[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 15, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20967-20970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07715]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2020-0007; FXES111302WOLF0-201-FF02ENEH00]
RIN 1018-BE52
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revision to the
Nonessential Experimental Population of the Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus
baileyi); Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplement to an environmental
impact statement.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will prepare a draft
environmental impact statement supplement pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), in conjunction
with a proposed rule to revise the existing nonessential experimental
population designation of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) under
section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The
revised rule and environmental impact statement supplement are being
developed in response to a court-ordered remand by the District Court
of Arizona of our 2015
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final rule to revise the nonessential experimental population
designation and management of Mexican wolves in the Mexican Wolf
Experimental Population Area in Arizona and New Mexico.
DATES: We will accept public comments received or postmarked on or
before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 15, 2020. We may not consider
any comments we receive after the closing date in the final decision.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by one of the following
methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments to
Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2020-0007, which is the docket number for this
notice of intent.
(2) By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to:
Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2020-0007; U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/PERMA (JAO/1N), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls
Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see the Information Requested section below for more information.).
To increase our efficiency in downloading comments, groups providing
mass submissions should submit their comments in an Excel file.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marty Tuegel, 505-248-6651; or the
Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New
Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road NE,
Albuquerque, NM 87113 or by telephone 505-761-4704; or by facsimile
505-761-2542. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD), call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Additional
information can be found on the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program's website
at https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Previous Federal Actions
We established a nonessential experimental population of Mexican
wolves in Arizona and New Mexico in 1998 (63 FR 1752, January 12, 1998)
pursuant to section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (Act). We published a final rule to
revise the designation and management of the nonessential experimental
population in 2015 (80 FR 2512, January 16, 2015) (2015 final rule). We
analyzed the effects of our proposed revision in the Environmental
Impact Statement for the Proposed Revision to the Regulations for the
Nonessential Experimental Population of the Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus
baileyi) (EIS). We opened a public comment period and announced public
meetings for the draft environmental impact statement on July 25, 2014
(79 FR 43358), and announced the availability of our EIS and draft
Record of Decision in the Federal Register on November 25, 2014 (79 FR
70154). The EIS and other documents are available at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2013-0056 under Supporting
Documents.
Background
The Service previously opened a public scoping period on August 5,
2013, to seek public input on the scope, issues, and alternatives under
consideration in the Service's revision of the 1998 Mexican wolf
nonessential experimental population designation (78 FR 47268). At that
time, the Service was seeking to improve the conservation and
management of the experimental population as designated in 1998, and
requested input from the public on potential changes to the geographic
boundaries of the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA) in
Arizona and New Mexico, as well as the management provisions associated
with it. In the 2015 final rule, the Service revised the designation
and management of the MWEPA from its original 1998 designation by:
(1) Establishing a population objective for the experimental
population of 300 to 325 wolves within the MWEPA;
(2) Expanding the area in which initial releases of Mexican wolves
from captivity and translocations could occur;
(3) Extending the southern boundary of the MWEPA in Arizona and New
Mexico to the United States-Mexico international border;
(4) Discontinuing the use of the ``Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area''
designation within the MWEPA, including its divisions of primary and
secondary recovery zones;
(5) Establishing three management zones within the MWEPA defined as
``Zone 1,'' ``Zone 2,'' and ``Zone 3,'' each with specific provisions
for Mexican wolf occupancy, initial releases, and translocations;
(6) Adopting a phased management approach for up to 12 years to
minimize or avoid impacts to wild ungulate populations in western
Arizona;
(7) Authorizing removal of Mexican wolves identified as coming from
the experimental population that disperse to establish territories
outside of the MWEPA in a revised section 10(a)(1)(A) research and
recovery permit;
(8) Providing revised and additional provisions for take of Mexican
wolves under certain circumstances to protect livestock and non-feral
dogs, or as needed to manage wild ungulate populations (particularly
elk and deer); and
(9) Providing for the development of management actions on tribal
trust land or on private land in management Zones 1 and 2.
On March 31, 2018, the District Court of Arizona remanded the 2015
final rule to the Service based on the Court's finding that the 2015
final rule failed to further the long-term conservation and recovery of
the Mexican wolf and that the essentiality determination was arbitrary
and capricious (Center for Biological Diversity v. Jewell, No. 4:15-cv-
00019-JGZ (D. Ariz.) (March 31, 2018, Order)). The Service is under a
court-ordered deadline to address the remanded issues in a new revised
rule by May 1, 2021. The 2015 final rule remains in place until we
finalize the new revised rule.
