These analyses are central to our
findings, and are cited throughout the final rule.
(4) Comment: Science, conservation, judgment, speculation, opinion,
policy, law, and rulemaking are not clearly separated in the proposed
rule.
Our Response: The final rule is a blend of scientific reporting,
synthesis and interpretation, application of policy, and legal
findings. This is inescapable. We have endeavored to clearly delineate
among these categories in the final rule. Scientific results are
typically identified by words such as ``documented,'' ``reported,'' or
``found,'' followed by, or preceded by, a citation. Where we relate
interpretations by those scientists, as are often found in the
discussion sections of scientific papers and reports, we typically use
phrases such as ``interpreted,'' ``believed,'' or ``concluded.'' Our
interpretations and conclusions are identified similarly, for example,
``we interpret this as * * *,'' ``we consider this * * *,'' or ``we
conclude * * *.'' Where we discuss specific policies, we generally
describe the policy, often with a list of relevant considerations, and
then discuss the application of the policy, in this case. Conclusions
related to our legal authorities are typically stated as findings, for
example, ``we find that * * *'' or ``we conclude that * * *.''
(5) Comment: The link between loss of mature/old forest and goshawk
population declines should be more clearly described.
Our Response: We have modified the text in several places to
explain the basis of our conclusion that reduction of forest cover has
reduced the ability of the landscape to support breeding goshawks,
primarily through alteration of hunting habitat. No study has
documented population declines as a direct result of logging, likely
due, in part, to the difficulty in directly censusing goshawk
populations. There is evidence from outside the range of the Queen
Charlotte goshawk that logging reduces nest activity, which is believed
to have reduced nesting populations (e.g., Crocker-Bedford 1990, pp.
263-267). Several investigators from across the range of the northern
goshawk have concluded that prey availability, as controlled largely by
forest structure, is more likely than nest site availability to limit
goshawk populations (Doyle and Smith 1994, p. 126; Widen 1997, pp. 110-
112; Reynolds and Joy 1998, p. 2; Reynolds et al. 2006, pp. 264-268 and
271-273). Within the range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk, models that
estimate habitat capability and management recommendations to conserve
goshawk habitat are based largely on observation and measurement of
areas where goshawks successfully nest, and where they do not. These
observations are supported by additional observations on distribution
and availability of prey. Together, this body of knowledge represents
the best available information on landscape management for conservation
of goshawks. Our charge under the Act is to use the best available data
to support our listing decisions.
(6) Comment: References should be cited to support the statement
that commercial logging reduces prey.
Our Response: Text has been added that describes studies from
British Columbia that address changes in bird communities with clearcut
logging, and use of second-growth forest stands by red squirrels.
(7) Comment: Prey populations may be more stable within the range
of the Queen Charlotte goshawk than elsewhere, so discussions of
fluctuations in nest activity due to fluctuations in prey do not apply
to the subspecies.
Our Response: We are aware of no data that show prey populations in
the range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk are more stable than
elsewhere, and the reviewer provided no information to support the
statement. In contrast, prey fluctuations in coastal British Columbia
are specifically discussed by Doyle
[[Page 45874]]
(2003), and Doyle (2007, p. 2), particularly as related to squirrel
population response to fluctuations in cone crops.
(8) Comment: Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) and hoary marmots
(Marmota caligata) are unlikely to be significant prey species because
hares are not common along the mainland coast and adult marmots are too
large for goshawks.
Our Response: We have deleted the discussions of both snowshoe
hares and hoary marmots as potentially significant prey resources for
goshawks along the mainland coast. We previously believed that snowshoe
hares might provide prey for goshawks in recently logged areas along
the mainland coast because Nagorsen (2002, p. 93) described the range
of the species as ``the entire mainland of British Columbia but absent
from coastal islands.'' The reviewer points out a more recent work by
Nagorsen (2005, pp. 85-91) which indicates that snowshoe hares are not
common along the coastal mainland. We simply misjudged the size
differential of adult hoary marmots as potential prey.
(9) Comment: The proposed rule suggests that goshawks do not use
young second growth for hunting, but Bloxton (2002, pp. 42-43)
presented telemetry data suggesting that goshawks will hunt in some
second-growth stands, to some degree.
Our Response: We have modified the text to acknowledge Bloxton's
observations from western Washington.
(10) Comment: Unpublished literature on the morphology of Queen
Charlotte goshawks has been made available to the Service, but has not
been referenced or used. This information could be used to support an
alternative approach to understanding subspecies concepts, or as
evidence of hybridization, and to help evaluate distinctiveness of
goshawks on the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Our Response: We addressed size and color (i.e., morphology) of
Queen Charlotte goshawks in relation to other purported subspecies, and
in relation to range boundaries, in our status assessment (USFWS 2007,
pp. 13-19) and in our Response to Court (72 FR 63125). Among the
recent, unpublished reports and conference abstracts that we have
evaluated and cited in these reviews are Titus et al. (1994), Flatten
et al. (1998, 2001b, 2002), and Flatten and McClaren (2003). We are in
possession of one additional, draft manuscript by two of these same
authors that to our knowledge has not been submitted for publication,
and has not been otherwise released for general distribution. Its
findings are generally consistent with the work reported in the other
references named above. For these reasons, we have not cited it.
These reports describe size and color variation among goshawks on
Vancouver Island and in Southeast Alaska, but not the Queen Charlotte
Islands or mainland British Columbia. The findings are largely
consistent with published subspecies descriptions, but with much larger
sample sizes. The authors suggest that the observed variation in size
and color may represent a clinal variation, with smaller birds to the
south and larger birds to the north. We have added text to the final
rule describing this work, as an alternative approach to understanding
subspecies concepts, and as possible evidence of hybridization along
the margins of the subspecies' range. We have not used these references
in our evaluation of the Queen Charlotte Islands as a significant
portion of the range because birds from these islands were not included
in the analyses.
(11) Comment: Several terms in the proposed rule are undefined. A
glossary would be useful.
Our Response: We have provided definitions of all technical terms
upon their first use, in the text. Some discussions have been reworded
to minimize technical terms and eliminate jargon.
(12) Comment: Discussions of forestry and forest management should
be removed from the section on goshawk biology and moved into a (new)
section on conservation/management.
Our Response: We have chosen to leave our discussions of forest
succession and forest management in the section on goshawk biology and
habitat because it is relatively brief and is directly relevant to
understanding goshawk habitat limitations in areas where forests are
managed for timber production.
(13) Comment: The Service should consider noting that active
research and monitoring of goshawk nests has not occurred in Southeast
Alaska since about 2000, so status of the bird is less certain than it
was 6 to 9 years ago.
Our Response: This rule implements our 2007 finding that listing is
warranted for the British Columbia DPS, but not Southeast Alaska (72 FR
63123). We, therefore, focus on threats in British Columbia, and do not
address Southeast Alaska, except to describe previous agency actions.
We have not added the suggested note because it does not provide
information useful to our decision for British Columbia.
(14) Comment: The final rule should include discussions of clinal
variation and breeding dispersal in the discussion of hybridization as
a threat.
Our Response: We have added discussions on both of these topics.
(15) Comment: The discussion of Foreseeable Future fails to address
uncertainty and does not adequately link habitat change to goshawk
viability.
Our Response: We have revised the discussion of foreseeable future
to better describe the data sources we used to estimate the amount of
suitable goshawk habitat we believe will be available in the future,
and the uncertainty associated with those estimates. We have repeated
our understanding of the relationship between timber harvest, forest
regeneration, and goshawk habitat, to clarify the basis for our
inferences about the quantity and quality of goshawk habitat likely to
exist in the future, given the timber harvest regimes currently
envisioned.
(16) Comment: The basis for determining that Queen Charlotte
goshawks in British Columbia are a DPS is not clear in the proposed
rule. Is it based on a geopolitical boundary or is it based on biology
and population ecology?
Our Response: We have added text that clarifies the two-part test
defined by our DPS policy--first, that the populations are distinct,
and second that they are significant. In this case we establish (1)
that the population segments are distinct because they are separated by
an international border across which habitat management and other
regulatory mechanisms differ. Then we establish (2) that the population
segment in British Columbia is significant to the taxon because it
occupies approximately two thirds of the land area and three quarters
of the productive forest habitat in the range of the subspecies, and
may contain important genetic diversity for the subspecies.
(17) Comment: The description of how ``significant portion of the
range'' is defined is rather general and not particularly useful.
Our Response: The Act defines an endangered species as ``any
species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a
significant portion of its range'' and a threatened species as ``any
species which is likely to become an endangered species within the
foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its
range'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). The term ``significant portion of the range''
is not defined in the Act or its implementing regulations.
In the proposed rule, we defined a significant portion of a
species' range as an area important to conservation of the species
because it contributed
[[Page 45875]]
meaningfully to representation, resiliency, or redundancy of the
species. Representation, resiliency, and redundancy were discussed as
general concepts; specific circumstances of each potentially
significant portion of the British Columbia DPS's range were examined
to evaluate how each area contributed to conservation of the DPS. In
the final rule, we retain our focus on a given area's contribution to
conservation of the DPS through redundancy, resiliency, and
representation, but set a threshold for ``significant'' in terms of
extinction risk. As described in the rule, a portion of the range is
significant if the DPS would be in danger of extinction without the
portion in question. This approach recognizes the Queen Charlotte
goshawk itself as the reference point for determining whether a portion
of the range is ``significant,'' and is consistent with recent case law
on the matter (see Greater Yellowstone Coalition v. Servheen, 672 F.
Supp. 2d. 1105,1124 (D. Mont. 2009)).
Since publication of the proposed rule, two district court
decisions have influenced our interpretation of how to proceed if a
portion of the range is deemed significant, and the goshawk is found to
be either endangered or threatened within that portion of the range. In
Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar (729 F. Supp. 2d 1207 (D. Mont. 2010))
and in WildEarth Guardians v. Salazar (2010 U.S. Dist LEXIS 105253 (D.
Ariz. Sept 30, 2010)), the courts ruled that the term ``significant
portion of the range'' helps to define the circumstances under which a
species should be listed as endangered or threatened. The courts ruled
that the term does not, however, provide a basis for listing a species
in only a portion of its range. Rather, if the Service determines that
a species is endangered or threatened in a significant portion of its
range, the species must be listed throughout its range. Because the Act
defines ``species'' to include ``any subspecies of fish or wildlife or
plants, and any distinct population segment of any species of
vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature,'' the same
logic applies to both subspecies and distinct population segments
(e.g., a subspecies or DPS found to be endangered in a significant
portion of its range must be listed as endangered throughout its
range). This interpretation is consistent with the somewhat ambiguous
language of the Act, appears to implement Congressional intent, and is
consistent with previous listing actions by the Service. We, therefore,
adopt this interpretation in the final rule.
(18) Comment: Goshawks have been extirpated from urbanized areas
such as Victoria on Vancouver Island, and that range is now occupied by
Cooper's hawks. Scientific rationale should be provided to explain why
such areas are considered part of the range of the listed subspecies.
Our Response: Goshawks are highly mobile and have established nests
near human habitation in some situations. We believe that they could
move through, and possibly nest near, any urbanized area within the
range of the DPS, on Vancouver Island or elsewhere. In such cases, the
birds themselves would remain listed entities. The Service does not
designate critical habitat in foreign countries (50 CFR 424.12(h)), so
inclusion of any area within our defined range of the DPS would create
no additional restrictions or regulatory burdens under the Act.
(19) Comment: Discussions of potential impacts from disease should
be supported by references.
Our Response: We have expanded our discussion of disease risks,
with citation of relevant literature.
(20) Comment: The discussion of inbreeding depression as a risk to
small populations such as the one on the Queen Charlotte Islands should
consider how this topic has been dealt with for other small raptor
populations.
Our response: The rule now mentions managed captive breeding and
translocation as potential methods for mitigating the effects of low
genetic diversity, as these methods have been used for other small
populations, including raptors such as peregrine falcons and Mauritius
kestrels.
(21) Comment: Several reviewers commented that the quality of
second growth stands as potential habitat for goshawks in the future is
under-represented.
Our Response: As we discuss in the rule under ``Queen Charlotte
Goshawk Biology and Habitat,'' second-growth stands develop structure
suitable to support nesting and foraging as the stands approach
``economic maturity,'' which is the age at which average annual growth
of individual trees in a second-growth stand begins to slow. This may
occur as early as 45 to 50 years on the most productive sites, but may
take more than 100 years on less productive sites. We use the term
``mature'' or ``mature second growth'' to identify stands with suitable
nesting and foraging structure that have regenerated following timber
harvest or other forest disturbance. Throughout the rule, we use the
phrase ``mature and old-growth habitat'' or ``mature and old forest''
to describe suitable goshawk nesting and foraging habitat, explicitly
acknowledging the value of second-growth forests as goshawk habitat.
Our analyses of forest cover assume that where second-growth stands
will continue to be managed for timber production, approximately 15
percent of the second-growth forest will be of a structural stage that
would support goshawk nesting at any given time, although this is
likely to vary with harvest history, site productivity, and
silvicultural treatments. Where second-growth stands will be protected
from logging in the future, our analyses assume that previously
harvested stands will provide suitable nesting and foraging habitat.
(22) Comment: The final rule should include updated information on
the status of Land Use Planning processes for coastal mainland British
Columbia and Haida Gwaii.
Our Response: As we acknowledge in this final rule, Land Use
Planning continues to evolve in coastal British Columbia. We have used
the most current information on the status of Land Use Planning
processes available to us.
(23) Comment: There is too much emphasis placed on the South Island
Forest District, which is only a portion of the goshawk's range in
British Columbia.
Our Response: We necessarily focus on Vancouver Island as a
potential ``significant portion of the range'' of the Queen Charlotte
goshawk because we have been directed to do so by the District Court of
the District of Columbia (Southwest Center for Biological Diversity v.
Norton, No. 98-0934 (D.D.C. May 24, 2004)). The South Island Forest
District covers the southern half of Vancouver Island plus several
adjacent islands. The District includes some of the highest
productivity forests in the range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk, and
has some of the greatest challenges to conservation from timber
harvesting, other competing land uses, and other species of
conservation concern. The northern half of Vancouver Island and
portions of the mainland are included in two other forest districts.
These districts both have substantially lower levels of human impact,
but are also managed for timber production. Our explicit consideration
of the South Island Forest District (now called South Island Resource
District) is limited to a brief discussion of the overlap between high
levels of endemism and human impacts there.
(24) Comment: Results of spatially explicit modeling of goshawk
habitat in
[[Page 45876]]
coastal British Columbia are now available to estimate the number of
goshawk territories that might have been supported historically,
currently, and in the future (Smith and Sutherland 2008).
Our Response: Although the cited reference is dated 2008, it was
used internally by the NGRT and not available for public use when we
wrote the proposed rule in 2009. Now that the document has been
released, we have incorporated this important work into the final rule.
