[Federal Register: April 9, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 68)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 17350-17352]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09ap98-27]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Request for
Information on the Aleutian Canada Goose
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of status review.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), Alaska Region,
is reviewing the status of the Aleutian Canada goose (Branta canadensis
leucopareia) in Alaska and in the western coastal States of Washington,
Oregon and California. The population of Aleutian Canada goose declined
precipitously in the early to mid 1900s primarily as the result of the
introduction of Arctic (Alopex lagopus) and red (Vulpes vulpes) foxes
to its nesting islands. The Aleutian Canada goose was listed as
endangered in 1967. A formal recovery program began in 1974, and by
1990 the Aleutian Canada goose had recovered sufficiently to be
reclassified as threatened. Censuses on the breeding and wintering
grounds indicate further, substantial increases in population, and
suggest that the Aleutian Canada goose population may have recovered.
The Service requests data and information on the status of this
subspecies.
DATES: To ensure their consideration, comments from all interested
parties should be received by May 11, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments and information concerning this notice should be
sent to Anthony DeGange, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 E. Tudor
Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503. Comments and information received will be
available for public inspection by appointment during normal business
hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony DeGange at the above address
or Teresa Woods at the above address.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Aleutian Canada goose is a small island-nesting subspecies of
Canada goose. Morphologically it resembles other small Canada goose
subspecies, but nearly all Aleutians surviving past their first winter
have a distinct white neck ring at the base of their black necks. The
Aleutian Canada goose is the only subspecies of Canada goose whose
range once included both the North American and Asian continents. It
formerly nested in the northern Kuril and Commander Islands, in the
Aleutian Archipelago and on islands south of the Alaska Peninsula east
to near Kodiak Island. The species formerly wintered in Japan, and from
British Columbia south to Mexico. The decline of the Aleutian Canada
goose has been attributed to the introduction of Arctic foxes, and to a
lesser extent red foxes, to its breeding islands for the purpose of
developing a fur industry. Hunting and loss of habitat on its wintering
range also contributed to the subspecies' decline. At the time of its
listing as endangered, its known breeding range was limited to Buldir
Island, a small, isolated island in the western Aleutian Islands where
foxes were never introduced. Small breeding populations of small Canada
geese were subsequently found on Chagulak Island in the central
Aleutians and on Kiliktagik Island in the Semidi Islands south of the
Alaska Peninsula. These island nesting geese are morphologically
similar to Aleutian Canada geese and genetic studies indicate they are
more closely related to Aleutian Canada geese than other Canada goose
subspecies (Shields and Wilson 1987; B. Pierson, pers. comm.). The
Service considers the Chagulak and Semidi Islands geese remnant
populations of the previously more continuously distributed Aleutian
Canada goose. The Aleutian Canada goose is believed to have numbered
fewer than 800 birds in 1975.
Most Aleutian Canada geese winter in California. They arrive on the
wintering grounds in early to mid-October. Some geese stop in the
Crescent City area in northwest California but most continue on to the
vicinities of Colusa in the Sacramento Valley and Modesto in the
northern San Joaquin Valley. By mid-December the majority of the
population is near Modesto. Small numbers of Aleutian Canada geese also
frequently winter near El Sobrante in north San Francisco Bay and near
Crescent City. Most of the population stages near Crescent City on the
northward migration although several thousand birds are now using
pasture land in south coastal Oregon for several weeks in the spring.
The small population of geese that breeds in the Semidi Islands winters
exclusively in coastal Oregon near Pacific City.
In response to reduced population levels, the Service classified
the Aleutian Canada goose as endangered in 1967. The Service provided
additional protection to the goose with passage of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973. A recovery plan for the Aleutian Canada goose was
approved in 1979 and revised in 1982 and 1991 (Byrd et al. 1991).
Recovery activities were begun in 1974. Important features of the
recovery
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program in Alaska and the western U.S. included--banding of birds on
the breeding grounds to identify important wintering and migration
areas; closure of wintering and migration areas to hunting of Canada
geese; acquisition, protection and management of important wintering
and migration habitat; removal of foxes from potential nesting islands;
propagation and release of captive Aleutian Canada geese on fox free-
nesting islands in the Aleutians; and translocation of molting family
groups from Buldir Island to other fox-free islands in the Aleutians.
