[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 13, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-16911]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 13, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AC61

 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed 
Endangered Status for the Jaguar in the United States

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 12-
month finding on a petition to extend endangered status to the jaguar 
(Panthera onca) throughout its range under the authority of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Service finds 
that the petitioned action is warranted. The jaguar is currently listed 
as endangered from Mexico southward to Central and South America. In 
the United States the primary threat to this species is from shooting. 
Loss and modification of the jaguar's habitat may have also contributed 
to its decline. While no breeding population of the jaguar is known to 
survive in the U.S., the species is present in northern Mexico, and 
wandering individuals occasionally cross the border. A minimum of 64 
jaguars have been killed in Arizona since 1900. The most recent was in 
1986. This proposal, if made final, will extend Federal protection 
provided by the Act for such dispersing animals. Critical habitat is 
not being proposed. The Service seeks data and comments from the public 
on this proposal.

DATES: Comments from all interested parties must be received by 
September 12, 1994. Public hearing requests must be received by August 
29, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments and materials concerning this proposal should be 
sent to the State Supervisor, Arizona Ecological Services State Office, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3616 West Thomas Road, Suite 6, 
Phoenix, Arizona 85019. Comments and materials received will be 
available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business 
hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sam Spiller, State Supervisor, at the 
above address, or telephone 602/379-4720.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest species of cat native to 
the Western Hemisphere. Jaguars are muscular cats with relatively 
short, massive limbs and a deep-chested body. They are cinnamon-buff in 
color with many black spots. Their range in North America includes 
Mexico and portions of the southwestern United States (Hall 1981). A 
number of records of jaguars are known for Arizona, New Mexico, and 
Texas. Additional reports exist for California and Louisiana. Records 
of the jaguar in Arizona and New Mexico have been attributed to the 
subspecies Panthera onca arizonensis. The type specimen of this 
subspecies was collected in Navajo County, Arizona, in 1924 (Goldman 
1932). Nelson and Goldman (1933) described the distribution of this 
subspecies as the mountainous parts of eastern Arizona north to the 
Grand Canyon, the southern half of western New Mexico, northeastern 
Sonora, and, formerly, southeastern California. The records for Texas 
have been attributed to P. o. veraecrucis. Nelson and Goldman (1933) 
described the distribution of this subspecies as the Gulf slope of 
eastern and southeastern Mexico from the coast region of Tabasco, north 
through Vera Cruz and Tamaulipas, to central Texas.
    Swank and Teer (1989) indicated the historical range of the jaguar 
included portions of the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. 
These authors consider the current range to occur from central Mexico 
through Central America and into South America as far as northern 
Argentina. They stated that the United States no longer contains 
established breeding populations, which probably disappeared from the 
United States in the 1960s. They also maintained that the jaguar 
prefers a warm tropical climate, is usually associated with water, and 
is only rarely found in extensive arid areas.
    Brown (1983) presented an analysis suggesting there was a resident 
breeding population of jaguars in the southwestern United States at 
least into the 20th century. The Service (U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service 1990) recognized that the jaguar continues to occur in the 
American Southwest as an occasional wanderer from Mexico.

Previous Federal Action

    The jaguar is listed as endangered from the U.S. and Mexico border 
southward to include Central and South America (37 FR 6476, March 30, 
1972; 50 CFR 17.11, July 15, 1991). The species was originally listed 
as endangered in accordance with the Endangered Species Conservation 
Act of 1969 (ESCA). Pursuant to the ESCA, two separate lists of 
endangered wildlife were maintained, one for foreign species and one 
for species native to the United States. The jaguar appeared only on 
the List of Endangered Foreign Wildlife. In 1973, the Endangered 
Species Act superseded the ESCA. The foreign and native lists were 
replaced by a single ``List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife,'' 
which was first published in the Federal Register on September 26, 1975 
(40 FR 44412-44429).
    On July 25, 1979, the Service published a notice (44 FR 43705) 
stating that, through an oversight in the listing of the jaguar and six 
other endangered species, the United States populations of these 
species were not protected by the Act. The notice asserted that it was 
always the intent of the Service that all populations of the seven 
species deserved to be listed as endangered, whether they occurred in 
the United States or in foreign countries. Therefore, the notice stated 
that the Service intended to take action as quickly as possible to 
propose inclusion of the United States portions of the species' range 
for listing.
    On July 25, 1980, the Service published a proposed rule (45 FR 
49844-49847) to list the jaguar and four of the other species referred 
to above in the United States. The proposal for listing the jaguar and 
three other species was withdrawn on September 17, 1982 (47 FR 41145). 
The notice issued by the Service stated that the Act mandated 
withdrawal of proposed rules to list species that have not been 
finalized within 2 years of the proposal.
    On August 3, 1992, the Service received a petition from the 
instructor and students of the American Southwest Sierra Institute and 
Life Net to list the jaguar (Panthera onca) as endangered in the United 
States. The petition was dated July 26, 1992. Two subspecies of jaguar 
(P. o. arizonensis and P. o. veraecrucis) are recognized as occurring 
in the United States. Therefore both subspecies are encompassed by this 
proposed rule to revise the listed range of Panthera onca.
    On April 13, 1993 (58 FR 19216-19220), the Service published a 
finding that the petition presented substantial information indicating 
that the petitioned action may be warranted and requested public 
comments and biological data on the status of the jaguar. Section 
4(b)(3) of the Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to reach a 
final decision on any petition accepted for review within 12 months of 
its receipt. This proposal constitutes the final finding on the 
petitioned action.