(25) Comment: Definitions and criteria used to evaluate habitat
quality based on the percentage of mature/old forest are confusing and
habitat quality classes appear to overlap.
Our response: One of the statistics we use to evaluate habitat
quality is percentage of the landscape covered by mature and old
forest, based on evaluations of goshawk habitat by Doyle and others in
coastal British Columbia. In the proposed rule, we defined landscapes
on Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands differently than
landscapes on the mainland, based on perceived differences in prey
communities (see comment concerning snowshoe hares and marmots, above).
Because we no longer believe that prey communities on the mainland are
significantly more diverse than on the islands, we have eliminated this
difference, and now consider landscapes with less than 40 percent cover
by mature and old forest low-quality habitat and landscapes with
greater than 40 percent cover by mature and old forest high-quality
habitat, across the range of the DPS. A discussion of supporting
literature is included in the rule.
(26) Comment: Since your analyses were completed in 2007, there
have been reallocations of lands from 6 of the 11 Tree Farm Licenses on
Vancouver Island to create a new Timber Sale Area, and private lands
have been removed from three of the Tree Farm Licenses. Timber Supply
Analyses have been updated for two of the three Timber Sale Areas on
Vancouver Island.
Our Response: Timber supply analyses and logging projections by the
Ministry of Forests and Range and timber tenure holders in British
Columbia, which formed the basis of our 2007 analyses, are dynamic. We
have not attempted to reanalyze these data because we do not believe
that the reallocations will substantially alter the results or our
conclusions. We base this on the fact that the lands removed from the
Tree Farm Licenses appear to remain primarily in timber production
status. They are, therefore, unlikely to provide significant additional
protection for goshawk habitat.
(27) Comment: Approximately 27 percent of Vancouver Island is in
private ownership. Forest cover data are not available for these lands,
so habitat availability is underestimated in the proposed rule. These
lands are believed to be very productive for goshawks. The Government
of British Columbia has little influence on management of private lands
to conserve goshawk habitat.
Our Response: We used estimates of forest cover on private lands
provided by Neimann (2006). These data are designated ``BTM/BEC''
(Baseline Thematic Mapping/Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification) in
Niemann's (2006) tables, and total 939,000 ha, or 27 percent of
Vancouver Island (matching the reviewer's estimate), including
approximately 791,000 ha of forest. Of this total, 77 percent (609,000
ha) is second growth. We have acknowledged the Government of British
Columbia's limited ability to manage timber harvest and goshawk habitat
conservation on private lands in this final rule.
(28) Comment: Data on forest cover used in the rule come from a
variety of sources of varying dates and of variable reliability. The
limitations of these data are not well expressed, potentially leading
readers to believe the data are more complete and accurate than they
really are, especially for private land.
Our Response: Sources of data on forest and other land covers, and
assumptions we made in developing various statistics, are listed
primarily as footnotes in the tables of our updated appendices (USFWS
2010). The base data were gleaned from many sources. We endeavored to
ensure the data were as comparable as possible, but as the reviewer
notes, current, consistent data across ownerships do not exist. We
acknowledge that there are several potential sources of error in these
data, including differences in how forest covers were defined and
categorized, harvest and growth that has occurred since the data were
developed, and misclassifications of land cover. We have not provided
definitive descriptions of the statistical error associated with these
error sources primarily because no such estimates are available, to our
knowledge. We continue to believe that our rangewide and regional
estimates of forest cover and composition are the best available.
(29) Comment: Some of the statistics on forest cover in the
appendix tables cited (USFWS 2008) do not sum across columns correctly.
Our Response: We have reviewed the data summaries in question and
have corrected arithmetic errors. The updated information used in the
final rule is presented in USFWS (2010). We have not updated tables A-
10 through A-15, which present ``Habitat Value'' modeling discussed in
our status review (USFWS 2007, pp. 99-101) because we do not use these
analyses in the final rule.
(30) Comment: ``Productive forest'' is defined differently in
Alaska than it is in British Columbia, potentially biasing comparisons
between the two jurisdictions.
Our Response: This rule focuses on conditions within British
Columbia, rather than comparing conditions in British Columbia to those
in Southeast Alaska, so the issue is largely moot for purposes of this
rulemaking. For our status review (USFWS 2007, 2010) and rangewide
finding in our Response to Court (72 FR 63123), we developed estimates
of productive forest across coastal British Columbia and Southeast
Alaska. We relied on definitions used by the U.S. Forest Service and
the British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range, which do indeed
differ. The definition used by the Ministry was qualitative (``capable
of producing a merchantable stand within a defined period of time''),
while the Forest Service's was quantitative (``capable of producing at
least 20 cubic feet of wood fiber per acre per year, or having greater
than 8,000 board feet per acre''). Goshawks rely on mature forest
structure, rather than forest volume, so the difference is probably not
critical for purposes of characterizing goshawk habitat, as long as the
low-end productive forest by British Columbian standards is
structurally similar to low-end productive forest by Alaskan standards.
We assumed that they are because both agencies use these definitions to
differentiate forests that produce enough wood volume to support
commercial timber harvest from those that do not.
(31) Comment: Statistics in Table A-9 of the Service's updated
appendices (USFWS 2008) do not account for old-growth forest that will
not be harvested to protect non-timber values such as ``Identified
Wildlife'' habitat, riparian retention, unstable ground, etc.
Our Response: Estimates of the amount and percentage of forest that
will not be harvested within areas otherwise open to timber harvest, to
protect non-timber values, are displayed in Table A-9 in the column
labeled ``Retention.'' Forest that will not be harvested because it is
too steep, wet, unstable, etc., is displayed in the column labeled
``Inoperable.'' These estimates come from Timber Supply
[[Page 45877]]
Analysis Reports provided by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests
and Range.
(32) Comment: The proposed rule assumes that all old growth will be
logged before second-growth logging begins, but 35 percent of the
current harvest comes from second growth. This percentage is expected
to rise over the next 50 years.
Our Response: We discussed the mix of old growth and second growth
in the current harvest, and as an increasing percentage of the harvest,
in our status review (USFWS 2007, pp. 90-91). We reviewed Timber Supply
Analysis Reports for each timber tenure in the Coast Forest Region to
determine the rate at which second growth would replace old growth in
the harvest. We did not assume that all old growth would be logged
before second growth logging begins, and none of our analyses or
conclusions depends on such an assumption.
(33) Comment: There is inadequate discussion of emerging tools,
techniques, and policies to minimize impacts to goshawks from timber
harvest in British Columbia.
Our Response: The broad and expanding suite of forest management
tools and restrictions used by the province of British Columbia is
discussed under ``Factor D--Inadequacy of Regulatory Mechanisms'' and
under ``Evaluation of Conservation Efforts.''
Public Comments
In the proposed rule published on November 3, 2009, we requested
that all interested parties submit written comments on the proposal by
December 8, 2009. We also contacted appropriate Federal and State
agencies, scientific experts and organizations, and other interested
parties and invited them to comment on the proposal. We did not receive
any requests for a public hearing.
During the comment period, we received comments from five parties,
including a falconer's group, an environmental education center, the
Canadian Wildlife Service, and two individuals. Two commenters
supported our proposal to list the subspecies, one opposed the
proposal, and two expressed no preference. All substantive information
provided during the comment periods is addressed below, and has been
incorporated into this final determination as appropriate.
(34) Comment: Listing the British Columbia DPS as threatened or
endangered is inappropriate because (a) there is no evidence of
significant range contraction or population declines, (b) only 3 to 5
percent of the forest habitat has been permanently lost to urbanization
and agriculture, and (c) approximately half of the estimated population
and nearly two thirds of the geographic area occupied by the DPS are on
the mainland coast, where threats due to logging are believed to be
``low to moderate.'' Instead, more careful and comprehensive forest
management planning is appropriate, especially in the Vancouver Island
Conservation Region.
Our Response: The Act lists five threats or ``factors'' that we are
to base our listing decisions upon. These include (A) the present or
threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of habitat or
range; (B) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes; (C) disease or predation; (D) inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms; or (E) other natural or manmade factors
affecting the species continued existence. For a species to be listed
under of the Act, documentation of either range contraction or
population decline is not required. Instead, the Act is intended to
address threats that either have caused, or are expected to cause, such
effects.
Our review considers threats to habitat broader than conversion of
forest to urban or agricultural uses. As we explain in this rule,
clearcut logging is believed to be a threat because it creates openings
with few suitable prey, and results in dense stands of second-growth
forest that goshawks tend to avoid until those stands approach
maturity. Habitat modeling recently released by the NGRT suggests that
across British Columbia, habitat capability (the number of goshawk
territories that could be supported) has declined by approximately 33
percent since industrial logging began approximately 100 years ago.
Threats from logging appear to be somewhat lower on the mainland coast
than they are on either the Queen Charlotte Islands or Vancouver
Island. Still, our analyses indicate that habitat loss on the mainland
coast is likely to contribute to declines and increased vulnerability
of the small mainland population, which the NGRT estimates to be
approximately 177 to 191 breeding pairs, based on habitat capability
modeling and observed territory occupancy rates (NGRT 2008, p. 8).
(35) Comment: The Queen Charlotte Islands should not be considered
a significant portion of the DPS's range because these islands provide
only 9 percent of the area and support only about 3 to 5 percent of the
breeding population. Further, the islands are only about 5 percent of
the subspecies' entire range, and support only about 2 percent of the
entire population. Therefore, listing goshawks on the Queen Charlotte
Islands differently from how the subspecies is classified elsewhere
within the DPS is not warranted.
Our Response: This rule addresses whether the Queen Charlotte
Islands (and other such portions of British Columbia) constitute a
significant portion of the range of the British Columbia DPS. It does
not address whether the Queen Charlotte Islands (or any other areas)
are a significant portion of the subspecies' entire range, which
includes Southeast Alaska. The statistics provided by the commenter
about percentages of the subspecies' entire range are, therefore, not
relevant to this inquiry.
Our evaluation of significance, as related to ``significant portion
of the range,'' is based on contribution of the area toward
conservation of the DPS through representation, resiliency, and
redundancy. The standard used in this rule differs from the standard we
proposed in 2009 (74 FR 56757), as described below. We believe that
this approach appropriately focuses on the biology and conservation
status of the bird, best conforms to the purposes of the Act, and is
consistent with judicial interpretations of the phrase ``significant
portion of the range.''
(36) Comment: Because nesting habitat and prey numbers may limit
goshawk populations in fragmented landscapes, goshawk habitat should be
managed at varying scales to ensure adequate nesting and foraging
habitat at the population level, as done through the Tongass
Conservation Strategy in Southeast Alaska. Proper habitat management,
not listing under the Act, is the key to species conservation.
Our Response: We agree with the commenter that appropriate habitat
management at various scales is necessary to conserve goshawks where
forests are managed for timber production and other values. However,
when our analyses indicate that a species is in danger of extinction or
is likely to become so in the foreseeable future, we are obligated to
add it to the list of endangered or threatened species, as appropriate.
With foreign species as considered in this rule, we have no authority
to implement management and recovery efforts after listing. In this
case we have, however, been working with the Provincial government and
contributing to these efforts through membership on the NGRT and
through exchange of information and draft document reviews, and intend
to continue doing so.
[[Page 45878]]
(37) Comment: Consider supplementing the limited genetic diversity
on the Queen Charlotte Islands by translocating birds from nearby
island populations.
Our Response: This management recommendation is beyond the scope of
this rule, and our authority. The NGRT has considered the issue of
genetic isolation, and potential strategies to address it. We will
ensure that the recovery team in British Columbia is aware of this
recommendation.
(38) Comment: The Service should exercise due caution and all
appropriate scientific skepticism in evaluating claims regarding the
Queen Charlotte goshawk to avoid using the Act as a tool to curtail
logging if the subspecies is not facing the threat of possible
extinction.
Our Response: We have conducted a thorough assessment of the status
of the Queen Charlotte goshawk (USFWS 2007). We have evaluated the best
available data and other information and carefully considered the
issues confronting the subspecies. Our analyses and findings have been
published and independently reviewed. We have concluded that while
recent and ongoing changes in forest management in British Columbia are
encouraging, they have yet to fully demonstrate that they will be
effective at protecting goshawk populations from ongoing threats
related primarily to habitat loss from timber harvesting. We are,
therefore, obligated under the Act to list the subspecies. We note,
however, that neither the Service nor any other agent of the United
States Government has authority to modify forest management in British
Columbia. Our intent is to continue to assist when requested, and to
encourage collaboration to affect rangewide conservation of the
subspecies.
(39) Comment: If goshawks are listed in British Columbia, legal
take of goshawks should not be affected outside the area in which they
are listed, under ``similarity of species'' authorities.
Our Response: Section 4(e) of the Act authorizes the Service
Director to designate non-listed species that closely resemble listed
species as Threatened or Endangered for purposes of take, possession,
transport, trade, export or import. In determining whether a species
should be designated under this similarity of appearance authority, we
must consider (1) the degree of difficulty enforcement personnel would
have in distinguishing the species from a listed species, (2) the
additional threat posed to the listed species by the loss of control
occasioned because of the similarity of appearance, and (3) the
probability that so designated a similar species will substantially
facilitate enforcement and further the purposes and policy of the Act
(50 CFR 17.50).
Although Queen Charlotte goshawks in British Columbia are
essentially indistinguishable from those in Southeast Alaska, and
difficult to tell from goshawks outside the range of Queen Charlotte
goshawks, we do not believe that goshawks outside coastal British
Columbia need to be designated under section 4(e) of the Act as
threatened or endangered because we do not consider direct take for
falconry or any other purpose to be a threat. Direct take is discussed
further below under the heading ``Factor B. Overutilization for
Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or Educational Purposes.''
Summary of Changes From Proposed Rule
In the proposed rule, we determined that Vancouver Island (and
surrounding smaller islands), the Queen Charlotte Islands, and the
coastal mainland of British Columbia were each significant portions of
the Queen Charlotte goshawk's range, and that the subspecies should be
listed as endangered on the Queen Charlotte Islands and threatened
elsewhere in British Columbia. For this final rule, we have modified
our method for defining ``significant portion of the range'' to be more
consistent with recent court rulings, as described below under
``Significant Portions of the British Columbia DPS's Range.'' As a
result of this modified definition, Vancouver Island and the mainland
coast of British Columbia are considered significant portions of the
range, but the Queen Charlotte Islands are not. Because it is no longer
considered a significant portion of the range, we no longer consider
listing the population on the Queen Charlotte Islands as endangered to
be warranted.
In both the proposed and final rules, we have used percentages of
the landscape covered by mature second-growth and old-growth forest to
define quality of the habitat. In the proposed rule, we used different
standards for the mainland than we did for the islands, based on what
we believed were differences in prey species availability, with
snowshoe hares and marmots available to goshawks on the mainland but
not on the islands. Information provided through our peer review
indicates that snowshoe hares are not common along the coast, and adult
marmots are too large for goshawks to regularly prey upon. We have,
therefore, modified our indicators of high- and low-quality landscapes
to be consistent across the DPS.