Survival of released captive-reared birds on fox-free islands was never
high, thus once the population on Buldir Island was large enough to
support the translocation of wild birds, release of captive birds was
phased out. This approach and other recovery actions have been
successful.
Recovery actions resulted in an increase in the population of
Aleutian Canada geese. Rates of increase between 1975 and 1989 ranged
from 6 to 35 percent annually, and by winter 1989/1990 the peak winter
count reached 6,200 geese. The Service reclassified the Aleutian Canada
goose from endangered to threatened in 1990 (55 FR 51106, December 12,
1990).
Summary of Status
Since the subspecies was downlisted to threatened in 1990, the
overall population of Aleutian Canada geese has sustained a strong
recovery. Estimates of the population of geese wintering near Modesto,
California, based on ratios of marked to unmarked birds, were
approximately 24,000 for the 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 winters (Drut and
Trost 1997). The peak 1998 count of Semidi Island birds on their
wintering grounds near Pacific City, Oregon was 115-120 (D. Pitkin,
pers. comm.). Despite protection on both the breeding and wintering
grounds, the Semidi Island population has sustained little or no growth
since 1991. The reasons for this lack of growth are unclear.
As of summer 1995, the last year for which census data were
available from the breeding grounds, approximately 4,000 pairs of
Aleutian Canada geese were estimated to breed in the Aleutian Islands,
including at least 350 pairs at Agattu Island, 124 pairs at Alaid/Nizki
Islands, 3,500 pairs at Buldir Island, 5 pairs in the Rat Islands, and
20 pairs at Chagulak Island (Byrd 1995). Recent breeding has been
documented at Amchitka, Amukta, and Little Kiska Islands. Although the
current status of Aleutian Canada geese on these islands is unknown,
reestablishment of breeding populations via translocations to Amchitka
and Little Kiska Islands and natural recolonization of Amukta Island is
believed to have a low probability of success. The presence of bald
eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), a predator of geese, on islands east
of Buldir Island is believed to be a factor that has limited the
success of translocations to Amchitka, Little Kiska and Kiska Islands.
The small breeding population on Chagulak Island is believed to be
stable, but the terrain is steep and nesting habitat is limited. Foxes
have been removed from most of the islands near Chagulak, and to
bolster the population of geese in this portion of the Aleutians,
translocations of geese from Buldir Island to Yunaska Island occurred
in 1994 and 1995. Translocations also occurred in 1994 and 1995 to
Skagul Island in the Rat Island group. At this time it is unclear if
the translocations have resulted in establishment of breeding
populations on these islands.
The status of Aleutian Canada geese in the Semidi Islands is
tenuous. Investigators studying these geese found only 14 nests on
Kiliktagik Island and 3 nests on Anowik Island in 1995, which is 11
nests fewer than were found on the same islands in 1992 (Beyersdorf and
Pfaff 1995). Hatching and overall nesting success of geese in the
Semidi Islands in 1995 was lower than their counterparts in the western
Aleutian Islands. In addition, relatively few hatching year birds have
been appearing on the wintering grounds each fall in coastal Oregon (D.
Pitkin and R. Lowe pers. comm.). The reason for lower productivity of
Aleutian Canada geese in the Semidi Islands is unknown.
The availability of nesting habitat in the Aleutian Islands is not
likely to limit population growth in the foreseeable future. The
Service believes there is considerable unoccupied nesting habitat
available for geese on some of the existing nesting islands, and there
are at least eight other islands with suitable nesting habitat that
have been cleared of foxes that are available for natural
recolonization. The Service is also continuing its fox eradication
program in the Aleutian Islands to benefit geese and other ground
nesting birds. All of the extant nesting islands of Aleutian Canada
geese in Alaska, as well as most of the islands within its historic
nesting range in Alaska, are protected as part of the Alaska Maritime
National Wildlife Refuge. Despite the availability of nesting habitat,
rapid natural expansion to unoccupied islands is not expected to occur
because of the presence of bald eagles and the strong tendency for
Canada geese to return to natal areas to breed.