Summary of Factors Affecting the Species

    Section 4(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.) and regulations (50 CFR Part 424) promulgated to implement the 
listing provisions of the Act set forth the procedures for adding 
species to the Federal ``List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and 
Plants.'' A species may be determined to be an endangered or threatened 
species due to one or more of the five factors described in Section 
4(a)(1). These factors and their application to the jaguar (Panthera 
onca) are as follows:

A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment 
of Its Habitat or Range

    Within the United States, jaguars have been recorded most commonly 
from Arizona, but there are also records from California, New Mexico, 
and Texas, and reports from Louisiana. Currently there is no known 
resident population of jaguars in the United States, though they still 
occur in northern Mexico.
Arizona
    Goldman (1932) believed that the jaguar was a regular, but not 
abundant, resident in southeastern Arizona. Hoffmeister (1986) 
considered the jaguar an uncommon resident species in Arizona. He 
concluded that the reports of jaguars between 1885 and 1965 indicated 
that a small but resident population once occurred in southeastern 
Arizona. Brown (1983) suggested that the jaguar in Arizona ranged 
widely throughout a variety of habitats from Sonoran desertscrub upward 
through subalpine conifer forest. Most of the records were from Madrean 
evergreen-woodland, shrub-invaded semidesert grassland, and along 
rivers.
    The most recent records of jaguars in the United States are from 
Arizona. In 1971, a jaguar was taken east of Nogales and, in 1986, one 
was taken from the Dos Cabezas Mountains. The latter individual 
reportedly had been in the area for about a year before it was killed 
(Ronald M. Nowak, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, pers. comm., 1992).
    The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) (1988) cited two recent 
reports of jaguars in Arizona. The individuals were considered to be 
transients from Mexico. One of the reports was from 1987 from an 
undisclosed location. The other report was from 1988, when tracks were 
observed for several days prior to the treeing of a jaguar by hounds in 
the Altar Valley, Pima County. An unconfirmed report of a jaguar at the 
Coronado National Monument was made in 1991 (Ed Lopez, Coronado 
National Monument, pers. comm., 1992).
    Finally, there is a report of a jaguar sighted in December, 1993, 
on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in the Baboquivari 
Mountains of southern Arizona. Refuge personnel believe that the 
chances are ``very good'' that this was a reliable sighting.
California
    Merriam (1919) summarized several accounts of jaguars, from various 
locations in California, which were obtained from documents published 
between 1814 and 1860. Strong (1926) provided evidence that the 
Cahuilla Indians of the Coachella Valley and San Jacinto and Santa Rosa 
Mountains of southern California were familiar with the jaguar. Nowak 
(1975) mentioned reports of jaguars in the Tehachapi Mountains from 
1855, and the last known individual from California was killed near 
Palm Springs in 1860 (Strong 1926). Nowak speculated that the animal 
may have been a breeding individual.
Louisiana
    Nowak (1973) speculated on the occurrence of jaguars east of Texas. 
Several early accounts mentioned jaguars and tigers. He cited Baird 
(1859) who believed that specimens had been taken from Louisiana. Nowak 
also discussed the killing of what was probably a jaguar near New 
River, Ascension Parish, Louisiana in 1886. Lowery (1974) mentioned 
this killing and included the jaguar in the fauna of Louisiana on a 
provisional basis.
New Mexico
    Barber (1902) speculated that jaguars made their way into the 
Mogollon Mountains of New Mexico by ascending the Gila River. Bailey 
(1931) suggested that jaguars seemed to be native in southern New 
Mexico, but were regarded as wanderers from across the United States-
Mexico border. He listed nine reports of jaguars in New Mexico from 
1855 to 1905. Brown (1983) stated that the last record from New Mexico 
was from 1905. Nowak (1975) mentioned reports of jaguars along the Rio 