Review of the British Columbia DPS
Section 3(15) of the Act defines ``species'' to include ``any
distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or
wildlife which interbreeds when mature.'' To interpret and implement
the DPS provisions of the Act and Congressional guidance, the Service
and the National Marine Fisheries Service published a ``Policy
Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments
Under the Endangered Species Act'' (DPS policy) in the Federal Register
on February 7, 1996 (61 FR 4722). Under the DPS policy, three factors
are considered in a decision concerning the establishment and
classification of a possible DPS. The first two factors, (1)
discreteness of the population segment in relation to the remainder of
the taxon and (2) the significance of the population segment to the
taxon to which it belongs, bear on whether the population segment is a
valid DPS.
Under the DPS policy, a population may be considered discrete if
(1) it is markedly separated from other populations of the same taxon
as a consequence of physical, physiological, ecological, or behavioral
factors; or (2) it is delimited by international governmental
boundaries with differences in control of exploitation, management of
habitat, conservation status, or relevant regulatory mechanisms.
Significance in the context of the DPS policy is considered in relation
to the population segment's importance to the taxon to which it
belongs. This consideration may include, but is not limited to: (1) Its
persistence in an ecological setting unusual or unique for the taxon;
(2) evidence that its loss would result in a significant gap in the
range of the taxon; (3) evidence that it is the only surviving natural
occurrence of a taxon that may be more abundant elsewhere as an
introduced population outside its historic range; or (4) evidence that
the discrete population segment differs markedly from other populations
of the species in its genetic characteristics.
If a population meets both tests, we consider it a DPS and then the
third factor--the population segment's conservation status in relation
to the Act's standards for listing, delisting, or reclassification,
(i.e., should the population segment be listed as endangered or
threatened)--is applied.
In our Response to Court in 2007 (72 FR 63128-63129), we determined
that Queen Charlotte goshawks in British Columbia were distinct from
those in Southeast Alaska, with differences in conservation status,
habitat
[[Page 45879]]
management, and regulatory mechanisms. We also found that the
population segments in British Columbia and Southeast Alaska were both
significant as defined by our DPS policy, and concluded that two valid
DPSs exist. Because forest management in both jurisdictions continues
to evolve, we briefly review validity of the separate British Columbia
DPS below.
We have estimated the effects of new protected areas on the Queen
Charlotte Islands, and inclusion of the mainland coast of British
Columbia, on future landscape condition in British Columbia and updated
our analyses of forest resources across the range of the subspecies
(USFWS 2010). We have considered modifications made to the 1997 Tongass
Land Management Plan, as reflected in the 2008 forest plan. Significant
differences in management regimes between Alaska and British Columbia
remain. For example, we estimate that approximately 31 percent of the
remaining old growth will ultimately be harvested and thereby converted
to second growth in British Columbia, while only 12 percent of the
remaining old growth will be harvested and converted to second growth
in Southeast Alaska (USFWS 2010, Table A-17). When considered together
with areas already harvested, we estimate that 59 percent of the
original productive old growth will ultimately be harvested in British
Columbia, but only 28 percent will be harvested in Southeast Alaska
(USFWS 2010, Table A-9). Other differences between the jurisdictions
noted in our Response to Court (72 FR 63129), including conservation
status of the subspecies and regulatory mechanisms, remain. We conclude
that management of forest habitat remains sufficiently different
between Alaska and British Columbia to support our previous conclusion
that the international border separates two discrete populations with
significant differences in habitat management and regulatory
mechanisms.
In our Response to Court, we concluded that the British Columbia
population was biologically and ecologically significant within the
meaning of the DPS policy because it occupied approximately one third
of the land area and half of the productive forest in the range of the
subspecies. Preliminary, unconfirmed results also suggested that the
province may contain a significant amount of the genetic diversity of
the subspecies (Talbot 2006, p. 1). With inclusion of mainland British
Columbia (which was not considered part of the range in our Response to
Court), the province now provides approximately two thirds of the land
area and about three quarters of the productive forest for the species,
rangewide (USFWS 2010, Table A-9). We conclude that the British
Columbia population segment is discrete and significant, and that it
remains a distinct population segment under the DPS policy.
Factors Affecting the British Columbia DPS
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533), and implementing regulations
at 50 CFR part 424, set forth the procedures for adding species to the
Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Under
section 4(a)(1) of the Act, we may list a species on the basis of any
of five factors, as follows: (A) The present or threatened destruction,
modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (B)
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes; (C) disease or predation; (D) the inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms; or (E) other natural or manmade factors
affecting its continued existence. Information regarding the status of,
and threats to, the British Columbia DPS of the Queen Charlotte goshawk
in relation to the five factors provided in section 4(a)(1) of the Act
is discussed below.
This final rule addresses the finding in our Response to Court (72
FR 63128) that listing as threatened or endangered is warranted for the
British Columbia DPS. Below, we provide a summary of our analysis of
threats to the British Columbia DPS from the Response to Court, along
with a new analysis of threats to the DPS in light of relevant new
information. We have included statistics on habitat availability and
forest management where they are available. Our primary sources of
forest data include the British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range
(especially Niemann 2006 for Vancouver Island and the coastal mainland)
and Leversee (2006) for the Queen Charlotte Islands. These data sets
have been compiled from a variety of sources, which vary in their
reliability. Our analyses of forest statistics is detailed in an
updated appendix to our status review (USFWS 2010), in which our data
sources, assumptions, and calculations are described. We also rely on
the NGRT evaluation of the threats discussed below (NGRT 2008, pp. 16-
21), and results of habitat modeling done to assist the NGRT in
recovery planning (Smith and Sutherland 2008 pp. 1-88).
Factor A. Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or
Curtailment of the Habitat or Range
Mature second-growth and old-growth forest provides nesting and
foraging habitat for goshawks and supports populations of preferred
prey (Iverson et al. 1996, pp. 16-18 and 41-44; Ethier 1999, pp. 61-68;
McClaren 2004, pp. 6-7). Logging within and near nest stands has been
implicated in nest site abandonment, although effects of such logging
have varied from nest area abandonment in some study areas to no effect
on productivity elsewhere (Crocker-Bedford 1990, pp. 263-266;
Penteriani and Faivre 2001, p. 213; Doyle and Mahon 2003, p. 39; Mahon
and Doyle 2005, pp. 338-340, Doyle 2006, pp. 138-139). Clearcut logging
generally reduces prey populations (reviewed by USFWS 2007, pp. 62-64),
although, in some cases, sooty grouse populations may increase
temporarily following logging (Zwickel and Bendell 1985, pp. 185-187).
Logging may also impact foraging habitat by removing perches and
hunting cover, and by creating openings and dense second-growth stands
that are avoided by goshawks (Iverson et al. 1996, p. 36).
``Productive forest'' is defined by the British Columbia Ministry
of Forest and Range as forest capable of producing trees large enough
to be commercially viable as timber (i.e., ``merchantable'') (Niemann
2006, p. 1). Such forests, when mature, provide suitable structure for
goshawk nesting and foraging. We, therefore, use the British Columbia
Ministry of Forest and Range's definition of, and statistics on,
productive forest as a measurable approximation of goshawk habitat.
Unless otherwise specified, discussions of mature, old-growth, and
second-growth forests below refer to productive forest only. Areas of
nonproductive (or ``scrub'') forest of smaller trees (which are not
included in the cited forest statistics) may be used by goshawks for
foraging or other activities, but are generally not used for nesting
(Iverson et al. 1996, pp. 41-44).
Goshawks nest and forage in a wide variety of settings, with
varying amounts of forest cover, across North America, Europe and Asia
(reviewed by Kenward 2006, pp. 293-294, Squires and Kennedy 2006, pp.
21-31). In the rainforest habitats of the Queen Charlotte goshawk,
there are few prey species adapted to open habitats (Doyle and Mahon
2003, pp. 39; reviewed by Iverson et al. 1996, pp. 59-61 and USFWS
2007, pp. 42-45). For example, snowshoe hares and cottontail rabbits
(Sylvilagus spp.) use forest edges and
[[Page 45880]]
open habitats and are important prey in some areas, but are not present
across most of the range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk (Nagorsen 2002,
pp. 92-96; Nagorsen 2005, pp. 89). Ground squirrels (Spermophilus spp.)
are similarly missing (Nagorsen 2002, pp. 106-109; Nagorsen 2005).
American robins (Turdus migratorius) use open habitats including
clearcuts within the range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk, but Lewis
(2001, pp. 113) found that robins made up only three percent of prey
deliveries at nests in Southeast Alaska, even where timber harvest was
heaviest.
Because Queen Charlotte goshawks rely primarily on forest-dwelling
prey, adequate amounts of suitable forest cover appear to be critical
(Doyle 2006, pp. 138-139; Doyle 2007, p. 2; Doyle and Mahon, 2003, p.
1). Iverson et al. (1996, p. 66) believed that goshawks likely require
some unknown amount of productive old-growth forest at large spatial
scales (e.g., greater than 10,000 ac (4,000 ha)), and that below that
level goshawk abundance would decline. Doyle (2005, p. 14) investigated
known goshawk territories on the Queen Charlotte Islands, and found
that all contained at least 41 percent mature and old-growth forest,
although only 4 territories (each containing at least 60 percent mature
and old-growth forest) were successful during the preceding 3-year
period (2002-2004). Doyle (2005, pp. 13-19) used these observations to
estimate the number of potential territories that could support nesting
goshawks on the Queen Charlotte Islands. (See also Doyle and Holt
(2005, pp. 2.5-3 to 2.5-5) for further development of this model).
Percentages of the landscape in forest cover have also been used to
define habitat quality in Finland (Byholm and Kekkonen 2008, pp. 1696-
1700). Several studies of northern goshawk habitat elsewhere in western
North America suggest that landscapes with 40 to 60 percent mature or
old forest are either favored by goshawks for nesting and foraging, or
should be maintained to support goshawks (Reynolds et al. 1992, p. 27;
Patla 1997, pp. 71-72; Finn et al. 2002, pp. 434-435, Doyle 2005, pp.
12-18; reviewed by USFWS 1997, pp. 36-38).
Given these observations, we consider landscapes with less than 40
percent cover by mature and old-growth forest to be low-quality
habitat, and those with greater than 40 percent mature and old-growth
forest high-quality habitat. Some Queen Charlotte goshawk territories
likely include less than 40 percent mature forest (Iverson et al. 1996,
p. 55), so we do not consider this criterion an absolute minimum. The
true minimum likely varies depending on other factors such as prey
diversity and density. There is evidence, however, that Queen Charlotte
goshawks are particularly sensitive to loss of mature forest because of
a lack of prey adapted to open habitats (Doyle 2006, pp. 138-139, Doyle
and Mahon 2003, p. 1). While uncertainty remains over how much mature
and old forest is required to maintain productive goshawk nesting and
foraging habitat, we consider a standard incorporating the proportion
of the landscape in mature and old forest appropriate, and, based on
the best available information, 40 percent a reasonable standard.
Productive forest (capable of producing commercially viable timber)
covers approximately 52 percent of the 42-million-acre (17-million-
hectare) Coast Forest Region delineated by the British Columbia
Ministry of Forests and Range, which approximates the range of the
Queen Charlotte goshawk in Canada (USFWS 2010, Table A-20). Therefore,
on average, habitat was probably high quality for goshawks (greater
than 40 percent mature and old growth) prior to wide-scale timber
harvest, although some areas would have been, and remain, unsuitable
(e.g., large alpine areas), while other areas had extensive tracts of
high-quality habitat before logging began.
Industrial-scale logging began in the coastal rainforests of
British Columbia in the early 1900s, peaked in the 1980s, and has
remained relatively high since then (USFWS 2007, pp. 89-90). By 2002,
timber harvest had converted approximately 7.9 million ac (3.2 million
ha) (36 percent) of the 21 million ac (8.8 million ha) of productive
forest in coastal British Columbia to second growth. This has reduced
mature and old forest cover to approximately 37 percent of the
landscape (USFWS 2010, Table A-20). This percentage translates, on
average, to low-quality habitat (less than 40 percent cover by mature
and old-growth forest). Again, naturally nonforested areas have always
been unsuitable or low-quality habitat. Alpine areas (i.e., above
timberline), for example, cover 19 percent of the landscape. Below
timberline, approximately 46 percent of the landscape supports mature
and old forest (USFWS 2010, Table A-20), so habitat as of 2002 (the
most recent rangewide data available) appears to be suitable, on
average, despite declines from historic levels. We do not know how much
has been harvested since 2002, but we expect that old forest cover has
been reduced by several percentage points since then.
Habitat modeling developed by the NGRT suggests that British
Columbia supported approximately 1,060 suitable goshawk territories
prior to initiation of industrial logging. Currently, the model
predicts habitat capability of 708 territories, a 33 percent decline
(Smith and Sutherland 2008, pp. 22, 29, 33, 65).
More than 100 new protected areas totaling approximately 3 million
ac (1.2 million ha) were established on the British Columbia mainland
coast in 2006 (BCMAL 2006, p. 1). This was followed by a December 2007
land use agreement between the Province of British Columbia and the
Haida Nation, designating new protected areas totaling 628,000 ac
(254,000 ha) on the Queen Charlotte Islands (BCOP 2007, pp. 1-2).
In March, 2009, the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and
Lands announced an agreement with a broad range of stakeholders to
designate protected areas and development lands across the coastal
mainland, now known as the ``Great Bear Rainforest.'' Within this area,
approximately 5.7 million ac (2.3 million ha) are now protected from
logging (Armstrong 2009, pp. 4, 29; BCMAL 2009, pp. 1-2). An additional
land use class, ``Biodiversity, Tourism and Mining Areas,'' covering
approximately 741,000 ac (300,000 ha) where commercial forestry is now
prohibited, was also announced in 2009. We estimate that protected
areas include approximately 2.9 million ac (1.2 million ha) of
productive forest (USFWS 2010, Table A-19 and Table A-23). These
estimates are based largely on the Ministry of Forest and Range's
evaluation of proposed protected areas in 2002, which were similar, but
not identical, to areas finally designated in 2007 (Niemann 2006, p.
1). These are the best available data on forest cover in the protected
areas that we are aware of.
Future timber harvest in three of the seven Forest Districts in the
Coast Forest Region (North Coast, Central Coast, and Queen Charlotte
Islands Districts) will be planned using ``Ecosystem Based
Management,'' which is intended to support a sustainable economy while
protecting a healthy ecosystem. No specifics on how timber harvests
will change have been released (BCMAL 2006, pp. 2-3; BCOP 2007, pp. 1-
2, BC 2008, p. 1). In the absence of any details about implementation
of this management scheme, we rely on data and projections based on
existing management practices (summarized in USFWS 2007, pp. 82-101;
USFWS 2010, Tables A-1 to A-24; NGRT 2008, pp. 6-23; see also Southwest
Center for Biological Diversity v. Babbitt, 939 F.Supp. 49 (D.D.C.
