[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 130 (Tuesday, July 8, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36482-36484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17658]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding for 
a Petition To List the Lesser Prairie-Chicken as Threatened

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding and initiation of status 
review.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 90-
day finding for a petition to add the lesser prairie-chicken 
(Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) to the List of Threatened and Endangered 
Wildlife. The Service finds that the petition presents substantial 
information indicating that listing the species as threatened may be 
warranted. The Service initiates a status review and will prepare a 12-
month finding.

DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on July 8, 1997. 
To be considered in the 12-month finding for this petition, information 
and comments should be submitted to the Service by September 8, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Information, comments, or questions should be sent to the 
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 222 S. Houston, Suite 
A, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74127-8909. The petition finding and supporting 
data are available for public inspection by appointment during normal 
business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jerry Brabander, Field Supervisor (see ADDRESSES section) (telephone 
918/581-7458 ext. 224).

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 the 
finding is to be published promptly in the Federal Register. If the 
finding is positive, the Service is required to promptly commence a 
review of the status of the involved species if one has not already 
been initiated under the Service's internal candidate assessment 
process.
    The Service has made a 90-day finding on a petition to list the 
lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) as threatened. The 
petition, dated October 5, 1995 was submitted by the Biodiversity Legal 
Foundation, Boulder, Colorado and Marie E. Morrissey, and was received 
by the Service on October 6, 1995. The petitioners requested that the 
Service list the lesser prairie-chicken as threatened throughout its 
known historic range in the United States, and that critical habitat be 
designated as soon as needs of the species are sufficiently well known.
    When the Service received the petition it was under a moratorium on 
listing actions as a result of Public Law 104-6, which, along with a 
series of

[[Page 36483]]

