[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 165 (Friday, August 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21077]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 26, 1994]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
50 CFR Part 17

 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding for 
a Petition to List as Endangered or Threatened the Contiguous United 
States Population of the Canada Lynx and to Emergency List a Southern 
Rocky Mountain Population

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 90-
day finding for a petition to add the contiguous United States 
population of the Canada lynx (Lynx lynx canadensis) to the List of 
Threatened and Endangered Species (List) and to add a southern Rocky 
Mountain population to the List via an emergency listing. The Service 
finds the petition presents substantial information indicating the 
requested action for the contiguous population may be warranted, but 
there is not substantial information to indicate that an emergency 
listing of a southern Rocky Mountain population may be warranted. As a 
result of a previous court settlement, a formal status review is 
underway.

DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on August 19, 
1994. Comments and materials need to be submitted to the Service by 
October 1, 1994, to be considered in the 12-month finding.

ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments, or questions concerning this 
petition should be submitted to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 100 North Park Avenue, Suite 320, Helena, Montana 
59601. The petition, 90-day finding, supporting data, and comments are 
available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business 
hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kemper McMaster, Field Supervisor, at the above address, telephone 
(406) 449-5225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973 as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that the Service make a 
finding on whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species 
presents substantial scientific or commercial information to indicate 
that the petitioned action may be warranted. This finding is to be 
based on all information available to the Service at the time the 
finding is made. To the maximum extent practicable, this finding is to 
be made within 90 days of the date the petition was received, and a 
notice regarding the finding is to be published promptly in the Federal 
Register. If the finding is that substantial information was presented, 
the Service also is required to promptly commence a review of the 
status of the species involved if one has not already been initiated 
under the Service's internal candidate assessment process.
    This document meets the requirement that a notice be published for 
the 90-day finding made earlier for the petition discussed below. 
Information contained in this document is a summary of the information 
in the 90-day finding, which is the Service's decision document. A 
status review has been ongoing since the species was classified as a 
category 2 candidate species in the December 30, 1982, Vertebrate 
Notice of Review (47 FR 58454)
    A petition dated April 23, 1994, was received by the Service from 
the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Evan Frost, Mark Skatrud, Craig 
Coonrad, and Michael J. Polly on April 27, 1994. The petition requested 
that the conterminous United States population of the ``North 
American'' lynx (Felis lynx canadensis) be listed as a threatened or 
endangered species. Additionally, the petitioners requested that the 
southern Rocky Mountain population of the ``North American'' lynx in 
Wyoming and Colorado be emergency listed.
    This species is now recognized as Lynx lynx canadensis (Jones et 
al. 1992) and is often referred to as the Canada lynx. The Service 
accepts both of these names.
    The petitioners assert that the Canada lynx population in the 
contiguous United States should be added to the List of Threatened and 
Endangered Species because of the following factors: 1. Intensive 
logging that eliminates foraging and denning habitat for Canada lynx 
and snowshoe hare until the vegetation has regrown sufficiently, 
creates openings in the forest that Canada lynx avoid, and causes 
habitat fragmentation that creates barriers to dispersal and 
colonization; 2. Logging roads allow human accessibility that may 
increase incidental trapping of Canada lynx and disrupt Canada lynx 
travel and hunting; 3. Forest fire suppression adversely affects Canada 
lynx through the reduction of hare habitat; 4. Few comprehensive 
management plans for Canada lynx have been developed or implemented by 
government agencies; 5. State agencies have not adequately modified 
their furbearer regulations; 6. The Canada lynx's inherent 
characteristics, including naturally low population densities, 
specialized prey requirements, and large home ranges, make it 
vulnerable to extinction; and 7. The southern Rockies population is 
further threatened by ski area developments that may reduce habitat and 
prey base and increase human disturbance and accidental trapping. The 
petitioners requested that the southern Rocky Mountain population of 
the lynx be protected by emergency listing because it is severally 
imperiled, the population level is low, and it is reproductively 
isolated.

Listing Factors

    The following are the five listing criteria as set forth in section 
4(a)(1) of the Act and regulations (50 CFR Part 424) promulgated to 
implement the listing provisions of the Act and their applicability to 
the current status of the Canada lynx.

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

    The suppression of forest fires and intensive logging prescriptions 
have had a detrimental effect on Canada lynx habitat, and logging roads 
have increased human accessibility to the species.

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

    Past overharvest has had a detrimental effect on Canada lynx 
populations.

C. Disease or Predation

    Canada lynx may be displaced or eliminated when competitors, such 
as the bobcat (Lynx rufus) or coyote (Canis latrans), expand into the 
range of the Canada lynx.

D. The Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms

    States managed the Canada lynx as a furbearer in the past, but as a 
result of declining Canada lynx populations, Canada lynx are classified 
as threatened or endangered in Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire, 
Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. It is also fully protected from 
harvest in Maine, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. 
Only Idaho and Montana currently allow the harvest of Canada lynx. The 
above States either prohibit or control the ``take'' of Canada Lynx, 
but their laws are relative ineffective in controlling the loss or 
modification of the species' habitat.

E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting Its Continued Existence

    Human development has had a determinental effect on the Canada lynx 
habitat and population.

Finding

    The Service may issue an emergency rule when there is an emergency 
posing a significant risk to the well-being of a species. Although the 
Canada lynx population in the southern Rockies may be small, the 
Service is not aware of any actions that immediately threaten the 
population. The petition did not present substantial information to 
indicate that emergency listing is warranted.
    After finding that a 1991 petition to list the North Cascades 
population of the Canada lynx as endangered was not warranted, the 
Service concluded that a rangewide status review of the Canada lynx 
should be conducted (58 FR 36924). As a result of a court settlement in 
November 1993, the Service is now in the process of formally reviewing 
the status of the contiguous United States population of the Canada 
lynx to determine whether it should be added to the List of Threatened 
and Endangered Species. On February 2, 1994, the Service published a 
notice (50 FR 4887) announcing a continuation of the status review 
initiated in 1982. The findings from this review, which must be 
published by the court appointed date of November 15, 1994, will 
constitute the 12-month finding for this petition. Considering the 
language agreed to by the Service in the court settlement, information 
provided by the petitioners, and the fact that the Canada lynx is a 
category 2 candidate species, the Service finds that there is 
substantial information to indicate that listing the contiguous 
population of the Canada lynx may be warranted.
    The Services' 90-day administrative finding contains more detailed 
information regarding the above decisions. A copy may be obtained from 
the Service's Helena office (see ADDRESSES section).

References Cited

 Jones, J.R., Jr., R.S. Hoffman, D.W. Rice, C. Jones, R.J. Baker, 
and M.D. Engstrom, 1992. Revised checklist of North American mammals 
north of Mexico, 1991. Occas. Papers Mus. No. 146, Texas Tech Univ., 
Lubbock.

Author

    This document was prepared by Lori H. Nordstrom (see ADDRESSES 
section).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

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

    Dated: August 19, 1994.
Bruce Blanchard,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-21077 Filed 8-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M