[Federal Register: February 25, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 37)]
[Notices]
[Page 8736-8738]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25fe10-110]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R7-ES-2009-N244; 70120-1113-0000-C3]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Request for
Scoping Comments and Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for
the Proposed Designation of a Non-Essential Experimental Population of
Wood Bison in Alaska
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), plan to prepare a
draft environmental assessment, under the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), in conjunction with a potential
proposed rule to establish an experimental population of wood bison
(Bison bison athabascae) in Alaska, pursuant to the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended. We are seeking comments or suggestions
concerning the scope of our environmental analysis for this action.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
March 29, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Send information, comments, or questions by any one of the
following methods.
U.S. Mail or hand delivery: Fisheries and Ecological Services
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor Road,
Anchorage, AK 99503.
Fax: 907-786-3575.
E-mail: woodbison-ak@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judy Jacobs, (907) 786-3472.
[[Page 8737]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
A subspecies of North American bison, wood bison (Bison bison
athabascae) are larger than plains bison (Bison bison bison) and well
adapted to northern meadow and forest habitats. Skeletal remains and
historical accounts show that wood bison persisted in a large part of
their original range in Alaska and Canada during the last 10,000 years
(Stephenson et al. 2001; Gardner and DeGange 2003). Soper (1941)
estimated that 168,000 wood bison existed in North America (Alaska and
western Canada) in 1800. By the end of the 19th century, however, wood
bison had declined to an estimated low of 250 animals (Soper 1941). The
specific causes of this precipitous decline are not known with
certainty, but unregulated hunting following the fur trade, westward
expansion of European settlement, and severe winters likely played a
role (Fuller 1962; Gates et al. 1992). The extirpation of wood bison in
Alaska was likely due to the combined effects of hunting by humans and
changes in habitat distribution during the Holocene (Stephenson et al.
2001; Gardner and DeGange 2003).
Conservation efforts in Canada have substantially improved the
status of wood bison. Today, there are over 10,000 free-ranging wood
bison in Canada, including over 4,000 bison in 7 free-ranging, disease-
free herds; over 6,000 in 4 free-ranging herds that are not disease-
free but are increasing; and over 1,000 wood bison in captive
conservation and research herds. (Canadian Wildlife Service,
unpublished data 2009).
We have been coordinating with the State of Alaska (State) to
pursue the goal of reintroducing wood bison to Alaska. The State and
other conservation interests believe that wood bison reintroduction to
Alaska can play an important role in ecosystem restoration and is a
significant opportunity for international cooperation in improving the
status of a historically important native species. The recovery of wood
bison overall, however, is not dependent on restoration in Alaska.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has worked for over
15 years to evaluate reintroducing wood bison into portions of the
species' historic range in interior Alaska. Three prospective release
sites with the best potential habitat include: Yukon Flats, Minto
Flats, and the lower Innoko/Yukon River area (Berger et al. 1995;
Gardner 2007). Numerous public meetings have been held over the years
in communities located in these areas. All of the involved local State
fish and game advisory committees and Federal regional subsistence
advisory councils have discussed and supported wood bison
reintroduction. In 2005, the State established a citizen's advisory
group, the Wood Bison Restoration Advisory Group (WBRAG), to review
information on the proposal to restore wood bison, discuss the relevant
issues, and provide recommendations to ADF&G. Following 4 days of
public meetings, the WBRAG recommended moving forward with wood bison
restoration in Alaska. ADF&G produces a project newsletter, Wood Bison
News, to inform the public of current developments with this project,
and also maintains a web page on wood bison restoration in Alaska:
http://www.wc.adfg.state.ak.us/index.cfm?adfg=game.restoration. In 2005
and 2007, ADF&G invited written public comment on wood bison
restoration in Alaska. In both review periods, public comment strongly
favored proceeding with this action.
The proposed reintroduction program would use wood bison stock
imported from Canada, primarily from Elk Island National Park (EINP),
Alberta, where a disease-free herd of 300-400 wood bison is maintained
for the primary purpose of reestablishing additional healthy, free-
ranging wood bison herds in additional parts of the species' original
range. In June 2008, ADF&G imported wood bison from EINP, and is
presently maintaining a captive herd at the Alaska Wildlife
Conservation Center (AWCC) in Portage, Alaska. These animals and their
progeny are intended to be used as founding stock for reintroductions
to interior Alaska. Wood bison will be held for a minimum of 2 years at
the AWCC for additional disease testing while plans for their release
are finalized.
The goal of the Alaska wood bison restoration project is to
reestablish 1-3 free-ranging populations, each including at least 400
adults within 12-15 years of release, at one or more of the three sites
with the best potential habitat, Yukon Flats, Minto Flats, and/or the
lower Innoko/Yukon River area. ADF&G will work with the Service, other
agencies, landowners and other stakeholders to develop management plans
for each area where they plan to reestablish the species (ADF&G 2007).
Some of the key management objectives include restoring an indigenous
grazing animal and habitat diversity to northern ecosystems, providing
benefits to Alaska's people and economy, and reestablishing wood bison
populations that can be harvested on a sustained yield basis.
