[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 113 (Thursday, June 12, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32070-32071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-15388]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Status 
Reviews for the Alexander Archipelago Wolf and the Queen Charlotte 
Goshawk

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of status reviews; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides notice that 
the comment period is reopened on the rangewide status reviews for the 
Alexander Archipelago wolf (Canis lupis ligoni) and the Queen Charlotte 
goshawk (Accipiter gentilis laingi) under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended. The Service solicits any information, data, comments, 
and suggestions from the public, other government agencies, the 
scientific community, industry, or other interested parties concerning 
the status of these species.

Dates: Comments and data from all interested parties must be received 
by July 28, 1997 to be included in the findings.

ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments, or questions concerning these 
status reviews should be sent to Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Field Office, 3000 Vintage Blvd., 
Suite 201, Juneau, Alaska 99801-7100.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lindell, at the above address, or 
by calling 907/586-7240.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Alexander Archipelago Wolf

    On December 17, 1993, the Service received a petition to list the 
Alexander Archipelago wolf as threatened under the Act, from the 
Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Eric Holle, and Martin Berghoffen. On 
May 20, 1994, the Service announced a 90-day finding (59 FR 26476) that 
the petition presented substantial information indicating that the 
requested action may be warranted, and opened a public comment period 
until October 1, 1994 (59 FR 26476 and 59 FR 44122). The Service issued 
its 12-month finding that listing the Alexander Archipelago wolf was 
not warranted on February 23, 1995 (60 FR 10056).
    On February 7, 1996, the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, 
Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Save the West, Save America's Forests, 
Native Forest Network, Native Forest Council, Eric Holle, Martin 
Berghoffen, and Don Muller filed suit in the United States Court for 
the District of Columbia challenging the Service's not warranted 
finding. The complaint stated that the Service had based its not 
warranted finding on proposed changes to the USDA Forest Service's 
Tongass Land Management Plan, although there was no commitment that 
those proposed changes would be adopted in the final version. On 
October 9, 1996, the United States District Court remanded the 12-month 
finding to the Secretary of Interior, instructing him to reconsider the 
determination ``on the basis of the current forest plan, and status of 
the wolf and its habitat, as they stand today''' (96 CV 00227 DDC).
    Accordingly, a public comment period was opened on December 5, 1996 
(61 FR 64497) to gather all new information for review. It was extended 
until April 4, 1997 through three subsequent notices (61 FR 69065; 62 
FR 6930; and 62 FR 14662). The Service has reevaluated the petition and 
the literature cited in the petition, reviewed the Tongass Land 
Management Plan and other available literature and

[[Page 32071]]

information, and consulted with biologists and researchers 
knowledgeable of gray wolves in general, and the Alexander Archipelago 
wolf in particular. The 1979 Tongass National Forest Land Management 
Plan, as amended, formed the basis for evaluating the status of the 
wolf on the Tongass National Forest. On May 23, 1997, the USDA Forest 
Service issued a revised Tongass Land Management Plan. Consequently, 
the review of the 1979 Tongass Land Management Plan no longer 
represented the ``current'' plan as specified by the Court ruling. The 
Fish and Wildlife Service was, therefore, granted an 90-day extension 
in order to reevaluate the status of the wolf under the provisions of 
the 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan.

Queen Charlotte Goshawk

    On May 9, 1994, the Fish and Wildlife Service received a petition 
dated May 2, 1994, from the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, 
Greater Gila Biodiversity Project, Biodiversity Legal Foundation, 
Greater Ecosystem Alliance, Save the West, Save America's Forests, 
Native Forest Network, Native Forest Council, Eric Holle, and Don 
Muller, to list the Queen Charlotte goshawk as endangered pursuant to 
the Endangered Species Act. The petition was based largely upon the 
present and impending impacts to the Queen Charlotte goshawk caused by 
timber harvest in the Tongass National Forest. On August 26, 1994, the 
Service published a positive 90-day finding (59 FR 44124) that 
substantial information was presented in the petition indicating that 
the requested action may be warranted.
    In accordance with the Service's listing petition procedures, the 
positive 90-day finding initiated a more thorough 12-month evaluation, 
and based on this evaluation the Service determined on May 19, 1995, 
that listing was not warranted. Notice of this finding was published on 
June 29, 1995 (60 FR 33784). In the 12-month finding, the Service 
acknowledged that continued large-scale removal of old-growth forest in 
the Tongass National Forest would result in significant adverse effects 
on the Queen Charlotte goshawk in southeast Alaska; however, at that 
time the Forest Service was revising land use strategies to ensure 
goshawk habitat conservation. The Service believed that the proposed 
actions to protect goshawks would preclude the need for listing.
    On November 17, 1995, the Southwest Center for Biological 
Diversity, Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Save the West, Save America's 
Forests, Native Forest Network, Native Forest Council, Eric Holle, and 
Don Muller filed a complaint in United States District Court, District 
of Columbia, against the Department of the Interior and the Service for 
their refusal to list the Queen Charlotte goshawk or designate critical 
habitat. The concern was that the Service based its not warranted 
finding on proposed changes to the Forest Service's Tongass Land 
Management Plan, although there was no commitment that those proposed 
changes would be adopted in the final version. On September 25, 1996, 
the United States District Court remanded the 12-month finding to the 
Secretary of Interior, instructing him to reconsider the determination 
``on the basis of the current forest plan, and status of the goshawk 
and its habitat, as they stand today'' (95 CV 02138 DDC).
    Accordingly, a public comment period was opened on December 5, 1996 
(61 FR 64497) to gather all new information for review. It was extended 
until April 4, 1997 through three subsequent notices (61 FR 69065; 62 
FR 6930; and 62 FR 14662). The Service has reevaluated the petition and 
the literature cited in the petition, reviewed the Tongass Land 
Management Plan and other available literature and information, and 
consulted with biologists and researchers knowledgeable of northern 
goshawks in general, and the Queen Charlotte goshawk in particular. The 
1979 Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan, as amended, formed 
the basis for evaluating the status of the goshawk on the Tongass 
National Forest. On May 23, 1997, the USDA Forest Service issued a 
revised Tongass Land Management Plan. Consequently, the review of the 
1979 Tongass Land Management Plan therefore, no longer represented the 
``current'' plan as specified by the Court ruling. The Fish and 
Wildlife Service was, therefore, granted an 90-day extension in order 
to reevaluate the status of the goshawk under the provisions of the 
1997 Tongass Land Management Plan.

Comments Requested

    Separate findings based on the status reviews will be issued for 
the Alexander Archipelago wolf and the Queen Charlotte goshawk by 
August 31, 1997. In order to complete these status reviews, the Service 
is requesting any information, data, comments, and suggestions from the 
public, other concerned government agencies, the scientific community, 
industry, or other interested parties concerning the status of these 
species. In regard to the 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan, the 
Service is only interested in comments on the effects of the 1997 
Tongass Land Management Plan on Alexander Archipelago wolves and Queen 
Charlotte goshawks.
    For information on the 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan and Record 
of Decision, contact Pamela Finney, by telephone at 907/586-8726, or by 
writing the USDA Forest Service, 8465 Old Dairy Road, Juneau, Alaska, 
99801. Any general comments on the Tongass Land Management Plan may be 
submitted to the Forest Service at that address.

Authority

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

    Dated: June 6, 1997.
David B. Allen,
Regional Director, Region 7, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 97-15388 Filed 6-11-97; 8:45 am]
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