[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 227 (Wednesday, November 25, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65164-65165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31282]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Notice of Finding
on a Petition To Delist the Wood Bison From the List of Threatened and
Endangered Species
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 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 wood bison (Bison bison
athabascae) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.
The Service finds that the petitioner did not supply substantial
information to indicate that the delisting of wood bison may be
warranted.
DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on November 12,
1998. Comments and information concerning this petition finding may be
submitted until further notice.
ADDRESSES: Questions, comments, or information concerning this petition
should be sent to the Office of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Mail Stop ARLSQ-750, Washington, D.C. 20240. The
petition, finding, and supporting information are available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the Office
of Scientific Authority, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Rm. 750, Arlington,
Virginia.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Javier Alvarez, Office of
Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mail Stop ARLSQ-
750, Washington, D.C. 20240 (phone: 703-358-1708; fax: 703-358-2276; e-
mail: Javier__A[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (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. This finding is to be
made within 90 days of receipt of the petition, and the finding is to
be published promptly in the Federal Register.
The Service has made a 90-day finding on a petition to delist the
wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) populations in Canada, currently
listed as endangered under ESA. The petition was submitted by Mr. Gary
A. Plumlee, Anderson, Indiana, and was received by the Service on May
14, 1998.
The document provided by the petitioner to substantiate his
petition consisted primarily of a copy of the proposal submitted by the
Government of Canada to the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the
Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES), held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 9-20 June, 1997. The proposal,
which was adopted at the Tenth Conference, requested the transfer of
wood bison from Appendix I to Appendix II of CITES to allow commercial
trade of this subspecies. The information contained in the CITES
proposal originated primarily from research and management conducted by
Canadian federal, provincial and territorial governments as part of a
recovery program for the wood bison.
The Service agrees that wood bison populations are capable of
growing rapidly when protected from over-hunting. Historically found in
the interior plains of northwestern North America (northwestern
Saskatchewan, northern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia, and
southwestern Northern Territories), the wood bison was almost
extirpated by Europeans during the late 19th century. Of approximately
200,000 wood bison believed to exist in Canada in 1800, the population
was reduced to about 250 animals at the beginning of this century.
Under government protection (it currently has legal protection in
British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and Northwest Territories; it is
designated as threatened according to the Committee on the Status of
Endangered Wildlife in Canada) this population has grown to an
estimated 2,500 wood bison today, including 1,800 animals in seven wild
herds, and around 700 held in captivity. An additional 2,300 animals
exist in free-ranging populations that originate from wood bison
exposed to hybridization with plains bison (Bison bison bison) and
disease (tuberculosis and brucellosis). As a result of these increases
in population, the Canadian government opened regulated hunting of wood
bison in 1988, with an annual quota of 47 animals to be allocated among
native peoples, local residents, and non-resident trophy hunters
accompanied by native people.
The Service also agrees that illegal trade in this subspecies does
not appear to be a significant problem. CITES records reveal that a
very small number of live wood bison or their parts have entered
international trade since it was included in Appendix I of CITES in
1973.
When referring to the downlisting of the wood bison from Appendix I
to Appendix II of CITES, the petitioner incorrectly states that the
wood bison was reclassified as threatened under CITES. CITES Appendix
II is not equivalent to threatened under ESA. Moreover, although
Parties to CITES consider the level of threat when listing species, the
listing criteria are different. Listing criteria adopted by Parties to
CITES in November 1994 (Resolution 9.24) clearly state that a species
can be placed in CITES appendices only if it is threatened or has the
potential to be threatened by trade. The Canadian proposal to downlist
the subspecies to Appendix II was adopted in June 1997 based on these
new criteria.
Although over-hunting and illegal trade are no longer considered
threats to the species, recovery of the species is still limited by
habitat availability and quality. Approximately 34 percent of the wood
bison's historical range is no longer available because of agriculture
and urban development, a problem that is expected to increase. A
further 27 percent is temporarily unavailable because of the presence
of disease. Several reintroduced populations are threatened by the risk
of infection with tuberculosis and brucellosis, including the largest
at Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary in the Northwestern Territories, which
contains 1,300 of the remaining 1,800 free-ranging non-hybridized wood
bison. Therefore, buffer zones are currently being established to
separate diseased and
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disease-free herds. This leaves only about 39 percent of the species'
historical range available for recovery.
The official Canadian recovery plan developed by the Wood Bison
Recovery Team calls for the establishment of four or more free-ranging
herds of wood bison in suitable habitat in the original range, each
herd containing or exceeding the minimum viable population (MVP) of 400
animals. The Canadian CITES proposal states that only the population at
Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary exceeds the MVP, with the other four
reestablished herds having ``the potential to meet or exceed that
number by the year 2000.''
When evaluating petitions for delisting or downlisting of species
under the ESA, the Service's guidelines state that a ``not-substantial
information'' finding be made when already established recovery
objectives have not been met (see page 14, section 2(a)(1) of
Endangered Species Petition Management Guidance--U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, July 1996). The Canadian
recovery plan goals for the wood bison have not been met yet.
Therefore, the Service finds that the petitioner did not supply
substantial information to indicate that the petitioned action may be
warranted. At such time when the free-ranging disease-free populations
of wood bison meet the recovery plan criteria, the Service may initiate
such a downlisting. In the meantime and within available resources, the
Service will evaluate the advisability of downlisting the captive
population of wood bison from endangered to threatened, with a special
rule to allow the import to the United States of captive-bred wood
bisons.
References Cited: 1997. Prop. 10.35. Proposal for the transfer of
wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) from Appendix I to Appendix II of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species submitted
by the Government of Canada at the Tenth Meeting of the Conferences of
the Parties held in Harare, Zimbabwe, 9-20 June, 1997.
Author: The primary author of this document is Dr. Javier Alvarez
(see ADDRESSES section).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: November 12, 1998.
John G. Rogers,
Director.
[FR Doc. 98-31282 Filed 11-24-98; 8:45 am]
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