Regulatory Considerations
Endangered Species Act Protections
Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), wood bison are listed as endangered, although they presently
occur in the wild only in Canada. If wood bison were to be introduced
to Alaska with the endangered designation, they would be subject to the
protections and prohibitions of sections 7 and 9 of the Act. Section 7
requires Federal agencies to ensure that any action they authorize,
fund, or carry out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence
of a listed species or result in the destruction or adverse
modification of designated critical habitat. Section 9 prohibits the
take of endangered and threatened wildlife. ``Take'' is defined as: to
harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, trap, capture, or collect, or
to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
Experimental Populations
In 1982, Congress amended the Act by adding section 10(j), to
provide for designation of ``experimental populations.'' Prior to 1982,
local citizens often opposed reintroductions of listed species into
unoccupied portions of their historical range because they were
concerned about potential restrictions to Federal, State, and private
activities. Under section 10(j), and our regulations at 50 CFR 17.81,
the Service can designate reintroduced populations established outside
the species' current range, but within its historical range, as
``experimental.'' Our regulations at 50 CFR 17.80(b) state that a
reintroduced population can be considered a ``nonessential experimental
population'' (NEP) if the loss of that population would not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of survival of the species in the wild.
Regulatory requirements of sections 7 and 9 of the Act are considerably
reduced under a NEP designation. The Act further prohibits designating
critical habitat for any NEP, and through section 4(d) of the Act, the
Service may develop regulations and management options specific to the
species' needs that are necessary to promote the species' conservation.
In order to establish a NEP, we must first issue a proposed regulation
pursuant to section 10(j) of the Act and consider public comments prior
to publishing a final regulation. Our regulations at 50 CFR 17.81 (d)
require that, to the extent practicable, a regulation issued under
section 10(j) of the Act represents an agreement between the Service,
the affected State and Federal agencies, and persons holding any
interest in land that
[[Page 8738]]
may be affected by the establishment of the NEP.
Wood Bison Status in Canada and ESA Petition
In 1988, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in
Canada reclassified the wood bison from ``endangered'' to
``threatened'' status under Canada's Species at Risk Act because
Canadian populations of wood bison were recovering. In 2007, Canada's
Wood Bison Recovery Team petitioned the Service to reclassify wood
bison from endangered to threatened status under the Act. On February
3, 2009, we published a finding that the petition presented substantial
information indicating that this action may be warranted and initiated
a status review for wood bison (74 FR 5908). Following our review of
the wood bison's status, we will issue a finding on the petition, in
which we will determine whether it is appropriate to retain the
species' endangered status, reclassify it as threatened, or even to
remove the wood bison from listed status under the Act.
Regulatory Status of Wood Bison in Alaska
The State will not consider reintroducing wood bison to Alaska in
the absence of Federal regulatory assurance to landowners and land
managers that such action would not adversely affect resource
development activities important to Alaska's economy. Such assurance
could be accomplished through a change in the species' listing status
throughout its range or through the establishment of a NEP pursuant to
section 10(j) of the Act. A reclassification of the wood bison to
``threatened'' status, without the establishment of a NEP pursuant to
ESA section 10(j), would not provide sufficient regulatory assurance.
Scoping Process
To ensure compliance with NEPA and the Act, the Service and ADF&G
are cooperating to prepare a draft environmental assessment (EA) and
proposed rule to establish, under section 10(j) of the Act, a non-
essential experimental population of wood bison in Alaska. The purpose
of this scoping process is to aid the development of the EA by
collecting comments on this action as a way to support wood bison
conservation. We also seek comments on the environmental effects of
reintroducing wood bison to Alaska.
In addition to the ``no action'' alternative, our draft EA will
consider:
(1) The environmental effects of issuing 10(j) and 4(d) rules for
wood bison in Alaska;
(2) the environmental effects of reintroducing wood bison to one or
more of the potential release sites Minto Flats, Yukon Flats, and the
lower Innoko/Yukon River area;
(3) the environmental effects of reintroducing wood bison to Alaska
in the absence of 10(j) and 4(d) rules.
We will incorporate the relevant public comments we receive in
response to this scoping notice into our analysis of impacts of the
proposed action and project alternatives in the draft EA. This document
will include maps of the proposed reintroduction area or areas, based
on public input and current knowledge of wood bison habitat in Alaska.
We will make the draft EA available for a minimum 30-day public review
period. The final environmental document, which will address the
comments we receive during the draft EA public comment period, will be
available on the internet.
Request for Public Comments
We wish to ensure that any 10(j) rule and associated environmental
documents we issue relating to the wood bison in Alaska effectively
evaluate all potential issues associated with wood bison reintroduction
to Alaska. Therefore, we request comments or recommendations concerning
any of the considerations we have listed above; and also concerning:
The biological and habitat requirements of the species; information on
the distribution and quality of habitat for the wood bison in Alaska;
the overall approach to the conservation of wood bison in Canada and
Alaska; reasons why any specific areas might require special management
or should be excluded from, or added to, the proposed reintroduction
site or sites; and any other pertinent issues of concern. We seek
comments from the public; Tribal, local, State, and Federal government
agencies; the scientific community; industry; or any other affected or
interested party. To determine whether to prepare a Finding of No
Significant Impact or an Environmental Impact Statement, we will take
into consideration all comments and any additional information we
receive.
References
A complete list of all references in this notice is available upon
request from the Fish and Wildlife Service (see ADDRESSES).
Author(s)
The primary author of this package is the Fisheries and Ecological
Services Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK.
Dated: February 12, 2010.
Gary Edwards,
Deputy Regional Director, Region 7, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-3889 Filed 2-24-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P