Grande from as late as 1922. Halloran (1946) reported that dogs 
``jumped'' a jaguar in the San Andres Mountains in 1937. Findley et al. 
(1975) stated that jaguars once occurred as far north as northern New 
Mexico.
Texas
    Bailey (1905) stated that the jaguar was once reported as common in 
southern and eastern Texas but had become extremely rare. Nowak (1975) 
believed that an established population once occurred in the dense 
thickets along the lower Nueces River and northeast to the Guadalupe 
River. He suggested that jaguars probably continued to wander from 
Mexico into the brush country of the southernmost part of the State. 
However, brush clearing has possibly reduced chances for 
reestablishment of the species in Texas.
Mexico
    Leopold (1959) believed the distribution of the jaguar in Mexico 
included the tropical forests of southeastern Mexico, the coastal 
plains to the mouth of the Rio Grande on the Gulf of Mexico side, and 
the Sonoran foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental on the Pacific 
side. The highest densities of jaguars were found along heavily 
forested flatlands and foothills of southern Sinaloa, the swamps of 
coastal Nayarit, the remaining uncut forests along the Gulf coast as 
far east as central Campeche, and the great rain forests of northern 
Chiapas. He indicated that occasional wandering individuals were found 
far from these areas; some followed tropical gorges far into mountains. 
He believed that jaguars followed big rivers on their northern 
movements; they traveled up the Brazos, Pecos, Rio Grande, Gila, and 
Colorado Rivers. He mentioned a 1955 record of a jaguar near the 
southern tip of the San Pedro Martir range, Baja California. Leopold 
asserted that this individual was 500 miles from regularly occupied 
jaguar habitat.
    Swank and Teer (1989) described the distribution of the jaguar in 
North America as a broad belt from central Mexico to Central America. 
They found that the most northerly established populations, as reported 
by Mexican officials, were in southern Sinaloa and southern Tamaulipas.
    Brown (1991) did not believe that the jaguar was extirpated from 
northern Mexico. Although jaguars were considered relatively common in 
Sonora in the 1930s and 1940s, he cited the most northern officially 
reported population as about 800 miles south of the United States-
Mexico border. However, Brown suggested that there may be more jaguars 
in Sonora than are officially reported. He mentioned reports of two 
jaguars that were killed in central Sonora around 1970. He also 
discussed assertions by the local Indians that both male and female 
jaguars still occurred in the Sierra Bacatete. Brown speculated that if 
a reproducing population of jaguars is still present in these 
mountains, it may be the source of individuals that travel northward 
through the Sierra Libre and Sierra Madera until they reach Arizona. 
Nowak (pers. comm., 1992) reiterated that as late as 1987 the species 
was still considered common in the Sierra Bacatete near Guaymas, 
Sonora, which is about 200 miles south of Arizona.
    Brown (1989) reported that biologists from Mexico have stated that 
at least two jaguars have been killed in Chihuahua. In 1987, Nowak 
(pers. comm., 1992) claimed that jaguars were still regularly present 
along the Soto la Marina River of central Tamaulipas, which is about 
150 miles from the southern tip of Texas. He also hypothesized that 
jaguars may be entering Arizona from Mexico as a result of habitat 
destruction in Sonora. Large stretches of natural forest have been 
cleared in central Tamaulipas. In Arizona, by contrast, jaguar prey 
populations have increased, and large tracts of brush and canyon 
woodland are still available to provide cover for jaguars. Listing will 
provide protection for individuals, which may lead to recolonization of 
currently unoccupied habitat and reestablishment of the species in 
portions of its historical Arizona range in the United States.
    Clearing of habitat, destruction of riparian areas, and 
fragmentation or blocking of corridors may prevent jaguars from 
recolonizing previously inhabited areas. Although there is currently no 
known resident population of jaguars in the United States, wanderers 
from Mexico may cross the border and take up residency in available 
habitat.

