90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Southern White-Tailed Ptarmigan and the Mt. Rainier White-Tailed Ptarmigan as Threatened With Critical Habitat

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the southern white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura altipetens) and the Mt. Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan (L. l. rainierensis) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), and designate critical habitat. Based on our review, we find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the southern white-tailed ptarmigan and the Mt. Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a review of the status of the two subspecies to determine if listing is warranted. To ensure that this status review is comprehensive, we are requesting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding these subspecies. Based on the status review, we will issue a 12-month finding on the petition, which will address whether the petitioned action is warranted, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act. We will make a determination on critical habitat for these subspecies if and when we initiate a listing action.