On the wintering grounds in California and Oregon, Aleutian Canada
geese depend on agricultural lands. They feed extensively in
agricultural fields with waste beans and grain, and graze on sprouting
grain and in pastures used by livestock (Dahl 1995). Most Aleutian
geese use two ranches near Modesto as their primary winter range. The
Service has purchased 2,800 acres of one ranch in fee title as part of
the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, and is negotiating a
long-term conservation easement on 2,000 acres of the other ranch to
protect and manage the winter range of the Aleutian Canada goose. The
Service is also attempting to acquire additional cropland, grassland
and riparian acreage along the San Joaquin River, some of which could
be used by geese in the future. The Service is actively managing its
lands as goose foraging, loafing and roosting habitat, and assisting
local landowners with enhancing their lands for geese by providing
technical assistance. The intent is to provide high quality habitat for
geese while holding them on managed lands to reduce crop depredation on
neighboring private farms.
The lands used by Aleutian Canada geese near Colusa, California are
primarily privately owned farms and Reclamation District land. The 733
acre Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge is actively managed to attract
geese and other waterfowl. The small wintering area at El Sobrante in
north San Francisco Bay is owned by a public utility. In northwest
California, Aleutian Canada geese roost on Castle Rock, an offshore
island that is now part of the National Wildlife Refuge system, and to
a lesser extent on Prince Island which is owned by Native Americans. As
the Aleutian Canada goose population has increased, geese have shifted
their feeding from State lands to managed pastures on private dairy
farms used for livestock grazing, and are now in conflict with several
of the local landowners. In an attempt to reduce the depredation
problem, the State of California, in cooperation with local landowners,
has begun to actively manage 400-500 acres of State land near Lake Earl
by fertilizing, irrigating and grazing pasture land. Geese are being
discouraged from using private land by hazing.
In Oregon, the Semidi Island geese forage primarily on the pastures
of two dairy farms near Pacific City. Both dairies are privately owned
but were included within the boundaries of the Nestucca Bay National
Wildlife Refuge which would facilitate their acquisition should the
Service and the landowners
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reach a purchase agreement in the future. The refuge has acquired 120
acres of nearby pasture that is being used by Dusky Canada geese and
could be used by Aleutian Canada geese in the future. The Semidi Island
geese either roost on the ocean or on Haystack Rock which is part of
the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Several thousand Aleutian
Canada geese from breeding sites in the Aleutian Islands are now using
coastal southern Oregon as a stopover for several weeks in spring.
These birds forage on privately-owned pasture and roost on offshore
rocks in the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Establishment of closed areas for hunting Canada geese has
contributed to the recovery of the Aleutian Canada goose. Six closed
areas currently exist--islands in Alaska west of Unimak Island,
beginning in 1973; northwestern California, the Modesto area and the
Colusa area, beginning in 1975; and the Pacific City area and central
and south coastal Oregon beginning in 1982. Occasionally a few Aleutian
Canada geese using habitats outside of the closed hunting areas are
killed by hunters.
Because many waterfowl species in the Pacific Flyway are now highly
concentrated on the greatly reduced wetland acres of their wintering
grounds, they are vulnerable to disease. Avian cholera has been
identified as the cause of death for many of the Aleutian Canada geese
found dead on the wintering grounds near Modesto. This disease is a
chronic low-level problem on the wintering grounds but is being managed
successfully. The Aleutian Canada Goose Recovery Team has prepared and
revised a disease and contamination hazard contingency plan that
provides information and direction to reduce the incidence and severity
of both disease and contamination hazards (Byrd et al. 1996). In
addition, the Service has an active program of collecting and disposing
of dead and diseased waterfowl to reduce exposure of healthy geese.