B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or 
Educational Purposes

    In Arizona, the jaguar's gradual decline was concurrent with 
predator control associated with the settlement of land and the 
development of the cattle industry (Brown 1983, Service 1990). Lange 
(1960) summarized the jaguar records from Arizona known up to that 
time. Between 1885 and 1959, the reports consisted of 45 jaguars 
killed, 6 sighted, and 2 recorded by sign.
    Brown (1991) related that the accumulation of all known records 
indicated a minimum of 64 jaguars were killed in Arizona after 1900. 
When plotted at ten-year intervals, records of jaguars reported killed 
in Arizona and New Mexico between 1900 and 1980 demonstrated ``a 
decline characteristic of an over-exploited resident population'' 
(Brown 1983). Brown (1983) argued that if the jaguars killed during 
this period originated in Mexico, the numbers of killings should not 
suggest a pattern but should rather be irregular and erratic.
    Bailey (1905) listed seven reports of jaguars killed in Texas 
between 1853 and 1903. Schmidly (1983) reported another jaguar shot in 
Mills County in 1904. Taylor (1947) mentioned a jaguar killed near 
Lyford, Willacy County, in 1912. Brown (1991) indicated jaguars were 
common in Texas until 1870. The last reports from Texas were of 
individuals killed in 1946 (San Benito, Cameron County) and 1948 
(Kleburg County). Nowak (1975) identified killing of jaguars for 
commercial sale of their furs as a factor in the extermination of a 
substantial resident population in central Texas during the late 19th 
century.
    Although the demand for jaguar pelts has diminished, it still 
exists along with the business of hunting jaguars. In 1992, AGFD 
personnel infiltrated a ring of wildlife profiteers. That operation 
resulted in the March, 1993, seizure of three jaguar specimens, one of 
which was allegedly taken from the Dos Cabezas Mountains in Arizona in 
1986. Two of the specimens had been covertly purchased from the 
suspects. During the investigation, several ties to Mexico jaguar 
hunting were discovered. Hounds bred and trained in the United States 
were sold to Mexican nationals for the purpose of hunting jaguars. 
Also, Mexican nationals prosecuted by the Service in 1989 for illegally 
importing jaguar pelts into the United States were continuing the 
practice of providing jaguar hunts in Mexico (Terry B. Johnson, Arizona 
Game and Fish Department, in litt., 1993).

C. Disease or Predation

    The Service is unaware of any known diseases or predators that 
threaten the jaguar at this time.

D. The Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms

State Regulations

    Jaguars are listed as endangered by the State of Arizona. In 
general, violations of Arizona Game and Fish Laws (AGFD 1991) are class 
2 misdemeanors. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission may, through civil 
action, seek to recover a minimum of $750 for each endangered species 
unlawfully taken, wounded or killed. Special permits may be issued for 
taking depredating wildlife. The AGFD offered a reward of $4,000 for 
information leading to a conviction for the reported killing of a 
jaguar in 1986. However, a conviction has yet to be obtained for that 
incident.
    Under the California Code of Regulations, it is prohibited to 
import, transport, or possess jaguars. In Louisiana the jaguar receives 
no official protection from the State (Fred Kimmel, Louisiana 
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, pers. comm., 1993). The jaguar is 
not listed as an endangered species, a game animal, or a fur-bearing 
animal by the State of New Mexico; it receives no official protection 
from New Mexico (Sartor O. Williams III, New Mexico Department of Game 
and Fish, in litt., 1992).
    The jaguar is listed as endangered by the State of Texas (Texas 
Parks and Wildlife Department 1987). It is unlawful to take, possess, 
transport, export, process, sell or offer for sale, or ship jaguars in 
Texas. However, some of the above actions may be allowed for zoological 
gardens, and scientific, commercial, and propagation purposes with the 
proper permits. A first violation of the regulations or a permit is a 
Texas Parks and Wildlife Code C misdemeanor, which carries a fine of 
$25 to $500 (Capt. Harold Oates, Texas Parks and Wildlife, pers. comm., 
1994).
    In summary, although some States provide limited protection to the 
jaguar, illegal taking continues to occur. Listing the species under 
the Act would result in protective measures beyond those provided by 
the States.

Federal Protection

    The jaguar is currently listed under the Act as an endangered 
species only in Mexico and southward to include Central and South 
America. Jaguars that may occur in, or immigrate into, the United 
States are not currently protected by the Act. The jaguar is on 
Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered 
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, that listing does not 
prohibit the act of taking, possessing or transporting a jaguar within 
the United States and its territories.
    The subspecies Panthera onca veraecrucis, with historical range in 
Texas and eastern Mexico, is designated by the United States government 
as a peripheral animal of concern in a provisional list for the Annex 
of the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the 
Western Hemisphere (Nowak, pers. comm., 1992). Panthera onca 
arizonensis is not so designated. This Convention, as implemented by 
sections 2 and 8(A) of the Act, does not require the protection of 
species listed only on a provisional basis. Therefore, neither P. o. 
veraecrucis nor P. o. arizonensis are currently protected.