1996)).
[[Page 45881]]
Based on our updated analyses, we estimate that approximately 5.2
million ac (2.1 million ha) of the remaining old growth forest are
likely to be harvested in British Columbia (USFWS 2010, Table A-9). We
predict that this would result in a landscape with only 26 percent
coverage by mature second growth and old forest. If we disregard alpine
areas, mature and old forest would cover 32 percent of the area below
timberline (USFWS 2010, Table A-24). In either case, we expect this to
be low-quality habitat (i.e., less than 40 percent mature and old
forest).
There are many policies and land use restrictions available to
facilitate conservation of goshawks and other non-timber values within
the areas otherwise open to timber harvest. These regulations governing
timber harvest, and other emerging land management tools and
techniques, are discussed below, under ``Factor D--Inadequacy of
Regulatory Mechanisms.'' Future harvest levels and rates (amounts,
methods, and timing) are uncertain, but additional conversion of old-
growth forest to second growth is expected to continue throughout the
DPS.
For the purposes of evaluating threats and recovery strategies, the
NGRT has divided the British Columbia range of the Queen Charlotte
goshawk into four Conservation Regions: Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte
Islands), Vancouver Island, North Coast, and South Coast (NGRT 2008,
pp. 4-6). They reviewed the best-available scientific information and,
where data were unavailable, used expert opinion and data-derived
estimates (NGRT 2008, p. 16). They consider threats to the goshawk from
habitat loss and fragmentation to be low to moderate in the North Coast
region, moderate in the South Coast region, and moderate to high on the
Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island (NGRT 2008, pp. 16-17).
These conclusions are consistent with our understanding of the habitat
threats faced by goshawks in British Columbia.
Timber harvests in coastal British Columbia are currently composed
of a mix of old growth and mature second growth. Approximately 35
percent of the harvest is currently from second growth. This percentage
is expected to increase as old growth available for harvest is cut. Our
review of Timber Supply Analysis Reports for Timber Sale Areas and Tree
Farm Licenses indicates that within two to seven decades (time varying
by individual timber tenure), currently available old growth on the
mainland and Vancouver Island will be liquidated and timber harvests
will be almost entirely from second growth (reviewed in USFWS 2007, pp.
89-91 and USFWS 2010, Table A-1). As a result, within 50 years only a
few timber tenures are likely to have substantial reserves of old
growth remaining within their timber harvesting land bases, and timber
harvests across the region will likely be composed primarily of second
growth. On the Queen Charlotte Islands, this is expected to take up to
12 decades (USFWS 2010, Table A-1).
We expect the amount of suitable goshawk habitat to continue to
decline until all the old growth available for harvest has been
converted to second growth. At that time, we expect the amount of
habitat to stabilize, with less habitat than is available today.
Thereafter, logging will be limited to the second growth, which we
expect will be harvested on a sustained-yield basis. Because second-
growth stands provide suitable goshawk habitat for only the final 10 to
20 percent of each timber harvest rotation (reviewed in USFWS 2007, pp.
62-67), we estimate that approximately 15 percent of the second growth
will be mature, at any given time, and will provide suitable nesting
and foraging habitat, while 85 percent will be younger, and provide
largely unsuitable habitat (USFWS 2007, pp. 99 and 131). This
percentage is likely to vary over time and space, depending largely on
how uniformly harvests are conducted.
It is likely that some of the mature second growth will provide
little value as either nesting or foraging habitat because, for
example, it is in small fragments and surrounded by low-value second
growth. It is also likely that some of the younger second growth will
provide foraging and perhaps nesting opportunities. We do not know
precisely how these variations might balance each other, but have based
our estimate of 15 percent of the harvested landscape offering suitable
habitat on the best available information. We assume that most of the
remaining, unharvested old growth will also provide suitable goshawk
habitat, except where it is in small, isolated fragments surrounded by
unforested areas.
Wildlife populations typically continue to decline for several
generations after habitat loss has occurred, as the populations reach
equilibrium with their habitat and competitors (Tilman et al. 1994, pp.
65-66). Therefore, extinction may occur many years after habitat loss
has ceased.
In summary, although new protected areas should help conserve some
of the remaining goshawk habitat, significant degradation has occurred,
and we expect continued decline in habitat quality within the range of
the British Columbia DPS as old-growth forest available for harvest is
converted to second growth. Mature second growth does provide suitable
nesting and foraging habitat, but in commercially harvested landscapes,
typically only a small percentage of the second growth exists in this
age class, as it is typically harvested as it reaches economic
maturity. Efforts are underway to modify timber harvest practices to
reduce impacts on goshawks and other species (discussed below under
Factor D), but we expect that most of the harvested landscape is likely
to become low-quality habitat. Reductions in prey populations and loss
of perches and hunting cover are likely to have increasingly negative
effects on goshawks' ability to hunt prey and feed their young. Based
on the best available information, we conclude that habitat loss is
likely to contribute substantially to loss of long-term viability of
Queen Charlotte goshawks in British Columbia. Therefore, we conclude
that continued loss of habitat is likely to be a significant threat to
the British Columbia DPS in the foreseeable future.
Factor B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or
Educational Purposes
In Canada, A. g. laingi has been federally listed as ``Threatened''
under the Species at Risk Act since 2002 (51 Eliz. II, Ch. 29). British
Columbia has included the subspecies on its ``Red List,'' as a
candidate for ``Threatened'' or ``Endangered'' status, since 1994
(Cooper and Stevens 2000, pp. 3 and 14). In 2004, British Columbia
recognized that, as a Schedule 1 Species at Risk, the Queen Charlotte
goshawk, along with other named species, could be affected by forest
management and required protection in addition to that provided by
general forest management regulations (BCMSRM 2002, pp. 1-2; Barisoff
2004, p. 2; reviewed by USFWS 2007, pp. 11-12). Each of these
designations provides some protection from direct take. For example,
capture of Queen Charlotte goshawks has been banned since 1994, when
the subspecies was added to the provincial Red List (see ``Factor D.
Inadequacy of Regulatory Mechanisms'' for further discussion). Take of
wild birds for falconry, therefore, is not a threat to the population.
Further, the northern goshawk is listed in Appendix II of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES). The database in which CITES trade is documented, the
World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) CITES Trade Database, does
[[Page 45882]]
not, for the most part, collect trade data at the subspecies level, and
there are no CITES trade data available for the Queen Charlotte goshawk
subspecies. However, as a Party to CITES, Canada must ensure that trade
in northern goshawks, including the Queen Charlotte goshawk subspecies,
does not adversely affect the species.
Although individual Queen Charlotte goshawks may be killed or
captured illegally on occasion, we have no indication that such
activity is common, or that it poses any threat to the subspecies. We
do not expect overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific,
or educational purposes to contribute to population declines or
extinction risk. The NGRT considers the threat of human persecution to
be low to none (NGRT 2008, pp. 17 and 21). We conclude that
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes does not now, or in the foreseeable future, pose a
significant threat to the British Columbia DPS of the Queen Charlotte
goshawk.
Factor C. Disease or Predation
Disease and predation associated with Queen Charlotte goshawks are
not well documented, but small populations such as those on Vancouver
Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands can be vulnerable to diseases,
particularly when simultaneously stressed by other factors such as prey
shortages. Reynolds et al. (2006, pp. 269-270) reviewed diseases as a
potential factor limiting northern goshawk populations, and concluded
that there is no strong evidence that disease limits goshawk
populations. The NGRT considers the threat from disease low, but has
expressed concern that emerging diseases such as West Nile virus, which
is transmitted by mosquitoes and is fatal in goshawks (Wunschmann et
al. 2005, p. 259), may be difficult to mitigate if outbreaks occur
(NGRT 2008, pp. 16, 21). In 2010, the disease was detected in four
American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and one black-billed magpie
(Pica hudsonia) in British Columbia. It was not detected in any of the
48 birds tested in British Columbia in 2011 (CDC 2012, http://www.ccwhc.ca/wnv_report_2010.php and http://www.ccwhc.ca/wnv_report_2011.php, accessed 1/27/2012). No predictions are available on
when we might expect the disease to affect goshawks in British
Columbia.
Predation can also suppress small populations, leaving them
vulnerable to other population stress factors. Goshawk predators within
the British Columbia DPS include great horned owl (Bubo virginianus),
bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), American marten (Martes
americana), wolverine (Gulo gulo), and black bear (Ursus americanus).
Raccoons (Procyon lotor), which could take eggs or nestlings, have also
been introduced on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Golumbia et al. 2003,
pp. 13-15). The NGRT considers predation risk low across the range of
the DPS (NGRT 2008, pp. 16-20).
No information suggests that disease or predation currently put
Queen Charlotte goshawks in danger of extinction in the British
Columbia DPS, but either disease or predation may contribute to
extinction risk in the foreseeable future if their effects are
exacerbated by other population stressors such as prey shortages,
habitat limitations, or unfavorable weather (which affect nesting
effort). We conclude that disease and predation do not currently put
the Queen Charlotte goshawk at risk of extinction, although there is
moderate risk that either could affect population viability once the
goshawk population has declined in response to expected habitat loss,
which is anticipated to peak in approximately 50 years.
Factor D. Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
Direct Take: Throughout Canada, the Species at Risk Act protects
the Queen Charlotte goshawk from direct harm, harassment, and take on
Federal lands. Individuals, eggs, and occupied nests are protected on
all jurisdictions in British Columbia under the provincial Wildlife Act
(RSBC 1996, section 34). Possession and trade in the subspecies is
forbidden throughout Canada, as is destruction of nests. Based on the
available information, regulation of direct take appears to be adequate
throughout the DPS.
Habitat Protection: Two mechanisms exist to protect habitat under
the Federal Species at Risk Act in Canada: (1) Identification of
critical habitat, which may not be destroyed; and (2) conservation
agreements, which may be negotiated with any entity or individual.
Other mechanisms have been used by the Provincial government to protect
goshawk habitat (discussed below), but critical habitat has not yet
been formally designated under the Species at Risk Act (NGRT 2008, p.
31).
The Species at Risk Act requires development of a recovery
strategy, which identifies the scientific framework for recovery. The
NGRT, which includes experts from Provincial and Federal (U.S. and
Canadian) government agencies, private consultants, nongovernmental
organizations, industry, and First Nations, has produced a recovery
strategy summarizing natural history, threats, knowledge gaps, and
recovery approach (NGRT 2008). A recovery action plan, to define and
guide implementation of the recovery strategy, is anticipated, but not
yet available (NGRT 2008, pp. i, 34).
The recovery strategy identifies many legal mechanisms for
protecting habitat at various scales. Land use planning is perhaps the
most broad-scale method used by the British Columbia Provincial
Government for establishing protected areas and limits on development
to conserve biodiversity across the Province. Approximately 13 percent
of the landscape across coastal British Columbia is protected from
logging in various parks and reserves. These reserves average
approximately 50 percent cover by productive forest (USFWS 2010, Table
A-23), so on average they appear to provide high-quality habitat.
Special management zones, where timber harvest is allowed but non-
timber values such as wildlife and recreation are given additional
consideration, are also designated in some areas (BC 2000, p. 30).
Logging on Crown (Provincial) lands is regulated by the Forest and
Range Practices Act (FRPA). This statute and its companion regulations
set objectives for many resources, and require Forest Stewardship Plans
describing how each objective will be met. The FRPA is also supported
by the Identified Wildlife Management Strategy (IWM Strategy), which
provides direction, policy, procedures and guidelines for managing
species at risk and regionally important wildlife; the strategy
addresses only forest and range practices regulated by the FRPA. It is
one fine-filter tool British Columbia uses for conservation of species
at risk; it complements coarse-filter mechanisms, such as protected
areas and regulations governing timber harvest generally, that manage
multiple species and habitats. Wildlife Habitat Areas and associated
General Wildlife Measures (legal terms) may be implemented under a FRPA
regulation to protect important habitat elements (e.g., goshawk nests).
The IWM Strategy provides guidance for their establishment (BCMWLAP
2004, pp. 1-4).
Where nests are identified, Wildlife Habitat Areas are proposed,
usually by Provincial biologists although anyone may make a proposal.
The proposed Area is reviewed and may be modified by the Ministry of
Environment; comments are solicited from affected parties; a Timber
Supply Impact Analysis is conducted; the proposal is
[[Page 45883]]
reviewed by a Provincial Committee; and a final decision is made by the
Ministry of Environment (BCMWLAP 2004, pp. 4-10). The final decision
may reflect compromises intended to reduce impacts on timber operators
or others.
Wildlife Habitat Areas designated for goshawks are designed
primarily to protect a core area that supports the active nest,
alternate nests, and post-fledging area. Timber harvest is generally
prohibited within these core areas. Wildlife Habitat Areas for goshawks
average approximately 500 acres (200 ha) although they vary in size
depending on site characteristics and overlap with other special
management areas such as riparian zones, old growth management areas,
etc. Prohibitions and constraints also vary among sites. For example,
management plans may be developed to guide timber harvesting and road
construction in the surrounding management zone to protect foraging
habitat. Nonbinding recommendations have been developed to help guide
these management plans (McClaren 2004, pp. 10-11). Currently there are
27 Wildlife Habitat Areas: 24 on Vancouver Island, 1 on the mainland
coast, and 2 on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Ten additional reserves
(not Wildlife Habitat Areas) are proposed under the draft Haida Gwaii
Land Use Objectives Order, Schedule 12.
Provincial policy limits the impact of land protection under the
IWM Strategy on the timber supply to one percent of the Timber
Harvesting Land Base, which is the productive forest available for
logging outside protected parks and other reserves. The Timber
Harvesting Land Base also excludes forested areas outside reserves that
are inoperable (e.g., too steep or wet to log), or retained to protect
other resources (e.g., stream banks, deer winter ranges, or
archaeological sites). To the extent possible, Wildlife Habitat Areas
are designated on lands protected under other authorities. The one
percent cap may be waived with adequate justification, and does not
have legal force of law, but is considered a goal of government
(BCMWLAP 2004, p. 4; FPB 2004, pp. 7-8).
The one percent cap is calculated and tracked separately for each
forest district, with further limitations on the amount of mature and
old forest that may be designated, using ``budgets'' for the short term
timber supply (stands greater than 60 years old) and long-term timber
supply (stands less than 60 years old) (BCMWLAP 2004, p. 4; FPB 2004,
pp. 7-8).
Another limitation of the one percent cap on goshawk conservation
is apparent in areas with high numbers of other at-risk species and
continuing threats to those species (Wood and Flahr 2004, pp. 394-395).