continuing budget resolutions, eliminated the Service's endangered 
species listing budget through April, 1996. This suspension of the 
listing program prohibited the Service from processing the petition to 
list the prairie chicken. In addition, the moratorium resulted in a 
substantial backlog of listing actions, which prompted the Service to 
issue guidance instituting a biologically based system for reducing the 
listing backlog. This system placed emergency listings and finalization 
of proposed rules to list species ahead of petition findings (61 FR 
64475). For these reasons, this 90-day finding was made well over 90 
days after the petition was received.
    The Biodiversity Legal Foundation submitted biological, 
distributional, historical and other information in support of the 
petition. The petitioners identified threats to the lesser prairie-
chicken as present and potential destruction of habitat (resulting from 
agricultural conversion, habitat fragmentation, intensive grazing, and 
brush control); disturbance caused by large oil and gas developments; 
over-utilization by sport hunters; disease; and predation. Further, 
they asserted that existing regulatory mechanisms were inadequate to 
protect the species from decline.
    The Service has reviewed the petition, literature cited in the 
petition, other available literature and data, and has consulted with 
biologists and researchers familiar with the lesser prairie-chicken. 
After reviewing the best scientific and commercial information 
available at this time, the Service finds that the petition presents 
substantial information that listing the lesser prairie-chicken may be 
warranted.
    The lesser prairie-chicken historically occupied areas of sand 
sagebrush-(Artemesia filifolia) or shinnery oak- (Quercus havardii) 
bluestem grasslands in portions of southeastern Colorado, southwestern 
Kansas, western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, and eastern New Mexico. 
The area originally occupied by lesser prairie-chickens was about 
358,000 square kilometers (km) (139,500 square miles (mi) (Taylor and 
Guthery 1980 based on Aldrich 1963). Taylor and Guthery (1980) 
estimated a total occupied range in 1980 of 27,300 square km (10,500 
square mi), a 92 percent decrease since the 1800's.
    Little information is available on lesser prairie-chicken 
populations prior to 1900. Litton et al. (1994) suggested that there 
may have been as many as two million birds in Texas alone prior to 
1900. In the early twentieth century, lesser prairie-chickens were 
reportedly common throughout the five state range. By the 1930's 
extensive cultivation, overgrazing, and drought had begun to cause the 
species to disappear from sections where it had been abundant (Bent 
1932, Baker 1953, Bailey and Niedrach 1965, Davison 1940, Lee 1950, 
Oberholser 1974). Lesser prairie-chicken abundance appeared to 
fluctuate somewhat during the 1940's and 1950's (Copelin 1963, Crawford 
1980), and by the early 1970's, the total fall population may have been 
reduced to about 60,000 birds (Crawford 1980). By 1980, the estimate of 
total fall population was approximately 44,000 to 53,000 birds, a 
decline of 97 percent from the pre-1900 level (Crawford 1980).
    The petitioners presented, or referenced, recent population 
abundance or trend data from each of the states. In response to the 
petition, the state wildlife agencies also provided the Service with 
information. In general, each of the state wildlife agencies was unable 
to provide a precise estimate of lesser prairie-chicken population 
abundance. Rather, the states used lek density and/or average lek size 
estimates as an index to density of males (a lek is a gathering area 
for male birds to display and attract females).
    In Colorado, the lesser prairie-chicken was listed as threatened in 
1973. Historical range included 6 counties; currently, they are limited 
to fragmented areas of 3 counties (Giesen 1994a). The number of active 
leks and total number of birds counted on leks increased steadily from 
3 in 1959 to 45 in 1989 (Giesen 1994b), although prior to 1981, survey 
effort was sporadic. In the late 1980's the lesser prairie-chicken 
population in Colorado was estimated between 1,000-2,000 birds on 
approximately 58 total leks (Giesen 1994b). Since 1990, access to 
private land south of the Cimarron River in Baca County has been 
denied, leading to an inability to accurately determine total number of 
leks or birds. Also, drought conditions in the early 1990's coincided 
with noticeable declines in numbers of active leks and numbers of males 
counted in other areas of occupied range (K. Giesen, pers. comm., March 
1, 1997). The Colorado Division of Wildlife currently estimates a total 
of 800-1,100 lesser prairie-chickens in the State (J. Sheppards, CDOW, 
pers. comm, Aug. 14, 1996, K. Giesen, pers. comm., Dec. 13, 1995).
    In Kansas, the lesser prairie-chicken is considered an upland game 
bird. The estimated fall population in 1979 was 17,000-18,000 birds 
(Crawford 1980). The petitioners estimated a spring 1995 population of 
approximately 5,000 birds, based on a rough estimate from Kansas 
Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP). Four counties have been 
surveyed for density of lesser prairie-chickens since 1964. Eight of 
ten lesser prairie-chicken routes (counties) surveyed between 1969 and 
1995 in Kansas have a significantly declining trend of birds/square 
mile (P<0.10) (R. Applegate, pers. comm, Aug. 14, 1996).
    In Oklahoma, the lesser prairie-chicken is also considered an 
upland game bird, although the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife 
Conservation has proposed closing the season beginning in 1998. In 
1960, Copelin (1963) estimated the spring population at 15,000, falling 
to 7,500 in 1979 (Cannon and Knopf 1980). In 1995, the total spring 
population was estimated as approximately 475 birds (R. Horton, pers. 
comm., Dec. 13, 1995).
    Between 1968 and 1995, the average lek size in Oklahoma ranged from 
a high of 16.5 in 1975 to a low of 4.6 in 1995. Between 1985 and 1995, 
the estimated density of leks within occupied habitat ranged from a 
high of 0.13 leks/100 hectares (ha) (247 acres (ac)) in 1988 to a low 
of 0.03 leks/100 ha in 1993. Density in 1995 was 0.05 leks/100 ha (247 
ac) (Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation 1995).
    In the spring of 1996, researchers from Oklahoma State University 
made an effort to locate all active leks in Oklahoma. Their searches 
yielded 14 active leks and 123 total birds (C. Green, Oklahoma State 
University, pers. comm., Jan. 17, 1997). The possible existence of two 
additional leks were reported later that year. Some leks found in 1996 
and 1997 were located in areas not traditionally searched, indicating 
the possibility that expanded search range may be necessary to 
accurately determine the status of the lesser prairie-chicken in 
Oklahoma.
    In Texas, the lesser prairie-chicken is also classified as an 
upland game bird. Litton et al. (1994) reported estimates of two 
million birds in Texas prior to 1900. In 1979, the Texas population was 
estimated between 11,000 and 18,000 birds (Crawford 1980).
    The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) provided to the 
Service data beginning in 1942. Estimates for average lek size are 
available for the Northeastern Panhandle population between 1942 and 
1996. These data show marked oscillation, yet indicate a slight 
increasing trend when the entire period is considered (P=0.0077, A. 
Sansom, pers. comm., Apr. 3, 1997). Estimates of average lek size are 
available for the Southwestern Panhandle (Permian Basin) population 
between 1969 and 1996. These data also indicate variance among years in 
average lek size, but the