E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting Its Continued Existence

    M-44 ejector devices with cyanide capsules used in Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service animal damage control programs to accommodate 
concerns of livestock owners over predator losses may be a threat to 
the jaguar (Terry B. Johnson, in litt., 1993). Jaguars may also be 
victims of traps targeted for other predators such as bears and 
cougars.
    The Service has carefully assessed the best scientific and 
commercial information available regarding the past, present, and 
future threats faced by this species in determining to propose this 
rule. Based on this evaluation, the preferred action is to propose the 
jaguar (Panthera onca) as endangered throughout its range. The lack of 
protection under the Act for jaguars in the United States is due to an 
uncorrected technicality, rather than to any scientific information 
that jaguars do not require protection in the U.S. A decision to take 
no action would exclude the jaguar in the U.S. from needed protection 
pursuant to the Act. A decision to propose only threatened status would 
not adequately express the drastic distributional decline of the 
species and the continued jeopardy of any individuals in the U.S. 
Therefore, no action or listing as threatened would be contrary to the 
intent of the Act. Critical habitat is not being proposed at this time 
for the jaguar for reasons discussed in the ``Critical Habitat'' 
section of this proposal.

Critical Habitat

    Section 4(a)(3) of the Act, as amended, requires that, to the 
maximum extent prudent and determinable, the Secretary propose critical 
habitat at the time the species is proposed to be endangered or 
threatened. The Service finds that designation of critical habitat is 
not presently prudent or determinable for this species. Specific 
habitat used by jaguars in the United States is unknown. It would be 
possible to delineate some general areas that the species would be most 
likely to use. However, the lack of knowledge on the species' habitat 
use makes critical habitat undeterminable.
    The Service's regulations (50 CFR 424.12(a)(1)) state that 
designation of critical habitat is not prudent when one or both of the 
following situations exist: (1) The species is threatened by taking or 
other human activity, and identification of critical habitat can be 
expected to increase the degree of such threat to the species; or (2) 
such designation of critical habitat would not be beneficial to the 
species. As discussed in factor ``B'' above, the jaguar is highly 
threatened by taking. Jaguars are still in demand for hunts and as 
trophies and pelts. The last verified jaguar in Arizona was hunted and 
killed in 1986 approximately one year after it was known to be in the 
area. Publication of detailed critical habitat maps and descriptions in 
the Federal Register would likely make the species more vulnerable to 
activities prohibited under section 9 of the Act. In addition, since 
the primary threat to the species in the United States is direct taking 
rather than habitat destruction, designation of critical habitat would 
not lessen, and may increase, the primary threat to the jaguar. 
Therefore, it would not be prudent to propose critical habitat for the 
jaguar at this time.

