[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6874-6875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02362]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AY26
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 6-Month Extension
of Final Determination for the Proposed Listing of the Distinct
Population Segment of the North American Wolverine Occurring in the
Contiguous United States as a Threatened Species
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
6-month extension of the final determination of whether to list the
distinct population segment of the North American wolverine (Gulo gulo
luscus) occurring in the contiguous United States as a threatened
species. We also reopen the comment period on the proposed rule to list
that distinct population segment. We are taking this action based on
substantial disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the
available data relevant to the proposed listing, making it necessary to
solicit additional information by reopening the comment period for 90
days. We will publish a final listing determination on or before August
4, 2014.
DATES: The comment period end date is May 6, 2014. If you comment using
the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES), you must submit you
comment by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by one of the following
methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107,
which is the docket number for the proposed rule to list the contiguous
United States distinct population segment of the wolverine as
threatened. Then, in the Search panel on the left side of the screen,
under the Document Type heading, check on the Proposed Rules link to
locate the proposed rule. You may submit a comment by clicking on
``Comment Now!''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107; Division of Policy and
Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax
Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
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 Public Comments section below for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jodi Bush, Field Supervisor, Montana
Ecological Services Office, 465 Shepard Dr., Helena, MT 59601; by
telephone at (406) 449-5225; or by facsimile at 406-449-5339. Persons
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 4, 2013, we published a proposed rule (78 FR 7864) to
list the distinct population segment of the North American wolverine
occurring in the contiguous United States as threatened, under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the
distinct population segment of the North American wolverine (Gulo gulo
luscus) occurring in the contiguous United States, please refer to the
February 4, 2013, proposed rule. The proposed listing rule opened a 90-
day comment period, ending May 6, 2013. In addition to the original
comment period associated with the publication of the proposed rule, we
held three public information workshops in conjunction with three
public hearings in March 2013: March 13 in Boise, Idaho; March 19 in
Lakewood, Colorado; and March 27 in
[[Page 6875]]
Helena, Montana. On October 31, 2013, we reopened the comment period
for 30 days to allow additional comment on scientific issues raised by
two peer reviewers and several State wildlife agencies (78 FR 65248).
The second comment period closed on December 2, 2013.
Section 4(b)(6) of the Act requires that we take one of three
actions within 1 year of a proposed listing: (1) Finalize the proposed
listing; (2) withdraw the proposed listing; or (3) extend the final
determination by not more than 6 months, if there is substantial
disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the available
data relevant to the determination.
Since the publication of the proposed rule, there has been
substantial disagreement regarding the interpretation of the habitat
requirements for wolverines and the available climate change
information used to determine the extent of threats to the species.
Differing interpretations of the available climate change information
have led to a significant disagreement regarding the current status of
the species. In particular, some commenters and peer reviewers raised
questions regarding:
(1) The interpretation of scientific literature in the proposed
rulemaking and scientific literature that may not have been readily
available for our use in our analysis to define habitat parameters.
Specifically, some commenters and peer reviewers questioned the basis
for defining wolverine habitat based on persistent spring snow used by
Copeland et al. (2010). Some peer reviewers and commenters suggested
that other methods of habitat definition or other dates used to define
habitat based on persistent snow are more scientifically defensible and
would yield very different results.
(2) Commenters suggested that McKelvey et al. (2011) used an
invalid habitat model developed by Copeland et al. (2010) to project
future climate impacts to wolverine habitat, and for that reason, the
commenters believe projections in McKelvey et al. (2011) are also
invalid.
(3) Commenters also asserted that there is high uncertainty with
projections made using downscaled global climate modeling, which we
used to analyze the impacts of climate change on wolverine habitat and
ecology.
As a result of these comments and peer reviews, there is
substantial disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the
available data relevant to our listing determination. Therefore, in
consideration of these disagreements, we have determined that a 6-month
extension of the final determination of this rulemaking is necessary,
and we are hereby extending the final determination for 6 months in
order to solicit information that will help to clarify these issues and
fully analyze this information.
As noted in the proposed listing rule (78 FR 7864), we were
previously required by statutory deadline to make a final decision on
the wolverine listing no later than February 4, 2014. Therefore, with
this 6-month extension, we will make a final determination on the
proposed rule no later than August 4, 2014. In conjunction with the
proposed rule to list the wolverine, we also proposed a special rule
under section 4(d) of the Act that would tailor the prohibitions of the
Act to specifically address the threats to wolverines (78 FR 7864),
and, in a separate rule, we proposed the establishment of a
nonessential experimental population area for the wolverine in the
southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, southern Wyoming, and northern
New Mexico (78 FR 7890). Because these rules are contingent on a
wolverine listing, our final decisions for these rules will also be
delayed until we make a final listing determination for the distinct
population segment.
Public Comments
We will accept written comments and information during this
reopened comment period on our proposed listing (and special 4(d) rule)
for the distinct population segment of the North American wolverine
occurring in the contiguous United States that was published in the
Federal Register on February 4, 2013 (78 FR 7864). We will consider
information and recommendations from all interested parties. We intend
that any final action resulting from the proposal be as accurate as
possible and based on the best available scientific and commercial
data.
We are particularly interested in new information and comments
regarding:
(1) Whether there is scientific information in addition to that
considered in our proposed rule that may be useful in our analysis.
(2) Whether persistent spring snow represents a reasonable estimate
of wolverine habitat.
(3) The use of projected amounts and distribution of persistent
spring snow to assess the potential impacts of climate change on
wolverine habitat.
(4) The use of information generated by downscaled global climate
models as a basis to then project and evaluate the impacts of climate
change on wolverine habitat.
(5) The potential effects on wolverine from the projected changes
in its habitat related to climate change.
If you previously submitted comments or information on the proposed
rule during the two previously open comment periods, please do not
resubmit them. We have incorporated them into the public record, and we
will fully consider them in the preparation of our final determination.
Our final determination concerning the proposed listing will take into
consideration all written comments and any additional information we
receive.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you
send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment that
includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top
of your document that we withhold this information from public review.
However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R6-ES-2012-0107, or by appointment, during normal business hours, at
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Ecological Services Office
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain copies of the
proposed rule on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket
No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107, or by mail from the Montana Ecological
Services Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: January 29, 2014.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-02362 Filed 2-4-14; 8:45 am]
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