[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 204 (Monday, October 21, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54674-54675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26879]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability of the Bitterroot Ecosystem Recovery Plan 
Chapter for the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

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[[Page 54675]]

SUMMARY: To further the recovery of the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos 
horribilis), the Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability 
of the Bitterroot Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan Chapter. The 
Bitterroot ecosystem is located in Idaho and Montana. This chapter has 
been appended to the existing Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan approved in 
1993. The availability of the draft of the chapter was announced to the 
public in the Federal Register on August 16, 1993 (58 FR 43373).

DATES: Bitterroot Ecosystem Chapter of the revised Grizzly Bear 
Recovery Plan was signed by the Regional Director, Denver Regional 
Office, Fish and Wildlife Service, on September 11, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The document announced in this notice is available from: 
Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
University Hall, Room 309, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 
59812.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Christopher Servheen, Grizzly Bear 
Recovery Coordinator (see ADDRESSES above), at telephone (406) 329-
3223.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Restoring an endangered or threatened plant or animal to a point 
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is 
a primary goal of the Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) endangered 
species program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is 
working to prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native 
to the United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered 
necessary for conservation of the species, establish criteria for the 
recovery levels for downlisting or delisting them, and estimate time 
and cost for starting the needed recovery measures.
    Under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act) as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Service approved the revised 
Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan on September 10, 1993 (U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service 1993). The Plan approved in 1993 did not contain a 
complete chapter on the Bitterroot ecosystem because the specific 
information necessary to develop this chapter was not available. On 
September 11, 1996, the Service approved the Bitterroot Ecosystem 
Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan Chapter. The agencies responsible for 
development of this chapter included the Service, U.S. Forest Service, 
Idaho Fish and Game Department, and Montana Department of Fish, 
Wildlife, and Parks. This chapter was developed by a cooperative effort 
of the involved agencies and a wide range of interested citizens from 
throughout the area. Public involvement in drafting the chapter 
identified issues that include livestock depredation, effects on big 
game species/hunting, human health and safety, land use policy/
restrictions, the role of the grizzly bear in the ecosystem 
(naturalness), economics, State and Federal authorities, private 
property rights, illegal killing/poaching, effects of grizzly bears on 
other species (such as listed salmon), and the size of the recovery 
area. The availability of the draft of the chapter was announced to the 
public in the Federal Register on August 16, 1993 (58 FR 43373).
    The grizzly bear was once a common inhabitant of the Bitterroot 
ecosystem in east-central Idaho and western Montana. Grizzly bears were 
removed from the Bitterroot ecosystem by humans as they settled the 
West. Primary reasons for these removals included livestock protection, 
uncontrolled hunting, and trapping and shooting for sale of hides. The 
last documented grizzly was killed in the Bitterroot ecosystem in 1932 
and the last known track was seen in 1946. The grizzly bear was listed 
as a threatened species in the conterminous 48 States in 1975 under the 
Act. The Recovery Plan Chapter for the Bitterroot ecosystem outlines 
the necessary actions to recover the grizzly bear in this ecosystem. 
Alternative actions to recover the grizzly bears in the Bitterroot 
ecosystem, including reintroduction, will be considered in a draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) being prepared by the Service. The 
notice of intent to prepare this EIS was announced to the public in 
January 1995. On January 9, 1995, a notice was published in the Federal 
Register (60 FR 2399). This draft EIS is expected to be available in 
1996.

References Cited

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1993. Grizzly bear recovery plan. 
Missoula, Montana. 181 pp.

Authority

    The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered 
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

    Dated: October 11, 1996.
Paul E. Gertler,
Acting Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 96-26879 Filed 10-18-96; 8:45 am]
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