Available Conservation Measures

    Conservation measures provided to species listed as endangered or 
threatened under the Act include recognition, recovery actions, 
requirements for Federal protection, and prohibitions against certain 
practices. Recognition through listing encourages and results in 
conservation actions by Federal, State, and private agencies, groups, 
and individuals. The Act provides for possible land acquisition and 
cooperation with the States and authorizes recovery plans for all 
listed species. The protection required of Federal agencies and the 
prohibitions against taking and harm are discussed, in part, below.
    Section 7(a) of the Act, as amended, requires Federal agencies to 
evaluate their actions with respect to any species that is proposed or 
listed as endangered or threatened and with respect to its critical 
habitat, if any is being designated. Regulations implementing this 
interagency cooperation provision of the Act are codified at 50 CFR 
Part 402. Section 7(a)(4) requires Federal agencies to confer 
informally with the Service on any action that is likely to jeopardize 
the continued existence of a proposed species or result in destruction 
or adverse modification of proposed critical habitat. If a species is 
listed subsequently, Section 7(a)(2) requires Federal agencies to 
ensure that activities they authorize, fund or carry out are not likely 
to jeopardize the continued existence of such a species or to destroy 
or adversely modify its critical habitat. If a Federal action may 
affect a listed species or its critical habitat, the responsible 
Federal agency must enter into formal consultation with the Service. 
Federal actions that may affect the jaguar include clearing of habitat, 
destruction of riparian areas, fragmentation or blocking of corridors 
that jaguars may use to cross from Mexico to the United States, and any 
trapping or animal control activities designed to target the jaguar or 
other large predators.
    The Act and its implementing regulations found at 50 CFR 17.21 set 
forth a series of general prohibitions and exceptions that apply to all 
endangered wildlife. These prohibitions, in part, make it illegal for 
any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to take 
(includes harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, or 
collect, or to attempt any of these), import or export, ship in 
interstate commerce in the course of commercial activity, or sell or 
offer for sale in interstate or foreign commerce any listed species. It 
also is illegal to possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport, or ship 
any such wildlife that has been taken illegally. Certain exceptions 
apply to agents of the Service and State conservation agencies.
    Permits may be issued to carry out otherwise prohibited activities 
involving endangered wildlife species under certain circumstances. 
Regulations governing permits are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.23. Such 
permits are available for scientific purposes, to enhance the 
propagation or survival of the species, and/or for incidental take in 
connection with otherwise lawful activities. In some instances, permits 
may be issued for a specified time to relieve undue economic hardship 
that would be suffered if such relief were not available. Permits may 
be sought since there are some zoos that have jaguars on display.
    On July 1, 1975, the jaguar was included in Appendix I of the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and Flora (CITES). The effect of this listing is that both export and 
import permits are generally required before international shipment may 
occur. Such shipment is strictly regulated by CITES party nations to 
prevent effects that may be detrimental to the species' survival. 
Generally, import or export cannot be allowed if it is for primarily 
commercial purposes. Requests for copies of the regulations on 
protected wildlife and inquiries regarding them may be addressed to the 
Office of Management Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 
North Fairfax Drive, room 420C, Arlington, Virginia 22203-3507 (703/
358-2104).

Public Comments Solicited

    The Service intends that any final action resulting from this 
proposal will be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, 
comments or suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental 
agencies, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested 
party concerning this proposed rule are hereby solicited. Comments 
particularly are sought concerning:
    (1) Biological, commercial trade, or other relevant data concerning 
any threat (or lack thereof) to this species;
    (2) The location of any additional populations of this species and 
the reasons why any habitat should or should not be determined to be 
critical habitat as provided by Section 4 of the Act;
    (3) Additional information concerning the range, distribution, and 
population size of this species; and
    (4) Current or planned activities in the subject area and their 
possible impacts on this species.
    Final promulgation of the regulation on this species will take into 
consideration the comments and any additional information received by 
the Service, and such communications may lead to a final regulation 
that differs from this proposal.
    The Endangered Species Act provides for a public hearing on this 
proposal, if requested. Requests must be received within 45 days of the 
date of publication of the proposal. Such requests must be made in 
writing and addressed to the Arizona State Supervisor (See ADDRESSES 
section).

National Environmental Policy Act

    The Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that an Environmental 
Assessment, as defined under the authority of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, need not be prepared in connection 
with regulations adopted pursuant to Section 4(a) of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended. A notice outlining the Service's 
reasons for this determination was published in the Federal Register on 
October 25, 1983 (48 FR 49244).

References Cited

    A complete list of all references cited herein is available on 
request from the State Supervisor, Arizona Ecological Services State 
Office (see ADDRESSES section).

Author

    The primary author of this proposed rule is Lorena L. L. Wada of 
the Arizona Ecological Services State Office (see ADDRESSES section).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, and Transportation.

Proposed Regulation Promulgation

PART 17--[AMENDED]

    Accordingly, it is hereby proposed to amend part 17, subchapter B 
of chapter I, title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth 
below:
    1. The authority citation for Part 17 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C. 
4201-4245; Pub. L. 99-625, 100 Stat. 3500; unless otherwise noted.

    2. It is proposed to amend Sec. 17.11(h) by revising the entry for 
the jaguar (Panthera onca) under MAMMALS in the List of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife to read as follows:


Sec. 17.11  Endangered and threatened wildlife

* * * * *
    (h) * * *

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Species                                                    Vertebrate population                                                  
----------------------------------------------------      Historic range          where endangered or      Status    When listed    Critical    Special 
       Common name             Scientific name                                        threatened                                    habitat      rules  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Mammals                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                      * * * * * * *                                                                     
Jaguar...................  Panthera onca...........  U.S.A. (AZ, CA, LA, NM,   Entire..................  E             5, ______           NA         NA
                                                      TX), Mexico, C. and S.                                                                            
                                                      America.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                     * * * * * * *                                                                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dated: June 29, 1994.
Mollie H. Beattie,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-16911 Filed 7-12-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P