Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Southwest Alaska Distinct Population Segment of the Northern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) as Threatened

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the southwest Alaska distinct population segment of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) as threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Once containing more than half of the world's sea otters, this population segment has undergone a precipitous population decline of at least 56-68 percent since the mid-1980s.