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overall trend is decreasing (P=0.0001, A. Sansom, pers. comm., Apr. 3, 
1997).
    Between 1942 and 1986, TPWD estimated the density of leks/100 ha in 
two study areas in the northeastern portion of the Texas panhandle 
(Wheeler and Hemphill counties). During this time period, the density 
of leks in Hemphill County remained fairly stable, around 0.1 leks/100 
ha (247 ac). In Wheeler County, density of leks was highest in 1942 
(0.9 leks/100 ha (247 ac)), peaked again in 1974 at 0.8, and remained 
between 0.5 and 0.6 between 1981 and 1985. Beginning in 1997, TPWD 
resumed estimating lek density in these two northeastern panhandle 
areas, as well as Gaines, Yoakum, and Bailey counties in the 
southwestern portion of the panhandle (A. Sansom, pers. comm., Apr. 3, 
1997).
    In New Mexico, the lesser prairie-chicken is an upland game bird, 
although the hunting season was closed in 1996. An average fall 
population of 6,000-10,000 birds was estimated by Taylor and Guthery 
(1980) using Campbell's (1972) data. Since 1971, the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) has surveyed lesser prairie-chicken leks on the 
Caprock Wildlife Habitat Area which encompasses approximately 50 
percent of the available lesser prairie-chicken habitat in New Mexico 
(B. Hale, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, pers. comm, Dec. 16, 
1996). The percentage of leks sampled that are active declined from a 
reported high of 93 percent in 1983 (71 sampled) to 18 percent in 1996 
(125 sampled, R. French, pers. comm., Aug. 14, 1996). Total population 
size estimates on the Caprock Area were reported as 2,600 birds in 
1979, 1,100 in 1982, 2,000 in 1987, 935 in 1994, and 350 in 1996 (1996 
estimate from R. French, Bureau of Land Management, Roswell District, 
pers. comm., Aug. 14, 1996).
    In summary, indices used to gauge annual population fluctuations 
differ among some states, and data are fragmented over time even within 
given states. An examination of the data submitted by the states to the 
petitioner and the Service suggests a declining trend in lesser 
prairie-chicken populations in each of the states with the possible 
exception of Texas.
    Threats to the species may include conversion of native prairie to 
cultivation and degradation of remaining habitat. Continued conversion 
to agriculture could result in increasingly fragmented areas of 
suitable habitat. Small subpopulations in restricted areas may 
experience barriers to dispersal and colonization, and eventually 
become vulnerable to inbreeding depression, genetic drift, and chance 
extinctions.
    Livestock grazing of rangeland to a degree that leaves little 
residual grass cover remaining in the spring is considered detrimental 
to lesser prairie-chicken populations (Bent 1932, Bidwell and Peoples 
1991, Cannon and Knopf 1980, Crawford 1980, Giesen 1994b, Riley et al. 
1992), because grass height is reduced below that necessary for nesting 
cover and desirable food plants are markedly reduced.
    The control of shinnery oak or sand sagebrush to increase grass 
production and stocking capacity of rangelands may be detrimental to 
lesser prairie-chickens if control occurs over extensive areas because 
prairie-chickens need a diversity of vegetative components within their 
range. However, well managed grazing that ensures a diversity of plants 
and cover types remain on the landscape can be favorable to prairie-
chickens.
    When the Service makes a positive finding, it is also required to 
promptly commence a review of the status of the species. In the case of 
the lesser prairie-chicken, the Service requests information on the 
status of the species throughout its range in the United States. The 
Service is soliciting additional information on the population 
abundance, population trends, distribution, use of habitats including 
native prairie and cropland, and factors documented to influence 
population abundance, distribution, and habitat use of lesser prairie-
chickens.

References Cited

    A complete list of all references cited herein, as well as others, 
is available upon request. Refer to the ADDRESSES section for contact 
information.

Authors

    This document was prepared by Noreen E. Walsh, at the Service's 
Oklahoma office (see ADDRESSES section).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
record keeping requirements, and Transportation.

    Dated: June 30, 1997.
John G. Rogers,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 97-17658 Filed 7-7-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M