Southern Vancouver Island, for example, is a biodiversity ``hot spot,''
with a large number of rare and endemic species (Scudder 2003, pp. 15-
31). Some of these species have habitat needs that differ from those of
the goshawk, yet their legitimate conservation needs are to be
accommodated along with the goshawk within the one percent limit, under
this policy. In the South Island Forest District, Wildlife Habitat
Areas are approaching, and may have already exceeded, the one percent
cap (Wood et al. 2003, p. 53). Other areas within the Coast region with
lower levels of human impact and fewer endemic species may have greater
flexibility to protect important forest stands for goshawks and other
species.
Coast Land Use Orders issued in March 2009 establish legal
requirements to maintain habitat for goshawks and other focal wildlife
species within areas set aside for old growth retention. Across the
province, there is an effort to co-locate various protection tools
under the Forest and Range Practices Act to minimize impacts to timber
harvests and local economies.
In 2004, the British Columbia Ministry of Sustainable Resource
Management established ``Provincial Non-Spatial Old Growth Objectives''
that must be addressed in Forest Stewardship Plans (Abbott 2004, pp. 1-
6). The order established ``Landscape Units'' and old-growth-forest
retention objectives for each of those units. Individual Landscape
Units are assigned to low, intermediate, or high biodiversity emphasis,
with lower percentages of old-growth retention identified for lower-
emphasis units. The exact amount of old growth that must be retained
depends on the forest type (biogeoclimatic zone) and the ``natural
disturbance regime'' identified for each biogeoclimatic zone variant.
Within the Coastal Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) Zone, old-
growth retention objectives range from 9 to 13 percent; in the Mountain
Hemlock (T. mertensiana) Zone, objectives range from 19 to 28 percent;
and in the Coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) Zone, 9 to 13
percent. The objectives are termed ``nonspatial'' because they describe
amounts but not specific areas to be retained, unlike other orders that
establish protection of specified areas. In order to meet the non-
spatial, old-growth objectives, tenure-holders and Timber Supply Area
managers can rely on existing protected areas such as Wildlife Habitat
Areas, riparian reserves, inoperable lands, and other designations that
result in retention of old-growth stands.
The Province does not maintain detailed inventories of forest
resources on private lands, where there is little government oversight
or regulation. For the purpose of developing a seamless forest cover
inventory for the whole province, the Ministry of Forests and Range
used baseline thematic mapping, based on satellite imagery from the
1990s, and biogeographic ecosystem classification to characterize
forest cover on private lands (BCMFR 2006, p. 138). Private lands are
estimated to cover approximately 4.1 million ac (1.7 million ha) within
the Coast region (Niemann 2006, attachment 1). Much of the private land
is concentrated on the southern portions of Vancouver Island and the
mainland coast.
The Province of British Columbia has made significant progress in
implementation of several elements of its conservation program for
goshawks, as described above. A recovery strategy has been released.
Several of the actions identified in the draft strategy have begun;
others are likely to be implemented once the Recovery Implementation
Group completes an action plan (NGRT 2008, pp. 21-32).
To help guide evaluation of conservation efforts that are either
planned but not yet implemented, or underway but not yet proven
effective, the Service published a ``Policy for Evaluation of
Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions'' (PECE Policy) (68
FR 15100, March 28, 2003). The policy directs us to consider (1) the
certainty that a conservation effort will be implemented, and (2) the
certainty that the effort will be effective.
British Columbia's recovery strategy identifies several broad
strategies and recommended approaches to address threats to the
goshawk, with specific actions listed to address each approach (NGRT
2008, pp. 26-30). Many of the actions listed in the recovery strategy
have been implemented and warrant evaluation as formalized conservation
efforts. We also evaluate actions identified in the recovery strategy
that have not yet been implemented, because we believe that the NGRT
intends to pursue them.
Among the actions that have not yet been completed are predictions
of habitat changes resulting from climate change, monitoring and
modeling of West Nile Virus impacts, and monitoring of edge-adapted
competitors and predators. The recovery strategy is a broad-scale
document that does not provide details on who would be responsible for
implementing the identified actions, the source and
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security of funding, legal authorities, procedural and legal
requirements (permits, authorizations and permissions, etc.), and
volunteer (e.g., landowner or timber tenure holder) participation
necessary to implement the actions, as required for us to conclude with
a high level of certainty that the actions will be implemented (PECE
Policy, 68 FR 15114-15115).
Among the actions identified in the draft strategy that have
already begun, the most highly developed is protection of habitat using
existing authorities and mechanisms. These are described in NGRT (2008)
Appendix 1, and are evaluated above. We consider habitat protection an
effective strategy, but cannot conclude that implementation under
existing mechanisms adequately removes the threat posed to the Queen
Charlotte goshawk from habitat loss.
Other actions listed in the recovery strategy have been implemented
(or have begun and are ongoing), but have not yet been proven
effective. Included in this category are:
Development of general wildlife measures to ensure
sufficient foraging habitat outside Wildlife Habitat Areas,
Landscape modeling to identify habitat availability,
Research and implementation of silviculture methods to
promote prey populations,
Development and implementation of management plans for
introduced species,
Development and implementation of outreach and education
for landowners and resource managers,
Effectiveness monitoring of habitat management,
Development and use of spatially explicit population
models and genetic samples to define population and distribution
objectives,
Use of habitat conservation tools to conserve and recover
populations in each conservation region, and
Identification and monitoring of prey populations.
The PECE Policy lists six criteria necessary to establish that a
conservation effort will be effective in adequately reducing threats to
a level that listing a species as threatened or endangered is not
necessary. These criteria include (1) a description of the threats
addressed by the conservation effort, (2) explicit, incremental
objectives for the conservation effort and dates for achieving the
objectives, (3) the steps necessary to implement the conservation
effort, (4) quantifiable measures to demonstrate progress toward, and
achievement of, objectives, (5) provisions for monitoring and reporting
progress on implementation and effectiveness, and (6) incorporation of
adaptive management principles (68 FR 15115). The recovery strategy is
a broad-level planning document that describes threats to the goshawk
and provides recommendations for addressing those threats. It lacks
detail on implementation of the recommended actions. A recovery action
plan, which will likely provide much of the detail described in the
PECE Policy, is expected soon. Meanwhile, we are not aware of currently
available documents that provide the information (criteria 1 through 6,
immediately above) necessary to ascertain with a high level of
certainty that the actions will be effective.
A major conservation effort recently announced by the Province of
British Columbia is Ecosystem Based Management for lands managed for
multiple uses in the Central Coast, North Coast, and Haida Gwaii
regions (BCMAL 2006, pp. 1-3; BCOP 2007, pp. 1-2). Ecosystem Based
Management ``is a new adaptive approach to managing human activities
that ensures the coexistence of healthy ecosystems and communities. The
intent of `Ecosystem Based Management' is to support a sustainable
economy while protecting a healthy ecosystem'' (BCMAL 2006, p. 2). Key
elements include establishment of protected areas; higher standards for
key environmental values; use of traditional, local, and scientific
knowledge to develop management targets; recognition of aboriginal and
other local interests in land use planning and management; and
promotion of stability, certainty, and long-term resource use (BCMAL
2006, p. 2).
The British Columbia Government has moved to implement Ecosystem
Based Management on the mainland coast and, more recently, the Queen
Charlotte Islands. Land use agreements have been reached with various
First Nations, and efforts are underway to identify lands for
protection or other management regimes. We have a high level of
certainty that Ecosystem Based Management will be implemented in some
form, although details are not yet available on which lands, if any,
will be protected and how timber harvest will be regulated. We expect
that protection of additional areas may reduce logging in some areas,
although the rate of logging on the remaining lands is not known. We,
therefore, cannot be sufficiently certain that the program will reduce
threats to goshawks to a level that listing as threatened or endangered
is no longer necessary.
Management of British Columbia's forests is currently in a period
of change. This increases the uncertainties inherent in our projections
of future conditions. We believe that the current trend toward policies
that reduce impacts to goshawks from timber harvest will continue in
the short term, as commitments made in recent land use agreements are
implemented. We expect these conditions to persist for at least 10 to
15 years. Beyond that, we expect that political and economic
considerations could force reevaluations of forest management.
In summary, 13 percent (5.4 million ac, or 2.3 million ha) of the
land area (42 million ac, or 17 million ha), and 13 percent (3.0
million ac, or 1.2 million ha) of the productive forest (22 million ac,
or 8.8 million ha) is protected in parks and other reserves within the
range of the British Columbia DPS (USFWS 2010, Table A-9 and Table A-
23). Management of timber lands within the province includes retention
of additional forest cover to protect various non-timber values
associated with forests, including goshawks. Designations of Wildlife
Habitat Areas to protect species at risk, including goshawks, however,
are limited by a policy-level cap of one percent of the Timber
Harvesting Land Base. We acknowledge that much work is underway in the
Province to address the threats and conservation needs of Queen
Charlotte goshawks. Because much of the regulatory framework is
relatively new, some key elements of the recovery effort have not yet
been fully developed or implemented, so it is difficult at this time to
assess their potential effectiveness (see Evaluation of Conservation
Efforts, below).
We conclude that continued development and implementation of
regulatory mechanisms will be required to minimize the risk of
extinction for the British Columbia DPS of the Queen Charlotte goshawk.
Existing regulatory mechanisms do not appear to adequately reduce the
threat posed to goshawk habitat from timber harvest. Consequently, we
conclude that inadequacy of regulatory mechanisms is a threat to the
Queen Charlotte goshawk in the foreseeable future.
Factor E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting the Species'
Continued Existence
Competition for prey or nest sites: We are not aware of current
population-level threats to Queen Charlotte goshawks due to competition
for either prey or nest sites. The NGRT rates this threat as low across
the DPS (NGRT 2008, p. 16). Competition among herbivores has been
implicated in grouse declines on the Queen Charlotte Islands where
introduced deer have
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reportedly overbrowsed blueberries and other important grouse foods,
resulting in grouse population declines (Golumbia et al. 2003, pp. 10-
11; Doyle 2004, pp. 15-16). This has probably reduced goshawk nesting
effort (number of pairs attempting to nest) on the Queen Charlotte
Islands during periods of low squirrel density, when goshawks might
otherwise have nested if grouse had been more abundant. Predation on
sooty grouse eggs and nestlings by introduced raccoons may also be a
factor contributing to grouse population declines on the Queen
Charlotte Islands (Golumbia et al. 2003, pp. 13-15). We expect this
condition to persist indefinitely, unless deer or raccoons are
eliminated or reduced by some action or agent.
Prey Diversity: Prey choices are limited within the range of the
Queen Charlotte goshawk. Red squirrels, sooty grouse, and a variety of
smaller forest birds form much of the diet (Ethier 1999, pp. 21-22 and
32-47; Lewis 2001, pp. 81-107; Lewis et al. 2004, pp. 378-382; Doyle
2005, pp. 30-31). Squirrel and sooty grouse populations fluctuate
(Doyle 2004, p. 5; Doyle 2007, p. 2), forcing goshawks to switch to
alternate prey during times of low squirrel and grouse populations.
Species that are commonly taken by goshawks in areas adjacent to
coastal British Columbia are missing from much of the Queen Charlotte
goshawk's range. For example, snowshoe hares are limited to portions of
the mainland, where they are considered rare (Nagorsen 2002, pp. 92-93;
Nagorsen 2005, p. 89). Ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii) are also
limited to the mainland, but are missing from rainforest habitats along
the coast (Nagorsen 2002, pp. 106-109). Cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus
floridans) have been introduced to southern Vancouver Island, but are
not widespread and have not been documented in goshawk diets there. The
Queen Charlotte Islands generally have lower diversity of prey than
either the mainland or Vancouver Island, so the NGRT considers threats
due to low prey diversity low on the mainland, moderate on Vancouver
Island, and high on the Queen Charlotte Islands (NGRT 2008, pp. 16,
18).
Additional species could be introduced, or colonize the region,
particularly if climate change (discussed below) alters habitat
conditions, which could potentially benefit goshawks. However, we have
very limited ability to reliably predict the timing of any changes in
prey communities. We believe, therefore, that low prey diversity will
remain a localized stressor likely to act in combination with other
threats such that Queen Charlotte goshawks become in danger of
extinction in the foreseeable future in some areas of the DPS.
Contaminants: We know of no contaminants that pose current or
potential future threats to goshawks within the British Columbia DPS.
Natural disasters and catastrophic events: Natural disasters such
as windstorms, landslides, avalanches, earthquakes, tsunamis, and
volcanic eruptions could affect localized areas within the British
Columbia DPS, but are not believed to pose population-level threats,
either now or in the foreseeable future. Large, landscape-altering
forest fires, insect infestations, or tree diseases could pose
population-level threats to Queen Charlotte goshawks in the British
Columbia DPS if they affect major portions of the DPS. The likelihood
that any of these occurrences would be of such magnitude, however, is
unknown. While fires, insect infestations and forest disease epidemics
are likely to occur in the foreseeable future, we cannot reliably
predict that the magnitude of these events is likely to be great enough
to exert population-level effects. Therefore, we cannot conclude that
they pose threats in the foreseeable future.
Climate Change: ``Climate'' refers to an area's long-term average
weather statistics (typically for at least 20- or 30-year periods),
including the mean and variation of surface variables such as
temperature, precipitation, and wind; ``climate change'' refers to a
change in the mean or variability or both of climate properties that
persists for an extended period (typically decades or longer), whether
due to natural processes or human activity (Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) 2007a, p. 78). Although changes in climate occur
continuously over geological time, changes are now occurring at an
accelerated rate. For example, at continental, regional, and ocean
basin scales, recent observed changes in long-term trends include: A
substantial increase in precipitation in eastern parts of North America
and South America, northern Europe, and northern and central Asia, and
an increase in intense tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic
since about 1970 (IPCC 2007a, p. 30); and an increase in annual average
temperature of more than 2 [deg]Fahrenheit (1.1 [deg]Celsius) across
the United States since 1960 (Global Climate Change Impacts in the
United States (GCCIUS) 2009, p. 27). Examples of observed changes in
the physical environment include: An increase in global average sea
level, and declines in mountain glaciers and average snow cover in both
the northern and southern hemispheres (IPCC 2007a, p. 30); substantial
and accelerating reductions in Arctic sea-ice (e.g., Comiso et al.
2008, p. 1); and a variety of changes in ecosystem processes, the
distribution of species, and the timing of seasonal events (e.g.,
GCCIUS 2009, pp. 79-88).
The IPCC used Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models and
various greenhouse gas emissions scenarios to make projections of
climate change globally and for broad regions through the 21st century
(Meehl et al. 2007, p. 753; Randall et al. 2007, pp. 596-599), and
reported these projections using a framework for characterizing
certainty (Solomon et al. 2007, pp. 22-23). Examples include: (1) It is
virtually certain there will be warmer and more frequent hot days and
nights over most of the earth's land areas; (2) it is very likely there
will be increased frequency of warm spells and heat waves over most
land areas, and the frequency of heavy precipitation events will
increase over most areas; and (3) it is likely that increases will
occur in the incidence of extreme high sea level (excludes tsunamis),
intense tropical cyclone activity, and the area affected by droughts
(IPCC 2007b, p. 8, Table SPM.2). More recent analyses using a different
global model and comparing other emissions scenarios resulted in
similar projections of global temperature change across the different
approaches (Prinn et al. 2011, pp. 527, 529).