In 1992, the Service sent 19 captive Aleutian Canada geese to
Russia to start a captive flock in Kamchatka. This flock is being used
as part of a joint Russian/Japanese project to reestablish Aleutian
Canada geese on former nesting islands in the Commander and Kuril
islands and on their former wintering grounds in northern Japan. In
August 1997, 33 Aleutian Canada geese were released on Ekarma Island in
the northern Kuril Islands. In winter 1997/1998 three of the marked
birds released on Ekarma Island were observed on the wintering grounds
in Japan (F. Lee, pers. comm.). In addition, up to 13 additional
unmarked Aleutian Canada geese have been observed this winter in Japan
(F. Lee, pers. comm.).
The Aleutian Canada Goose Recovery Plan (Byrd et al. 1991)
identified the following recovery criteria for the Aleutian Canada
goose--(1) an overall population greater than 7,500; (2) 50 pairs of
geese nesting in each of 3 remnant breeding areas--western Aleutians
(excluding Buldir Island), central Aleutians, and Semidi Islands; and,
(3) conservation and management of 25,000-35,000 acres of migration and
wintering habitat. The recovery plan states that failure to achieve a
specific acreage target of migration and wintering habitat would not
preclude delisting of the Aleutian Canada goose if otherwise warranted.
Although the breeding populations of Aleutian Canada geese in the
central Aleutians and in the Semidi Islands have not met the second
recovery criterion, the overall population of this subspecies is three
times the minimum population target identified in the revised recovery
plan as required for delisting. Sufficient migration and wintering
habitat is now being conserved and managed to support additional
population growth (V. Byrd, pers. comm.; D. Woolington, pers. comm.).
On the strengths of the population recovery, recent translocations to
the central and western Aleutians, an ongoing program to restore the
Aleutian Canada goose to the Asian portion of its range, and
substantial progress on conserving and managing migration and wintering
habitat, the Aleutian Canada Goose Recovery Team concluded in 1995 that
it was no longer justified to protect the Aleutian Canada goose under
the Endangered Species Act (Byrd 1995).
Request for Data and Comments
The Service requests data on the status of Aleutian Canada geese
from all interested parties and all affected local, State, and Federal
governments. The Service needs the most recent data from the breeding
grounds in Alaska and the wintering grounds and migration areas in
California, Oregon and Washington. In particular the Service needs the
most recent data on population status and trend and any other
information that may bear on the recovery of this subspecies. The
Service will use the best available scientific information to evaluate
the status of this population, and if deemed appropriate, to prepare a
proposal to remove this subspecies from the list of threatened and
endangered wildlife. If this proposal is deemed warranted, it will be
published in the Federal Register, including a review of materials used
in its preparation.
References Cited
Beyersdorf, G.S., and L. Pfaff. 1995. Aleutian Canada geese in the
Semidi Islands--an assessment of limiting factors. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Homer,
AK. Unpubl. report. 24pp.
Byrd, G.V. 1995. Memorandum to Regional Director, David B. Allen
with notes from the Aleutian Canada Goose Recovery Team meeting
dated November 2-4, 1995.
Byrd, G.V., K. Durbin, F. Lee, T. Rothe, P. Springer, D.
Yparraguirre, and F. Zeillermaker. 1991. Aleutian Canada Goose
(Branta canadensis leucopareia) Recovery Plan. Second revision. U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK. 55pp.
Byrd, G.V., B. Bales, F. Lee, K. Miller, T. Rothe, P. Springer, and
D. Yparraguirre. 1996. Aleutian Canada goose disease and
contamination hazard contingency plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Anchorage, AK. 12pp.
Dahl. A.L. 1995. Diurnal habitat use by Aleutian Canada geese during
winter in central California. Ph.D. dissertation. University of
Washington, Seattle, WA. 125pp.
Drut, M.S., and R.E. Trost. 1997. Annual summary of goose population
monitoring programs in the Pacific Flyway, 1996-97. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management Office, Portland, OR.
75pp.
Shields, G.F., and A.C. Wilson. 1987. Subspecies of the Canada goose
(Branta canadensis) have distinct mitochondrial DNA's. Evolution 41-
662-666.
Author
The primary author of this notice is Anthony DeGange (see ADDRESSES
above).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 30, 1998.
David B. Allen,
Regional Director, Region 7, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 98-9282 Filed 4-8-98; 8:45 am]
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