[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66307-66308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31875]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Animal Trapping Within the National Wildlife Refuge System

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is seeking information 
regarding the use of animal traps within the National Wildlife Refuge 
System. Interested parties that wish to provide information on any 
aspect of this subject should send the information to the address 
listed below no later than February 15, 1997. All information received 
will be forwarded to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees by 
March 1, 1997 as required by the Omnibus Fiscal Year 1997 
Appropriations Bill.

DATES: For written comments to be considered, they must be received by 
February 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Refuges, 
Attention: Trapping Project, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 670, 
Arlington, VA 22203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken McDermond, Refuge Program 
Specialist, 703/358-2422; 703/358-1826 (fax);

[[Page 66308]]

[email protected] (email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The conference report accompanying the 
Fiscal Year 1997 Appropriations Act, Public Law 104-208, 110 STAT. 3009 
contained the following language:
    ``While there is no specific prohibition on the use of steel jaw 
leghold traps, the Service should establish a task force to study the 
use of animal traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The task 
force should consider the humaneness of various trapping methods, as 
well as the cost, the impact on the protection of endangered species, 
the impact on Fish and Wildlife Service facilities, and other relevant 
issues. The task force should include interested outside parties and 
report its findings to the House and Senate Committees on 
Appropriations by March 1, 1997.''
    The Committee's instructions to the Service provided that the 
Service ``should establish a task force to study the use of animal 
traps'' and the ``task force should include interested outside parties 
and report its findings to the House and Senate Committees on 
Appropriations by March 1, 1997.'' These instructions presented a 
difficult legal challenge. After consultation with the Service's 
representatives in the Solicitor's Office, it was clear that given the 
time available to meet these instructions that it would be virtually 
impossible to achieve a balanced but limited representation of 
interests on the task force and prepare a report that represented the 
task force's findings while being consistent with legally required 
procedures. The Solicitor's Office suggested, however, that a general 
solicitation from all interested outside parties, encouraging a 
broadly-based task force approach that would not serve to exclude 
interested participants, and the transmittal of all information 
received thereby to the Committees without editorial change or policy 
alteration would be consistent with the general intent of the 
Committee's instructions and achievable within the existing procedural 
laws by March 1, 1997. The Service has, accordingly, adopted this 
suggestion and requests all interested parties to submit information on 
the use of traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System, in particular 
those issues identified in the conference report.

    Dated: December 11, 1996.
John G. Rogers,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 96-31875 Filed 12-16-96; 8:45 am]
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