[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 201 (Monday, October 19, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 55839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27977]



[[Page 55839]]

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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 Delist Gray Wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; Notice of 90-day petition finding.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 90-
day finding for a petition to delist the gray wolf (Canis lupus) under 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Service finds 
that the petition does not present substantial information indicating 
that delisting may be warranted.

DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on October 19, 
1998. To be considered in the 12-month finding for this petition, 
information and comments should be submitted to the Service by December 
18, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Questions, comments, or information concerning this petition 
should be sent to the Ecological Services Operations Supervisor, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, 
Ft. Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056. The separate petition finding, 
supporting data, and comments are available for public inspection, by 
appointment, during normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. T.J. Miller; 612-713-5334 (see 
ADDRESSES section).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act 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 
demonstrate 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, the finding 
shall be made within 90 days following receipt of the petition and 
promptly published in the Federal Register. Following a positive 
finding, section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act requires the Service to promptly 
commence a status review of the species.
    The processing of this petition conforms with the Service's final 
listing priority guidance for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, published in 
the Federal Register on May 8, 1998 (63 FR 25502). The guidance calls 
for giving highest priority to handling emergency situations (Tier 1); 
second highest priority to resolving the listing status of outstanding 
proposed listings, resolving the conservation status of candidate 
species, processing administrative findings on petitions, and 
processing a limited number of delistings and reclassifications (Tier 
2); and third priority to processing proposed and final designations of 
critical habitat (Tier 3). The processing of this petition falls under 
Tier 2.
    The Service has made a 90-day finding on a petition to delist the 
gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The 
petition, dated February 9, 1998, was submitted by Mr. Lawrence Krak 
and was received on February 13, 1998. The petition requested that the 
Service delist the gray wolf in these three states, because the wolf is 
improperly listed as a subspecies in that area. The petition alleged 
that the subspecies listing is invalid because the subspecies found in 
these three states freely mixes with wolves in adjacent portions of 
Canada. Thus, because the wolves in these three states do not 
constitute a valid and listable subspecies, the petition stated that 
the gray wolf should be delisted immediately. Mr. Krak sent a second 
letter, dated June 15, 1998, which enclosed additional information 
relevant to his petition.
    A review of the petition and Mr. Krak's subsequent letter and 
enclosure indicates that the petition is based upon a misunderstanding 
of the scope of the current listing of the gray wolf and of the 
Service's Vertebrate Population Policy.
    The gray wolf is currently listed throughout the coterminous 48 
states and Mexico at the species level; this listing is not based in 
any way upon subspecific affiliation or validity. Thus, the claim that 
the listing is based upon an improper listing as a subspecies is 
invalid. While the subspecies C. l. lycaon was listed as endangered in 
Minnesota and Michigan in 1974 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1974), 
that listing was superseded by a 1978 listing (43 FR 9607) of the gray 
wolf, C. lupus (i.e., the full species), throughout the 48 coterminous 
states and Mexico.
    Furthermore, the Service's Vertebrate Population Policy (61 FR 
4722, February 7, 1996), promulgated to clarify the definition of 
``species'' found in the Act, would allow a listing of a vertebrate 
species or subspecies in a portion of the United States even if it 
freely mixes with a larger population across an international border. 
This policy would allow the Service to list, as a distinct population 
segment, the U.S. portion of a wolf subspecies which has a much larger 
population in adjacent Canada. Thus, even if the current listing of the 
gray wolf was done at the subspecies level, the Vertebrate Population 
Policy would encompass it within the scope of the Service's listing 
authority.
    The Service has reviewed the petition; the material submitted with, 
and subsequent to, the petition; and additional information in the 
Service's files. The Service also solicited comments and data from the 
States and Tribes within the area included in the petition and has 
reviewed the information received from those sources. On the basis of 
the best scientific and commercial data available, the Service finds 
that the petition does not present substantial information that 
delisting the gray wolf in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan may be 
warranted.

References Cited

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1974. United States list of 
endangered fauna, May 1974. U.S. Department of the Interior. 
Washington, D.C. 20240. 22 pp.

    Author: The primary author of this document is Ronald L. Refsnider 
of the Service's Regional Office (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Division of Endangered Species, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 
1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056; 612-713-5346).

Authority

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

    Dated: October 6, 1998.
Jamie Rappaport Clark,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 98-27977 Filed 10-16-98; 8:45 am]
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