In the interim between the 2015 final rule and the March 31, 2018,
Order, the Service finalized the Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan, First
Revision (2017). The revised recovery plan, which updates the original
1982 Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan, provides objective and measurable
recovery criteria for the Mexican wolf, as well as management actions
and time and cost estimates to achieve recovery, pursuant to section
4(f) of the Act. The recovery criteria focus on achieving specific
population sizes, growth rate trends, and genetic diversity in the
MWEPA and a second population in Mexico, as well as ensuring regulatory
mechanisms are in place for both populations to address human-caused
mortality of Mexican wolves. The recovery plan serves as our roadmap
for the long-term conservation and recovery of the Mexican wolf. It is
available at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-
0036 under Supporting Documents.
Information Requested
We are currently seeking comments or suggestions from the public,
governmental agencies, Tribes, the scientific community, industry, or
any other interested parties concerning specific provisions of the 2015
final rule identified by the District Court of Arizona in the March 31,
2018, Order. We will revise the 2015 final rule only
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to the extent necessary to address the Court's ruling; no additional
provisions of the rule are subject to revision. To the extent possible,
and as described below, we will address the remanded issues by aligning
the new revised rule with the revised recovery plan, which provides an
overarching strategy for the long-term conservation and recovery of the
Mexican wolf. We will analyze any new proposed rule revisions in a
supplemental EIS to the 2014 EIS.
Due to the focus of the remand, we are seeking input from the
public only on a narrow range of topics, as follows:
(1) We will make a new essentiality determination for the
experimental population of Mexican wolves in the MWEPA under section
10(j) of the Act. We are interested in feedback from the public and our
partners on the benefits or potential impacts to the Mexican wolf or
the public and our partners of an ``essential'' versus ``nonessential''
designation.
(2) We intend to align the population objective and release
recommendations in the new revised rule with the recovery criteria in
the revised recovery plan for the MWEPA to ensure the new revised rule
supports the long-term conservation and recovery of the Mexican wolf.
We are interested in feedback from the public and our partners on any
information or data available since we finalized the revised recovery
plan in 2017 pertinent to establishing a population objective or
release recommendations for the MWEPA. We are also interested in any
other considerations related to the relationship between the population
objective and release recommendations for the MWEPA and the long-term
conservation and recovery of the Mexican wolf.
(3) We intend to ensure the new revised rule supports population-
level genetic health for the Mexican wolf in the MWEPA as a key
component of the long-term conservation and recovery of the Mexican
wolf. We will ensure our management provisions facilitate our ability
to achieve the genetic recovery criterion for the MWEPA, which serves
as our long-term conservation and recovery target. The genetic
criterion in the revised recovery plan for the MWEPA states that we
will release a sufficient number of captive Mexican wolves to result in
22 released Mexican wolves surviving to breeding age in the MWEPA
(USFWS 2017a, pp. 18-19). As explained in the revised recovery plan
(USFWS 2017a, pp. 9, 13) and the supporting Biological Report for the
Mexican Wolf (USFWS 2017b, pp. 27-29, 33-34, and 36-38), the genetic
criterion ensures that the threat of continuing or accelerated loss of
genetic diversity of Mexican wolves in the wild is adequately
alleviated. Both of these documents are available online at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0036 under Supporting
Documents.
In the 2015 final rule, we expanded several allowable forms of take
of Mexican wolves from the 1998 rule after analyzing their effects in
the 2014 EIS and determining a significant beneficial effect for the
Mexican wolf (USFWS 2014, pg. ES-18). In the District Court of
Arizona's March 31, 2018, Order, the judge stated that, after the
Service identified loss of genetic diversity as a primary threat to the
Mexican wolf, ``. . . the expanded take provisions lack protections for
the loss of genetic diversity (Center for Biological Diversity v.
Jewell, No. 4:15-cv-00019-JGZ (D. Ariz.), pg. 29).'' In response to the
ruling, we will assess the effects of three of the expanded take
provisions on the long-term conservation and recovery of the Mexican
wolf, in particular as they relate to our ability to achieve the
genetic criterion in the revised recovery plan. The take provisions we
will evaluate include: Take on non-Federal lands in conjunction with a
removal action (50 CFR 17.84(k)(7)(iv)(C)); take on Federal land (Sec.
17.84(k)(7)(v)(A)); and take in response to unacceptable impacts to a
wild ungulate herd (Sec. 17.84(k)(7)(vi)). Lethal control will remain
an allowable form of take under these three provisions.
For clarity, we are not assessing or considering modification to
the allowable take of Mexican wolves by livestock guarding dogs on
Federal or non-Federal land as specified in the 2015 final rule (Sec.