All models (not just those involving climate change) have some
uncertainty associated with projections due to assumptions used, data
available, and features of the models; with regard to climate change
this includes factors such as assumptions related to emissions
scenarios, internal climate variability, and differences among models.
Despite this, however, under all global models and emissions scenarios,
the overall projected trajectory of surface air temperature is one of
increased warming compared to current conditions (Meehl et al. 2007, p.
762; Prinn et al. 2011, p. 527). Climate models, emissions scenarios,
and associated assumptions, data, and analytical techniques will
continue to be refined, as will interpretations of projections, as more
information becomes available. For instance, some changes in conditions
are occurring more rapidly than initially projected, such as melting of
Arctic sea-ice (Comiso et al. 2008, p. 1; Polyak et al. 2010, p. 1797),
and since 2000 the observed emissions of greenhouse gases, which are a
key influence on climate
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change, have been occurring at the mid- to higher levels of the various
emissions scenarios developed in the late 1990's and used by the IPPC
for making projections (e.g., Raupach et al. 2007, Figure 1, p. 10289;
Manning et al. 2010, Figure 1, p. 377; Pielke et al. 2008, entire).
Also, the best scientific and commercial data available indicate that
average global surface air temperature is increasing and several
climate-related changes are occurring and will continue for many
decades even if emissions are stabilized soon (e.g., Meehl et al. 2007,
pp. 822-829; Church et al. 2010, pp. 411-412; Gillett et al. 2011,
entire).
Changes in climate can have a variety of direct and indirect
impacts on species, and can exacerbate the effects of other threats.
Rather than assessing ``climate change'' as a single threat in and of
itself, we examine the potential consequences to species and their
habitats that arise from changes in environmental conditions associated
with various aspects of climate change. For example, climate-related
changes to habitats, predator-prey relationships, disease and disease
vectors, or conditions that exceed the physiological tolerances of a
species, occurring individually or in combination, may affect the
status of a species. Vulnerability to climate change impacts is a
function of sensitivity to those changes, exposure to those changes,
and adaptive capacity (IPCC 2007, p. 89; Glick et al. 2011, pp. 19-22).
As described above, in evaluating the status of a species, the Service
uses the best scientific and commercial data available, and this
includes consideration of direct and indirect effects of climate
change. As is the case with all potential threats, if a species is
currently affected or is expected to be affected by one or more
climate-related impacts, this does not necessarily mean the species
should be listed as an endangered or threatened species as defined
under the Act. If a species is listed as endangered or threatened, this
knowledge regarding its vulnerability to, and impacts from, climate-
associated changes in environmental conditions can be used to help
devise appropriate strategies for its recovery.
While projections from global climate model simulations are
informative and in some cases the only or the best scientific
information available, various downscaling methods are being used to
provide higher-resolution projections that are more relevant to the
spatial scales used to assess impacts to a given species (see Glick et
al. 2011, pp. 58-61). With regard to the area of analysis for the Queen
Charlotte goshawk, we are not aware of downscaled projections for
coastal British Columbia. In adjacent Southeast Alaska, we expect
warmer, wetter conditions that will likely favor increased forest
cover. More of the annual precipitation is likely to be rain, rather
than snow, and spring runoff is likely to be earlier than it currently
is (Kelly et al. 2007, pp. 31-42).
The mean number of frost days is predicted to be particularly
sensitive in coastal British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, where the
National Center for Atmospheric Research's Parallel Climate Model
predicts 50 to 70 fewer frost days per year by 2080 to 2099 (Meehl et
al. 2004, p. 498). We expect this trend to encourage encroachment of
forest into alpine areas and to accelerate growth of trees in currently
forested areas (Hamann and Wang 2006, pp. 2780-2782). This trend is
likely to improve habitat conditions for goshawks.
Gains of forest habitat from climate change could be offset, to an
unknown degree, by decreases in forest cover as a result of increases
in the frequency and severity of large fires, forest pests, or forest
diseases (Bachelet et al. 2005, pp. 2244-2248). Increases in severe
weather events, which are predicted to occur, could have localized
effects, impacting nesting effort and productivity, which appear to be
sensitive to spring weather (Fairhurst and Bechard 2005, pp. 231-232;
Finn et al. 1998, p. 1; Patla 1997, pp. 34-35; McClaren et al. 2002, p.
350).
Another potential threat related to climate change is increased
competition from the mainland form of the goshawk (A. g. atricapillus).
This threat is difficult to assess, as we are uncertain of the adaptive
advantages conferred by the two phenotypes. Changes in prey communities
might also occur. Again, it is unclear if such changes would favor one
subspecies over the other.
We conclude that climate change is likely to have mixed effects on
goshawks. Landscape-level changes due to climate change are likely, and
some of these changes could negatively affect the British Columbia DPS
of the Queen Charlotte goshawk. We do not believe that such changes
currently place the DPS in danger of extinction, nor, based on climate
models that project out approximately 100 years, do we expect them to
in the foreseeable future.
Demographic Considerations: The small goshawk population on the
Queen Charlotte Islands appears to be genetically distinct from
goshawks elsewhere and may be genetically isolated (Gust et al. 2003,
p. 22; Talbot et al. 2005, pp. 2-3; Talbot 2006, p. 1, Talbot et al.,
in press). Isolated populations such as the one on the Queen Charlotte
Islands are typically at greater risk of extinction or genetic problems
such as inbreeding depression and loss of genetic diversity,
particularly where populations are small (Lande 1988, pp. 1456-1457;
Frankham et al. 2002, pp. 312-317). Inbreeding depression is a
reduction in viability and fecundity that occurs as large populations
decline and rapid inbreeding produces increased prevalence of harmful
genes that are typically rare in larger populations (Lande 1988, p.
1456). Loss of genetic diversity occurs as populations are reduced, and
can diminish future adaptability to a changing environment.
Effects of low genetic diversity can be minimized through actions
such as carefully planned captive breeding and translocations among
wild and/or captive populations. The NGRT considers threats from
genetic isolation to be high for the Queen Charlotte Islands, and low
to none elsewhere in British Columbia (NGRT 2008, pp. 16, 18-19). We
concur with this assessment. We believe that the greatest threats from
inbreeding depression or other impacts associated with low genetic
diversity would come as populations adjust to reduced habitat
availability, which we believe will be lowest in about 120 years on the
Queen Charlotte Islands, and in about 50 years for the rest of the DPS,
when conversion of available old growth to second growth forest will be
nearly complete (except on a few timber tenures), and timber harvests
will be composed primarily of second growth (see discussion under
Factor A, above).
Hybridization can be a threat when related species or subspecies
interbreed, diluting the genetics of the smaller population.
Populations on Vancouver Island apparently display genetic affinities
with the subspecies of goshawk that inhabits much of mainland North
America, Accipiter gentilis atricapillus (Gust et al. 2003, p. 22;
Talbot et al. 2005, pp. 2-3; Talbot 2006, p. 1, Talbot et al. 2011, p.
27).
A cline is a gradation in a measurable characteristic across a
geographic area. Such variation is typically believed to reflect a
species' response to variation in an environmental variable, and may
result in development of distinct species or subspecies (Endeler 1977,
pp. 5-7). Such clinal variation has been noted in body size of
goshawks, with North America's smallest goshawks on Vancouver Island
and larger birds through Southeast Alaska to the north and through
western United States and Canada to the south and east (Whaley and
White 1994, pp. 179-187, 193; Flatten et al. 2002, p. 2; Flatten and
McClaren 2003, p. 1). These observations suggest that if body size is
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genetically controlled, hybridization that may be occurring among
goshawks on Vancouver Island has not overwhelmed the expression of
small body size that we believe could be an adaptation to prey and
habitat limitations.
On the mainland, the Queen Charlotte goshawk (A. g. laingi)
inhabits wet coastal forests, but likely interbreeds with the interior
subspecies (A. g. atricapillus) within the drier coastal western
hemlock zones between coastal and interior forests. The NGRT considers
this a transition zone between the two subspecies, where genetic
delineations will likely be blurred (NGRT 2008, pp. 3, 6, and 18).
Goshawks are highly mobile, and sometimes use different nesting
areas in subsequent years (Flatten et al. 2001, pp. 9-14; Lewis and
Flatten 2004, p. 2). This characteristic likely increases genetic
diversity. Following the breeding season, females often leave their
breeding territory, while males apparently stay within and adjacent to
the nesting area in most but not all cases (Flatten et al., 2001, pp.
9-14; Lewis and Flatten 2004, p. 2; Iverson et al. 1996, pp. 28-29).
Lewis and Flatten (2004, p. 2) documented a radio-tagged male in
Southeast Alaska that moved greater than 50 mi (80 km) following its
nesting season, and a female that moved greater than 27 mi (44 km) and
returned to its nesting area during the breeding season.
Transition zones between laingi and atricapillus forms have not
been well sampled, so we have no information indicating whether A. g.
atricapillus goshawks are expanding into the range of the Queen
Charlotte goshawk. We recognize that range boundaries for the
subspecies are somewhat imprecise and may represent a clinal variation
without a distinct demarcation in some areas. Until we have evidence
that suggests otherwise, though, we consider the transition zones
between the subspecies to be stable. We recognize, however, that
hybridization may be occurring in some areas, notably Vancouver Island
and on the mainland. We conclude that hybridization could pose a risk
to the subspecies in some areas, but it does not rise to the level that
places the species in danger of extinction. We expect this threat to be
greatest as climate changes over the next 50 to 100 years.
Population estimates for Queen Charlotte goshawks are imprecise
because the birds are difficult to census. They are often secretive,
and spread at low densities across forested landscapes. Survival and
recruitment rates are also difficult to measure. The best available
population estimates are based on estimates of habitat capability (the
number of territories that can be supported by the available habitat),
which is adjusted to reflect annual occupancy rates. Using such
techniques, the NGRT estimated the breeding population across the
British Columbia DPS to be about 352 to 374 pairs (NGRT 2008, p. 8).
Small populations such as this are at greater risk of extinction than
larger populations from environmental stochasticity (random or
otherwise unpredictable events such as disease epidemics, prey
population crashes, or environmental catastrophes), which can reduce
the population to a density at which it is vulnerable to demographic
stochasticity (fluctuations in birth and mortality rates) (Engen et al.
2001, p. 794; Adler and Drake, 2008, p. 192). By definition, stochastic
events are not predictable, so we are unable to say when we expect such
threats to occur. We do believe, though, that such events are likely to
occur occasionally over the next 50 to 100 years.
We conclude that the British Columbia DPS of the Queen Charlotte
goshawk is not currently in danger of extinction due to other natural
and manmade factors (Factor E) such as competition, contaminants,
natural disasters, climate change, or genetic problems resulting from
hybridization or isolation. However, due to its small population size
and limited prey diversity, this DPS is likely to be vulnerable to prey
fluctuations, and could face threats from hybridization (on Vancouver
Island or the mainland), or inbreeding depression (on the Queen
Charlotte Islands) in the foreseeable future. Each of these potential
threats would likely become more important if habitat modification
causes population declines, exacerbating the impact of the threats.
Summary of Factors
In summary, we believe that continued habitat loss from logging
(Factor A) will result in declines of prey populations and foraging
habitat, and place the Queen Charlotte goshawk at risk of extinction in
the foreseeable future. We do not expect overutilization for
commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes (Factor
B) to contribute to population declines or extinction risk. We do not
believe that disease and predation (Factor C) currently place the Queen
Charlotte goshawk at risk of extinction, although there is moderate
risk that either could affect population viability once the goshawk
population has declined in response to expected habitat loss, which is
anticipated to peak in approximately 50 years. Continued development
and implementation of regulatory mechanisms (Factor D) will be required
to eliminate the long-term risk of extinction for the British Columbia
DPS of the Queen Charlotte goshawk. No other natural and manmade
factors such as competition, contaminants, natural disasters, climate
change, or genetic problems resulting from hybridization or isolation
(Factor E) appear to rise to a level that places the goshawk in danger
of extinction at this time. Due to its small population size and
limited prey diversity, however, this DPS is likely to be vulnerable to
prey fluctuations, and could face threats from hybridization or
inbreeding depression. If habitat modification causes population
declines, then prey fluctuations, hybridization, or inbreeding
depression could have substantially greater influence.
Determination
As required by the Act, we considered each of the five factors
under section 4(a)(1)(A) in assessing whether the Queen Charlotte
goshawk is endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant
portion of its range. We carefully examined the best scientific and
commercial information available regarding the past, present, and
future threats faced by the Queen Charlotte goshawk. We considered the
information provided by the petitioners; information available in our
files; other available published and unpublished information; and
information submitted to the Service in response to our Federal
Register notice of November 3, 2009.
Our analysis of threats suggests that as additional forest is
logged, habitat quality will continue to decline for the British
Columbia DPS of the Queen Charlotte goshawk and its prey. With reduced
prey populations, and less favorable habitats in which to hunt, we
expect that Queen Charlotte goshawks within the British Columbia DPS
would have reduced nesting success. Ultimately, this is expected to
result in even smaller populations than currently occur (best available
estimate: 352 to 374 breeding pairs). It is possible that goshawks
could persist in low numbers indefinitely, in spite of the expected
declines in habitat quality. Smaller populations, though, likely would
become increasingly vulnerable to factors such as predation, disease,
prey fluctuations, hybridization, and inbreeding depression. We
conclude, therefore, that although the subspecies is not in danger of
extinction now, it is in danger of becoming so in the foreseeable
future within the British Columbia DPS. Therefore, listing the Queen
Charlotte goshawk in British
[[Page 45888]]
Columbia as a threatened species under the Act is warranted.
Significant Portions of the British Columbia DPS's Range
The Act defines ``endangered species'' as any species which is ``in
danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its
range,'' and ``threatened species'' as any species which is ``likely to
become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout
all or a significant portion of its range.'' The definition of
``species'' is also relevant to this discussion. The Act defines
``species'' as follows: ``The term `species' includes any subspecies of
fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment [DPS]
of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when
mature.'' The phrase ``significant portion of its range'' (SPR) is not
defined by the statute, and we have never addressed in our regulations:
(1) The consequences of a determination that a species is either
endangered or likely to become so throughout a significant portion of
its range, but not throughout all of its range; or (2) what qualifies a
portion of a range as ``significant.''
Two recent district court decisions have addressed whether the SPR
language allows the Service to list or protect less than all members of
a defined ``species'': Defenders of Wildlife v. Salazar, 729 F. Supp.
2d 1207 (D. Mont. 2010), concerning the Service's delisting of the
Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf (74 FR 15123, April 2, 2009); and
WildEarth Guardians v. Salazar, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105253 (D. Ariz.
