[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 205 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55268-55269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-28171]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Extension of 
Listing Priority Guidance for Fiscal Year 1997

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces an 
extension of the fiscal year (FY) 1997 guidance for assigning relative 
priorities to listing actions conducted under section 4 of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
(Act). The FY 1997 guidance will remain in effect until the FY 1998 
appropriations bill for the Department of the Interior becomes law and 
new final guidance is published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Questions concerning this notice should be submitted to the 
Chief, Division of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
1849 C Street, N.W., Mail Stop 452 ARLSQ, Washington, D.C. 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: E. LaVerne Smith, Chief, Division of 
Endangered Species (see ADDRESSES section) (telephone 703/358-2171).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Service adopted guidelines on September 21, 1983 (48 FR 43098), 
that govern the assignment of priorities to species under consideration 
for listing as endangered or threatened under section 4 of the Act. The 
Service adopted those guidelines to establish a rational system for 
allocating available appropriations to the highest priority species 
when adding species to the lists of endangered or threatened wildlife 
and plants or reclassifying threatened species to endangered status. 
The system places greatest importance on the immediacy and magnitude of 
threats, but also factors in the level of taxonomic distinctiveness by 
assigning priority in descending order to monotypic genera, full 
species, and subspecies (or equivalently, distinct population segments 
of vertebrates). However, this system does not provide for 
prioritization among different listing actions such as preliminary 
determinations, proposed listings, and final listings.
    The enactment of Pub. L. 104-6 in April, 1995, rescinded $1.5 
million from the Service's budget for carrying out listing activities 
through the remainder of FY 1995. Pub. L. 104-6 prohibited the 
expenditure of the remaining appropriated funds for final 
determinations to list species or designate critical habitat which, in 
effect, placed a moratorium on those activities. The net effect of the 
moratorium and reductions in funding was that the Service's listing 
program was essentially shut down. The moratorium on final listings and 
the budget constraints remained in effect until April 26, 1996, when 
President Clinton approved the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1996 and exercised the authority that the Act gave him to waive the 
moratorium. At that time, the Service had accrued a backlog of proposed 
listings for 243 species. The extremely limited funding available to 
the Service for listing activities generally precluded petition 
processing and the development of proposed listings from October 1, 
1995, through April 26, 1996.
    When the moratorium was lifted and funds were appropriated for the 
administration of the listing program,

[[Page 55269]]

the Service faced the considerable task of allocating the available 
resources to the significant backlog of listing activities. The Service 
published Final Listing Priority Guidance for FY 1997 on December 5, 
1996 (61 FR 64475). The Listing Priority Guidance system employed 4 
tiers for assigning relative priorities to listing actions to be 
carried out under section 4 of the Act. Tier 1, the processing of 
emergency listings for species facing a significant risk to their well-
being, remains the Service's highest priority. The processing of final 
decisions on pending proposed listings is assigned to Tier 2. Tier 3 
includes resolving the conservation status of species identified as 
candidates and processing 90-day or 12-month administrative findings on 
petitions to list or reclassify species from threatened to endangered 
status. Preparation of proposed or final critical habitat designations, 
and processing of reclassifications, which provide little or no 
additional conservation benefit to listed species, are assigned lowest 
priority (Tier 4).
    While operating the listing program under the Final FY 1997 Listing 
Priority Guidance, the Service focused its resources on issuing final 
determinations (Tier 2 listing activities). After April 1, 1997, the 
Service began implementing a more balanced listing program and began 
processing more Tier 3 listing actions. The continuing (though reduced) 
backlog and funding limitations underscore the need to maintain 
program-wide biologically sound priorities to guide the allocation of 
limited resources.

Extension of Listing Priority Guidance for Fiscal Year 1997

    The Department of the Interior has not yet received a FY 1998 
appropriation. Under the current continuing resolution, the Service 
continues to operate at FY 1997 funding levels. Until the FY 1998 
appropriation is enacted, the funding level for the endangered species 
listing activity remains unknown, and issuance of FY 1998 listing 
priority guidance remains premature. Therefore, until the Department of 
the Interior's 1998 appropriation becomes law and final Listing 
Priority Guidance for FY 1998 is published in the Federal Register, the 
Service will continue to follow the FY 1997 guidance, issued on 
December 5, 1996. The Service will announce new proposed guidance as 
promptly as possible after the FY 1998 appropriations bill for the 
Department of the Interior is approved and becomes law.

Authority

    The authority for this notice is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

    Dated: October 17, 1997.
Jamie Rappaport Clark,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 97-28171 Filed 10-20-97; 3:26 pm]
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