17.84(k)(7)(iv)(B) and Sec. 17.84(k)(7)(v)(B), respectively), or take,
including killing, on non-Federal land by a domestic animal owner or
that person's agent of any Mexican wolf that is in the act of biting,
killing, or wounding a domestic animal (Sec. 17.84(k)(7)(iv)(A)).
Finally, take in defense of human life as specified in the 2015 final
rule (Sec. 17.84(k)(7)(i)) would remain an allowable form of take,
including the potential for lethal take of a Mexican wolf.
We are interested in feedback from the public and our partners on
the impact of take on non-Federal lands in conjunction with a removal
action (50 CFR 17.84(k)(7)(iv)(C)), take on Federal land (Sec.
17.84(k)(7)(v)(A)), and take in response to unacceptable impacts to a
wild ungulate herd on the genetic health of the experimental population
in the MWEPA in the context of long-term conservation and recovery of
the Mexican wolf. We are also interested in feedback on the social or
economic benefits or impacts of modifying any of these three allowable
forms of take of Mexican wolves to the public or our partners, as well
as other recommendations to protect the genetic health of the
experimental population in the MWEPA and achieve the genetic recovery
criterion.
(4) We intend to produce a draft and final supplemental EIS to the
2014 EIS that includes updated data, information, and analyses
pertinent to any of the revisions under consideration in the new
revised rule. Specifically, we intend to modify the Purpose and Need of
the 2014 EIS only as necessary to explain the role of the MWEPA in the
recovery of the Mexican wolf, based on the revised recovery plan. We
intend to evaluate and revise specific features of two alternatives
from the 2014 EIS, as follows: In Alternative One (Proposed Action and
Preferred Alternative), we will revise the population objective and
release recommendations, and may revise any of the three forms of
allowable take discussed above. In Alternative Two, we may revise any
of the three forms of allowable take discussed above, consistent with
revisions made in Alternative One. We do not intend to revise any of
the components of Alternatives Three or Four from the 2014 EIS, and we
do not intend to consider any new alternatives in the supplemental EIS
that were not included in the 2014 EIS.
As necessary and based on information availability, we will provide
updated data in the supplemental EIS at the relevant State or county
level for Arizona and New Mexico to analyze the environmental
consequences (i.e., effects or impacts) of our revisions on the land
use, biological resources, economic activity, health and human safety,
and environmental justice in the project area. Updated data may
include:
Changes in land use such as significant shifts in land
ownership, management, or special use;
Human population census data, including information on
low-income populations, racial minorities, and Indian tribes;
The number of permitted and authorized Animal Unit Months
in National Forests (An Animal Unit Month, or AUM, is a measure of the
amount of forage required to sustain one cow, either dry or with calf
at side up to 6 months of age, for 1 month);
An inventory of cattle and calves, including the number of
cattle and calf operations, cattle sales (including calves), and herd
sizes;
Sheep and lamb inventory;
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Big game hunting data, including the number of license
holders and applicants, days spent hunting and average hunter financial
expenditures, and total number of hunters, harvest, and success ratio
for elk and deer;
Incidences of human-wolf encounters; and
Parasite or disease events related to Mexican wolves.
Therefore, we are requesting any new information from the public or our
partners available since the publication of the 2014 EIS and 2015 final
rule (80 FR 2487, January 16, 2015) related to these topics that is not
readily available on Federal, State, tribal, or county websites.
Please note that submissions merely stating support for or
opposition to the items under consideration, without providing
supporting information, although noted, will not be considered.
Similarly, issues raised that are outside of the scope of items under
consideration will not be considered in making a determination. Please
consider the following when preparing your comments:
Be as succinct as possible.
Organize comments beginning with general comments and then
move on to specific issues.
Be specific. Comments supported by logic, rationale, and
citations are more useful than opinions.
State suggestions and recommendations clearly with an
expectation of what you would like the Service to do.
If you provide alternate interpretations of science from
the revised recovery plan or other cited Service document, please
support your analysis with appropriate citations.
If possible, coordinate your comments with other like-
minded individuals and organizations. This can strengthen the comment
and help us understand the depth of concern.
References and Availability of Documents for Review
We will post information pertinent to NEPA planning on our Mexican
Wolf Recovery Program website, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/NEPA. The references cited in this notice are also
available at that website.
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the
Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior
Regions 7 and 8.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you can request in your comment that we withhold
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their
entirety.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq.) and the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Amy Lueders,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-07715 Filed 4-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P