Petition To Reclassify the Wood Bison From Endangered to Threatened

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our 90-day finding on a petition to reclassify the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) from endangered to threatened throughout its range in the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife established under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating that the petitioned action of reclassifying the wood bison from endangered to threatened status under the Act may be warranted. Therefore, we are initiating a status review of the wood bison to determine if reclassification, as petitioned, is warranted under the Act. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are requesting submission of any new information on the wood bison since its original listing as endangered throughout its entire range under the predecessor of the Act on June 2, 1970 (35 FR 8491). At the conclusion of our status review, we will issue a 12-month finding on the petition, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act.