12-month Petition Finding and Proposed Rule to List the Tibetan Antelope as Endangered Throughout Its Range

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 12-month finding that a petition to list the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) as endangered throughout its range pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act, or ESA), is warranted. The best available information indicates that the total population of Tibetan antelope has declined drastically over the past three decades. This decline has resulted primarily from overutilization for commercial purposes and the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms. Habitat impacts, especially those caused by domestic livestock grazing, appear to be a contributory factor in the decline, and could have potentially greater impacts in the near future. Accordingly, we herein propose to list the Tibetan antelope as endangered, pursuant to the Act. This proposed rule, if made final, would extend the Act's protection to this species. The Service seeks data and comments from the public on this proposal.