September 30, 2010), concerning the Service's 2008 finding on a
petition to list the Gunnison's prairie dog (73 FR 6660, February 5,
2008). The Service had asserted in both of these determinations that it
had authority, in effect, to protect under the Act only some members of
a ``species,'' as defined by the Act (i.e., species, subspecies, or
DPS). Both courts ruled that the determinations were arbitrary and
capricious on the grounds that this approach violated the plain and
unambiguous language of the Act. The courts concluded that reading the
SPR language to allow protecting only a portion of a species' range is
inconsistent with the Act's definition of ``species.'' The courts
concluded that once a determination is made that a species (i.e.,
species, subspecies, or DPS) meets the definition of ``endangered
species'' or ``threatened species,'' it must be placed on the list in
its entirety and the Act's protections applied consistently to all
members of that species (subject to modification of protections through
special rules under sections 4(d) and 10(j) of the Act).
Consistent with that interpretation, and for the purposes of this
finding, we interpret the phrase ``significant portion of its range''
in the Act's definitions of ``endangered species'' and ``threatened
species'' to provide an independent basis for listing; thus there are
two situations (or factual bases) under which a species would qualify
for listing: A species may be endangered or threatened throughout all
of its range; or a species may be endangered or threatened in only a
significant portion of its range. If a species is in danger of
extinction throughout an SPR, then that species is an ``endangered
species.'' The same analysis applies to ``threatened species.'' Based
on this interpretation and supported by existing case law, the
consequence of finding that a species is endangered or threatened in
only a significant portion of its range is that the entire species
shall be listed as endangered or threatened, respectively, and the
Act's protections shall be applied across the species' entire range.
We conclude, for the purposes of this finding, that interpreting
the SPR phrase as providing an independent basis for listing is the
best interpretation of the Act because it is consistent with the
purposes and the plain meaning of the key definitions of the Act and
with the judicial opinions that have most closely examined this issue.
Having concluded that the phrase ``significant portion of its range''
provides an independent basis for listing and protecting the entire
species, we next turn to the meaning of ``significant'' to determine
the threshold for when such an independent basis for listing exists.
Although there are potentially many ways to determine whether a
portion of a species' range is ``significant,'' we conclude, for the
purposes of this finding, that the significance of the portion of the
range should be determined based on its biological contribution to the
conservation of the species. For this reason, we describe the threshold
for ``significant'' in terms of an increase in the risk of extinction
for the species. We conclude that a biologically based definition of
``significant'' best conforms to the purposes of the Act, is consistent
with judicial interpretations, and best ensures species' conservation.
Thus, for the purposes of this finding, and as explained further below,
a portion of the range of a species is ``significant'' if its
contribution to the viability of the species is so important that
without that portion, the species would be in danger of extinction.
We evaluate biological significance based on the principles of
conservation biology using the concepts of redundancy, resiliency, and
representation. Resiliency describes the characteristics of a species
and its habitat that allow it to recover from periodic disturbance.
Redundancy (having multiple populations distributed across the
landscape) may be needed to provide a margin of safety for the species
to withstand catastrophic events. Representation (the range of
variation found in a species) ensures that the species' adaptive
capabilities are conserved. Redundancy, resiliency, and representation
are not independent of each other, and some characteristic of a species
or area may contribute to all three. For example, distribution across a
wide variety of habitat types is an indicator of representation, but it
may also indicate a broad geographic distribution contributing to
redundancy (decreasing the chance that any one event affects the entire
species), and the likelihood that some habitat types are less
susceptible to certain threats, contributing to resiliency (the ability
of the species to recover from disturbance). None of these concepts is
intended to be mutually exclusive, and a portion of a species' range
may be determined to be ``significant'' due to its contributions under
any one or more of these concepts.
For the purposes of this finding, we determine whether a portion
qualifies as ``significant'' by asking whether without that portion,
the representation, redundancy, or resiliency of the species would be
so impaired that the species would have an increased vulnerability to
threats to the point that the overall species would be in danger of
extinction (i.e., would be ``endangered''). Conversely, we would not
consider the portion of the range at issue to be ``significant'' if
there is sufficient resiliency, redundancy, and representation
elsewhere in the species' range that the species would not be in danger
of extinction throughout its range if the population in that portion of
the range in question became extirpated (extinct locally).
We recognize that this definition of ``significant'' (a portion of
the range of a species is ``significant'' if its contribution to the
viability of the species is so important that without that portion, the
species would be in danger of extinction) establishes a threshold that
is relatively high. On the one hand, given that the consequences of
finding a species to be endangered or threatened in an SPR would be
listing the species throughout its entire range, it is important to use
a threshold for
[[Page 45889]]
``significant'' that is robust. It would not be meaningful or
appropriate to establish a very low threshold whereby a portion of the
range can be considered ``significant'' even if only a negligible
increase in extinction risk would result from its loss. Because nearly
any portion of a species' range can be said to contribute some
increment to a species' viability, use of such a low threshold would
require us to impose restrictions and expend conservation resources
disproportionately to conservation benefit: Listing would be rangewide,
even if only a portion of the range of minor conservation importance to
the species is imperiled. On the other hand, it would be inappropriate
to establish a threshold for ``significant'' that is too high. This
would be the case if the standard were, for example, that a portion of
the range can be considered ``significant'' only if threats in that
portion result in the entire species being currently endangered or
threatened. Such a high bar would not give the SPR phrase independent
meaning, as the Ninth Circuit held in Defenders of Wildlife v. Norton,
258 F.3d 1136 (9th Cir. 2001).
The definition of ``significant'' used in this finding carefully
balances these concerns. By setting a relatively high threshold, we
minimize the degree to which restrictions will be imposed or resources
expended that do not contribute substantially to species conservation.
But we have not set the threshold so high that the phrase ``in a
significant portion of its range'' loses independent meaning.
Specifically, we have not set the threshold as high as it was under the
interpretation presented by the Service in the Defenders litigation.
Under that interpretation, the portion of the range would have to be so
important that current imperilment there would mean that the species
would be currently imperiled everywhere. Under the definition of
``significant'' used in this finding, the portion of the range need not
rise to such an exceptionally high level of biological significance.
(We recognize that if the species is imperiled in a portion that rises
to that level of biological significance, then we should conclude that
the species is in fact imperiled throughout all of its range, and that
we would not need to rely on the SPR language for such a listing.)
Rather, under this interpretation we ask whether the species would be
endangered everywhere without that portion, i.e., if that portion were
completely extirpated. In other words, the portion of the range need
not be so important that even the species being in danger of extinction
in that portion would be sufficient to cause the species in the
remainder of the range to be endangered; rather, the complete
extirpation (in a hypothetical future) of the species in that portion
would be required to cause the species in the remainder of the range to
be endangered.
The range of a species can theoretically be divided into portions
in an infinite number of ways. However, there is no purpose to
analyzing portions of the range that have no reasonable potential to be
significant or to analyzing portions of the range in which there is no
reasonable potential for the species to be endangered or threatened. To
identify only those portions that warrant further consideration, we
determine whether there is substantial information indicating that: (1)
The portions may be ``significant,'' and (2) the species may be in
danger of extinction there or likely to become so within the
foreseeable future.
Depending on the biology of the species, its range, and the threats
it faces, it might be more efficient for us to address the significance
question first or the status question first. Thus, if we determine that
a portion of the range is not ``significant,'' we do not need to
determine whether the species is endangered or threatened there; if we
determine that the species is not endangered or threatened in a portion
of its range, we do not need to determine if that portion is
``significant.'' In practice, a key part of the determination that a
species is in danger of extinction in a significant portion of its
range is whether the threats are geographically concentrated in some
way. If the threats to the species are essentially uniform throughout
its range, no portion is likely to warrant further consideration.
Moreover, if any concentration of threats to the species occurs only in
portions of the species' range that clearly would not meet the
biologically based definition of ``significant,'' such portions will
not warrant further consideration.
Below we consider the contribution of three portions of the range
of the British Columbia DPS to determine if these areas are
significant, as described above. Portions considered significant are
then evaluated to determine if goshawks there are currently in danger
of extinction (i.e., endangered) vs. likely to become in danger of
extinction in the foreseeable future (i.e., threatened).
Vancouver Island: We previously found that Vancouver Island was a
significant portion of the Queen Charlotte goshawk's entire range
(Response to Court, 72 FR 63128; November 8, 2007) and that it was
threatened (74 FR 56757). This determination was based on the amount of
habitat and proportion of the rangewide population still occurring on
Vancouver Island, and the importance of the population there to
redundancy and resilience of the subspecies, rangewide.
The NGRT estimates that Vancouver Island supports 165 (44 to 47
percent) of the 352 to 374 breeding pairs within British Columbia (NGRT
2008, p. 8). Geographically, Vancouver Island covers 27 percent of the
DPS's range (NGRT 2008, p. 6). Thus, although Vancouver Island
comprises about a quarter of the DPS's range in British Columbia, it
supports nearly half of the breeding pairs. Loss of this large
percentage of the small population would clearly result in a meaningful
decrease in representation, resilience, and redundancy across the DPS.
Approximately half of the original goshawk habitat remains on
Vancouver Island (USFWS 2010, Table A-17). Goshawks there nest in both
old-growth and mature second-growth forest. Nesting densities (as
measured by mean distance between nesting areas) are higher on
Vancouver Island than on the Queen Charlotte Islands or in Southeast
Alaska (NGRT 2008, p. 8), suggesting that prey availability is good and
other necessary resources are available. Because the remaining habitat
appears to be of high quality, we believe that the habitat on Vancouver
Island contributes significantly to the resiliency of the DPS, as
defined above.
Goshawks on Vancouver Island appear to be genetically distinct from
goshawks on the Queen Charlotte Islands, with affinities to the
mainland atricapillus subspecies (Talbot et al. 2005, pp. 2-3; Talbot
2006, p. 1, Talbot et al., in press). While this might suggest dilution
of the laingi genotype on Vancouver Island, it is also possible that
the genetic diversity in this population, expressed as a cline, could
help the subspecies respond and adapt to future environmental changes,
particularly as warmer-adapted forest communities move northward in
response to climate change. We conclude that the population contributes
to representation and resilience.
Without Vancouver Island, the Queen Charlotte goshawk population in
British Columbia would be limited to the Queen Charlotte Islands and
the mainland. Overall, the population would be reduced by nearly half,
and a probable source of immigrants to the mainland population would be
gone. We do not have a demographic model to evaluate viability
prospects for the
[[Page 45890]]
population that would remain on the mainland and the Queen Charlotte
Islands, but we expect that loss of the densest population, inhabiting
the most productive habitat in the DPS, would increase extinction risk
for the remaining population. Without the redundancy and resiliency of
the Vancouver Island population, the DPS would likely include fewer
than 200 breeding pairs (NGRT 2008, p. 8). We, therefore, expect that
the DPS would be in danger of extinction, and conclude that Vancouver
Island is a significant portion of the DPS's range. Having established
significance, we now determine if Queen Charlotte goshawk is endangered
in this significant portion of the range.
Factor A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or
Curtailment of the Habitat or Range
Approximately 13 percent of the landscape, but only 9 percent of
the productive forest, on Vancouver Island is protected in reserves
(USFWS 2010, Tables A-9 and A-23). Mature and old-growth forest
currently covers approximately 42 percent of Vancouver Island (USFWS
2010, Table A-21), suggesting that habitat, on average, is adequate to
support goshawks. Clearly, habitat quality varies across the island.
Some areas have been heavily impacted by timber harvest or urban
development, and other areas have extensive stands of mature and old-
growth forest that provide higher quality habitat. These local
differences are masked by calculations of forest cover across the
island.
Smith and Sutherland (2008, p. 33) found that habitat on Vancouver
Island could potentially support approximately 310 goshawk territories.
Only 55 percent of the known goshawk territories on Vancouver Island
have been occupied, on average, leading the NGRT to suggest that the
island may have approximately 165 breeding pairs (2008, pp. 7-8).
We estimate that approximately 170,000 ac (418,000 ha) of old-
growth forest on Vancouver Island is likely to be harvested over the
next 50 years (USFWS 2010, Table A-9), resulting in a landscape with
approximately 35 percent cover by mature and old-growth forest (USFWS
2010, Table A-24). We consider this low-quality habitat, on average,
although many individual territories are likely to have higher quality
habitat. Although habitat loss (Factor A) does not appear to pose a
threat to the goshawk population on Vancouver Island at this time, it
is likely to become a significant threat within the foreseeable future.
The NGRT considers threats from habitat loss and fragmentation high on
Vancouver Island (NGRT 2008, p. 16). We agree with this assessment and
conclude that habitat loss is a threat to the Queen Charlotte goshawk
in the foreseeable future, but does not place goshawks in the Vancouver
Island portion of the subspecies' range in danger of extinction at this
time.
Factor B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or
Educational Purposes
As discussed above for the entire DPS, the Queen Charlotte goshawk
is protected from direct take by several laws and regulations in
British Columbia. No Queen Charlotte goshawks from Vancouver Island are
used for commercial, recreational, or educational purposes, including
falconry; therefore, no element of this Factor is a threat to the
species, now or in the foreseeable future.
Factor C. Disease or Predation
Neither disease nor predation has been identified as a current
threat to Queen Charlotte goshawks on Vancouver Island. As discussed
above, for the entire DPS, there is what we believe to be a low risk of
disease in the future from West Nile virus or other emerging diseases,
but these threats do not currently place the goshawk on Vancouver
Island in danger of extinction.
Factor D. Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
Several factors reduce the effectiveness of regulatory mechanisms
on Vancouver Island, as compared to the rest of coastal British
Columbia. First, a much higher percentage of the land is in private
ownership (approximately 27 percent, as compared to 1 percent on the
Queen Charlotte Islands and 6 percent on the mainland coast) (USFWS
2010, Table A-3). Laws and regulations intended to protect goshawk
habitat in the province, notably the Forest and Range Practices Act and
its associated regulations and strategies, apply primarily or
exclusively to Crown lands, not private lands. This leaves a
significant portion of the island without regulatory protection of
important goshawk habitat.
Threats to habitat loss from urban development are also greatest in
the Vancouver Island and South Coast Conservation Regions. Finally, the
Vancouver Island Summary Land Use Plan (BC 2000) does not specifically
address goshawk habitat, whereas land use plans for both the Queen
Charlotte Islands (BC 2007, pp. 22) and the Central Coast (BCMAL 2009,
not numbered) make provisions for protecting goshawk habitat. We do not
believe that the somewhat higher threat posed by this lower level of
regulatory oversight rises to a level that places goshawks on Vancouver
Island in danger of extinction now, but does pose risks to the
population in the foreseeable future, as discussed above for the entire
DPS.
Factor E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting the Species'
Continued Existence
There is evidence that goshawks on Vancouver Island hybridize
(interbreed) with the mainland (atricapillus) form of the northern
goshawk (Gust et al. 2003, p. 22; Talbot et al. 2005, pp. 2-3; Talbot
2006, p. 1; Talbot et al. in press). We consider Vancouver Island a
``stable hybrid zone'' (Haig et al. 2006, p. 7), where the laingi
phenotype will continue to be represented in the population.
We believe that climate change is likely to cause changes in
habitat and possibly prey communities on Vancouver Island in the
foreseeable future, as discussed above for the entire DPS.
Hybridization with, and competition from, the mainland form of the
goshawk (A. g. atricapillus) seem likely, as well. We are not certain
what effects these threats may have on Queen Charlotte goshawk
populations, but we do not believe that they place the subspecies in
danger of extinction, now or in the foreseeable future, because we
expect the small, dark phenotype to persist in the forests of Vancouver
Island. Nor are we aware of any current threats from contaminants,
natural disasters, or genetic problems resulting from demographic
isolation. Prey fluctuations may affect the population periodically in
the future, as discussed above for the entire DPS, but we do not
consider the population to be currently at risk of extinction.
We do not believe that any of the factors considered in this
section place the goshawk in danger of extinction in the Vancouver
Island portion of its range.
Summary of Factors for Vancouver Island
None of the threats discussed above place the Queen Charlotte
goshawk in current danger of extinction. Habitat loss (Factor A),
inadequacy of regulatory mechanisms (Factor D), hybridization,
competition, prey fluctuations, or other climate change-induced risks
(Factor E) are all chronic and, acting collectively, are likely to
result in the goshawk becoming in danger of extinction in the
[[Page 45891]]
foreseeable future. Overutilization (Factor B) and predation (Factor C)
are not expected to affect the population now or in the future. Disease
(Factor C) could be a factor in the future, but we judge the risk now
to be relatively low. Therefore, listing the species on Vancouver
Island as threatened is appropriate.
Queen Charlotte Islands: When we published our proposed rule, the
Queen Charlotte Islands were believed to support about 10 to 18
breeding pairs, though few nested during poor prey years (Doyle 2005,
p. 18; Doyle 2007, p. 8; McClaren 2006, p. 8; NGRT 2008, p. 8). More
recent habitat modeling suggests that the Queen Charlotte Islands may
currently have adequate habitat for about 65 territories (Smith and
Sutherland 2008, p. 41). If we apply the observed local territory
occupancy rate of 43 percent, following the methodology of NGRT (2008,
pp. 7-8), the Queen Charlotte Islands might currently support about 28
breeding pairs, or about seven percent of the estimated breeding
population in British Columbia.
Currently available genetic analyses suggest that the Queen
Charlotte Islands population may be unique (Talbot 2006, p. 1, Talbot
et al. in press) and genetically isolated (Talbot et al. 2005, p. 3;
Talbot et al. in press). Birds from this population are apparently more
consistently dark than birds from Vancouver Island or Southeast Alaska
(Taverner 1940, p. 160; Beebe 1974, p. 54; Webster 1988, pp. 46-47). We
believe that this phenotype may represent adaptations favoring darker
birds in the relatively dark rainforest habitat where there are few
prey in open habitats, and smaller body size to maximize agility for
capturing primarily avian prey, and to allow survival on smaller
rations during periodic prey population declines. The strength of this
phenotypic expression likely reflects genetic isolation of this
population in recent time (Talbot et al. 2005, p. 3; Talbot et al. in
press). This population may represent a small but possibly important
pool of the genetic diversity and perhaps genetic purity (genetic
coding for the small, dark phenotype) within the subspecies,
contributing to the subspecies' representation and environmental
resilience.
In the proposed rule, we concluded that this apparent isolation and
uniqueness was adequate to consider the Queen Charlotte Islands a
significant portion of the DPS' range. Because we have modified our
interpretation of the term ``significant portion of the range'', as
described above, we no longer believe this to be the case. Despite the
possible genetic uniqueness of this population, we conclude the loss of
this population would not likely affect survival prospects for birds in
the remainder of the DPS because there appears to be little or no gene
flow from the Queen Charlotte Islands to the adjacent island and
mainland populations, (Gust et al. 2003, p. 22; Talbot et al. 2005, pp.
2-3; Talbot 2006, p. 1; Talbot et al. in press). In addition, this
population is very small. Loss of this population, therefore, is
unlikely to place the remainder of the DPS in danger of extinction.
While we continue to believe that the genetics of the goshawks on the
Queen Charlotte Islands may be important, we conclude that the Queen
Charlotte Islands do not meet our criteria as a significant portion of
the DPS's range.
Mainland British Columbia: The NGRT estimates that the British
Columbia coastal mainland covers 64 percent of the subspecies'
geographic range in the DPS, and supports approximately half of the
breeding population in the DPS (NGRT 2008, pp. 6-8). Goshawks from this
portion of the range likely provide immigrants to Vancouver Island, as
goshawks have been documented moving between Vancouver Island and the
mainland (McClaren 2004, p. 3). The mainland could represent a
potential source population, should populations on Vancouver Island
decline. Loss of Queen Charlotte goshawks on the mainland would result
in a significant gap in the subspecies' distribution, and a significant
reduction in the resiliency and redundancy of the British Columbia DPS.
Without the mainland habitat, the Queen Charlotte goshawk
population in British Columbia would be limited to the Queen Charlotte
Islands and Vancouver Island. Overall, the population would be reduced
by about half, and a probable source of immigrants to Vancouver Island
would be gone. We do not have a demographic model to evaluate viability
of the population that would remain, but we expect that loss of the
mainland population would increase extinction risk for the remaining
population. Without the redundancy and resiliency of the mainland
population, the DPS would likely number approximately 187 to 209
breeding pairs (NGRT 2008, p. 8), which is precariously small from a
conservation perspective. We expect that the DPS would probably be in
danger of extinction, and conclude, therefore, that the British
Columbia mainland is a significant portion of the DPS's range. Having
established significance, we now determine if Queen Charlotte goshawk
is endangered, rather than threatened, in this significant portion of
the range.
Factor A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or
Curtailment of the Habitat or Range
We agree with the NGRT that threats from habitat loss and
fragmentation are moderate in the southern portion of the mainland and
low to moderate in the northern portion (NGRT 2008, p. 16). These
threats are chronic and do not currently place goshawks on the mainland
in danger of extinction. Establishment of the Great Bear Rainforest and
emergence of Ecosystem Based Management on lands available for
development on the mainland appear to have reduced threats somewhat,
but continued loss of old-growth habitat is likely to reduce habitat
quality and contribute to population declines in the foreseeable
future.
Factor B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or
Educational Purposes
Queen Charlotte goshawks on the mainland are protected from direct
take by several laws and regulations, and not used for commercial,
recreational or educational purposes, including falconry; therefore, no
element of this Factor is a threat to the species, now or in the
foreseeable future.
Factor C. Disease or Predation
Neither disease nor predation has been identified as a current
threat to Queen Charlotte goshawks on the mainland. We believe that
there is a low risk of disease in the future from West Nile virus or
other emerging diseases, but these threats do not currently place
goshawks on the mainland in danger of extinction.
Factor D. Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
Laws and regulations that protect habitat in the province, notably
the Forest and Range Practices Act and its associated regulations and
strategies, apply across the mainland range, except on the 6 percent in
private ownership (USFWS 2010, Table A-3). Threats to habitat loss from
urban development are greatest in the southern portion of the mainland
coast, but significant protected areas occur in the northern portion.
We do not believe that threats posed by inadequacies in existing
regulatory mechanisms place goshawks on the mainland coast in current
danger of extinction.
[[Page 45892]]
Factor E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting the Species'
Continued Existence
It is likely that Queen Charlotte goshawks on the mainland
encounter the mainland (atricapillus) subspecies of the northern
goshawk, and that some hybridization occurs, although we are aware of
no documentation to confirm this hypothesis. The NGRT considers the
drier coastal western hemlock zones on the mainland to be transitional
areas between subspecies. As on Vancouver Island, we believe these
areas to be stable hybrid zones where the laingi form will persist
unless changes in habitat favoring the atricapillus form occur. Such
changes could conceivably be caused by factors such as climate change
or timber harvest. Our current understanding of climate change effects
is inadequate to allow predictions concerning competitive advantages
that may result. Likewise, we are unable to conclude that timber
harvest will favor one subspecies over another.
We believe that climate change is likely to cause changes in
habitat and possibly prey communities on the mainland coast that could
affect Queen Charlotte goshawks in ways other than favoring the
atricapillus subspecies. Any effects these threats may have on Queen
Charlotte goshawk populations are likely to be in the future, and thus
do not place the subspecies in this portion of its range in danger of
extinction at this time.
We are aware of no current threats from contaminants or natural
disasters on the mainland. Prey fluctuations may affect the population
periodically in the future, as discussed above for the entire DPS, but
we do not consider the population to be currently at risk of
extinction.
We do not believe that any of the factors considered in this
section currently place the goshawk in danger of extinction in the
mainland coast portion of its range.
Summary of Factors for Mainland British Columbia
We do not expect overutilization (Factor B), predation or disease
(Factor C), inadequacy of regulatory mechanisms (Factor D), or other
threats, such as climate change, competition, contaminants, natural
disasters, or prey fluctuations (Factor E) to have disproportionately
greater impacts on the mainland than elsewhere in the DPS's range. The
NGRT considers each of these threats to be low on the mainland, except
that they consider threats from low prey availability moderate in the
southern portion of the mainland (NGRT 2008, p. 16).
We do not believe that habitat loss (Factor A) or hybridization
rates (Factor E) place Queen Charlotte goshawks on the mainland in
current danger of extinction because these threats are of a chronic,
long-term nature. Continued habitat loss, however, is likely to result
in poor-quality habitat across a large portion of the mainland, leading
to a progressively smaller, more vulnerable population likely to become
in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future. Therefore, listing
the entire DPS as threatened is warranted.
Summary of ``Significant Portion of the Range'' Analysis
In summary, we find that Vancouver Island and the coastal mainland
of British Columbia are significant portions of the DPS's range, but
that the Queen Charlotte Islands are not, using the definition of
``significant portion of the range'' discussed above. Further, we find
that threats to the populations on Vancouver Island and the mainland
coast do not place the subspecies in these portions in danger of
extinction at this time, but are likely to do so in the foreseeable
future. Thus, listing the entire DPS as threatened is warranted.
Determination
In consideration of the analyses described above, we find that
listing the entire British Columbia DPS of the Queen Charlotte goshawk
as threatened is warranted.
Available Conservation Measures
Conservation measures provided to species listed as endangered or
threatened under the Act include recognition (through listing),
requirements for Federal protection, and prohibitions against certain
practices. Recognition through listing results in public awareness, and
encourages conservation actions by Federal and State governments,
private agencies and groups, and individuals.
Section 7(a) of the Act, as amended, and as implemented by
regulations at 50 CFR part 402, requires Federal agencies to evaluate
their actions within the United States or on the high seas, and consult
with the Service with respect to any species that is proposed or listed
as endangered or threatened, and with respect to its critical habitat,
if any is designated. Because the British Columbia DPS of the Queen
Charlotte goshawk is entirely outside the United States, and is not
``on the high seas,'' section 7 of the Act does not apply to this DPS.
Therefore, there will be no requirement to evaluate management actions
or consult with the Service. Further, we cannot designate critical
habitat in foreign countries (50 CFR 424.12(h)), so we are not
proposing critical habitat for the DPS.
Section 8(a) of the Act authorizes the provision of limited
financial assistance for the development and management of programs
that the Secretary of the Interior determines to be necessary or useful
for the conservation of endangered and threatened species in foreign
countries. Sections 8(b) and 8(c) of the Act authorize the Secretary to
encourage conservation programs for foreign threatened and endangered
species, and to provide assistance for such programs in the form of
personnel and training of personnel.
The Act and its implementing regulations set forth a series of
general prohibitions and exceptions that apply to all endangered and
threatened wildlife. These prohibitions, under 50 CFR 17.21 and 17.31,
in part, make it illegal for any person subject to the jurisdiction of
the United States to ``take'' (take includes harass, harm, pursue,
hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt any
of these) within the United States or upon the high seas; import or
export; deliver, receive, carry, transport, or ship in interstate or
foreign commerce in the course of commercial activity; or sell or offer
for sale in interstate or foreign commerce any endangered or threatened
wildlife species. It also is illegal to possess, sell, deliver, carry,
transport, or ship any such wildlife that has been taken in violation
of the Act. Certain exceptions apply to agents of the Service and State
conservation agencies. These prohibitions would not apply to the Queen
Charlotte goshawk within the British Columbia DPS, except as they apply
to import into the United States or foreign commerce.
Permits may be issued to carry out otherwise prohibited activities
involving endangered and threatened wildlife species under certain
circumstances. Regulations governing permits are codified at 50 CFR
17.22 for endangered species, and 17.32 for threatened species. Permits
may be issued for scientific purposes, to enhance the propagation or
survival of the species, and for incidental take in connection with
otherwise lawful activities. In addition, permits for threatened
species may be issued for zoological exhibition, educational purposes
or special purposes consistent with the purposes of the Act.
[[Page 45893]]
Required Determinations
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not contain any new collections of information that
require approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The regulation will not impose new recordkeeping or
reporting requirements on State or local governments, individuals,
businesses, or organizations. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are
not required to respond to a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
National Environmental Policy Act
We have determined that Environmental Assessments and Environmental
Impact Statements, as defined under the authority of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, need not be prepared in connection
with regulations adopted pursuant to section 4(a) of the Act. A notice
outlining our reasons for this determination was published in the
Federal Register on October 25, 1983 (48 FR 49244).
References Cited
A list of the references used to develop this rule is available at
http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R7-ES-2009-0049 or upon
request (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Author
The primary author of this final rule is Steve Brockmann, Juneau
Fish and Wildlife Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Regulation Promulgation
Accordingly, we amend part 17, subchapter B of chapter I, title 50
of the Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:
PART 17--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C.
4201-4245; Pub. L. 99-625, 100 Stat. 3500; unless otherwise noted.
0
2. Amend Sec. 17.11(h) by adding a new entry for ``Goshawk, Queen
Charlotte'' in alphabetical order under BIRDS to the List of Endangered
and Threatened Wildlife as follows:
Sec. 17.11 Endangered and threatened wildlife.
* * * * *
(h) * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Vertebrate
------------------------------------------------------------- population where When Critical Special
Historic range endangered or Status listed habitat rules
Common name Scientific name threatened
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
BIRDS
* * * * * * *
Goshawk, Queen Charlotte..... Accipiter gentilis laingi.... That portion of British British Columbia, T 807 NA NA
Columbia that includes Canada.
Vancouver Island and
its surrounding
islands, the mainland
coast west of the crest
of the Coast Range and
adjacent islands, and
the Queen Charlotte
Islands.
* * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
Dated: June 26, 2012.
Gregory E. Siekaniec,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-18211 Filed 7-31-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P