[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 7, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48565-48567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23168]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 21

RIN 1018-AE65


Migratory Bird Permits; Amended Certification of Compliance and 
Determination that the States of Vermont and West Virginia Meet Federal 
Falconry Standards

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adding the States of Vermont and West Virginia to the 
list of States whose falconry laws meet or exceed Federal falconry 
standards. These States will now be participants in the cooperative 
Federal/State permit application program, and falconry can now be 
practiced in those States. The list of States that meet Federal 
falconry standards, including Vermont and West Virginia, is included in 
this final rule. This rule also amends the regulations on State 
compliance to clarify the administrative procedure that States need to 
follow to comply with Federal falconry standards.

DATES: This rule is effective September 7, 1999.

ADDRESSES: The complete file for this rule is available for public 
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the Office 
of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, room 634, 
Arlington Square Building, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 
22203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathon Andrew, Chief, Office of 
Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone 
703/358-1834.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations in 50 CFR part 21 provide that 
we review and approve State falconry laws before falconry can be 
practiced in those States. A list of the States whose falconry laws 
have been approved is found in 50 CFR 21.29(k). In accordance with the 
requirements of 50 CFR 21.29(a) and (c), we reviewed certified copies 
of the falconry regulations adopted by the States of Vermont and West 
Virginia and determined that they meet or exceed our Federal falconry 
standards. Our standards, contained in 50 CFR 21.29(d) through (i), 
include permit requirements, classes of permits, examination 
procedures, facilities and equipment standards, raptor marking, and 
raptor taking restrictions. Both Vermont and West Virginia regulations 
also meet or exceed all the restrictions or conditions found in 50 CFR 
21.29(j), which include requirements on the number, species, 
acquisition, possession of feathers, and marking of raptors. Therefore, 
we have included them in the section 21.29(k) list of States that meet 
the Federal falconry standards. The listing eliminates the current 
restriction that prohibits falconry in Vermont and West Virginia.
    We also are amending the regulatory language in 50 CFR 21.29(a) and 
(c) to clarify our procedures for approving State regulations for 
compliance with our falconry standards. This approval is contingent 
upon the respective State submitting its laws and regulations to us for 
review and us finding that the laws and regulations meet or exceed our 
falconry standards.
    We are including in this rule the entire list of States that have 
met the Federal falconry standards, including Vermont and West 
Virginia. This should eliminate any confusion about which States have 
approval for falconry and which of those participate in a joint 
Federal/State permit system.
    We also are making minor text revisions in 50 CFR 21.29 (j)(2) to 
comply with plain language mandates and to be gender neutral.
    We are making this rulemaking effective immediately. This is 
allowed by the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1)) 
because this final rule relieves a restriction that prohibited the 
States of Vermont and West Virginia from allowing the practice of 
falconry.

Why Is This Rulemaking Needed?

    The States of Vermont and West Virginia wanted to institute 
falconry programs so that citizens who wanted to practice the sport of 
falconry in their State could do so. Accordingly, they promulgated 
regulations that meet or exceed our Federal requirements protecting 
migratory birds. We needed to amend 50 CFR 21.29 to add them to the 
list of States that have Federal approval to practice falconry.

Were There Any Public Comments on the Proposal?

    We received one comment. The proposal was published in the Federal 
Register on August 18, 1998 (63 FR 44229) and invited comments from any 
interested parties. The comment period closed on September 17, 1998. 
The comment was from the General Counsel, North American Falconers 
Association. NAFA supported adding Vermont and West Virginia to the 
list of States that meet our falconry standards. They asked that we 
provide guidance and expeditious review of the falconry programs being 
instituted in Delaware and Connecticut so that they could be added to 
the list of States meeting our standards.
    Service Response: Our non-game migratory bird coordinator from the 
Hadley, Massachusetts, Regional Office has provided Delaware and 
Connecticut with guidance documents to assist them in developing their 
falconry standards. We stand ready to provide any additional support 
these States may need in developing programs that meet our standards.

Is This Rule in Compliance With NEPA?

    Yes. In accordance with the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 
4332(C)), and the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations for 
implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), we prepared an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) in July 1988 to support establishment of 
simpler, less restrictive regulations governing the use of most 
raptors. You can obtain a copy of this EA by contacting us at the 
address in the ADDRESSES section. Adding Vermont and West Virginia to 
the list of States whose falconry laws meet or exceed Federal falconry 
standards, although covered by the general conditions addressed in the 
1988 EA, is considered categorically excluded from further NEPA 
documentation by the Department of the Interior's NEPA procedures. The 
action is an
``* * * amendment to an approved action when such changes have no or 
minor potential environmental impact'' (516 DM 6, Appendix 1.4(1)).

Is This Rule in Compliance With Endangered Species Act 
Requirements?

    Yes. Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.), requires that, ``The Secretary [of 
the Interior] shall review other programs administered by him and 
utilize such programs in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.'' It 
further states that the Secretary must ``insure that any action 
authorized, funded, or carried out * * * is not likely to jeopardize 
the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species 
or result in the destruction or adverse modification of [critical] 
habitat * * *,'' Our review pursuant to section 7 concluded that the 
addition of Vermont and West Virginia to the list of States approved to 
practice falconry is not likely to adversely affect any listed species. 
A copy of this determination is available by contacting

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us at the address in the ADDRESSES section of this rule.

What About Other Required Determinations?

    This rule was not subject to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) review under Executive Order 12866. The Department of the 
Interior has determined that it will not have a significant effect on a 
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). This is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 
804(2), the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. It will 
not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, will 
not cause a major increase in costs or prices, and will not adversely 
affect competition, employment, investment, productivity, or 
innovation. We estimate that 25 individuals will obtain falconry 
permits as a result of this rule and many of the expenditures of those 
permittees will accrue to small businesses. The maximum number of birds 
allowed by a falconer is three, so the maximum number of birds likely 
to be possessed is 75. Some birds will be taken from the wild, but 
others may be purchased. Using one of the more expensive birds, the 
northern goshawk, as an estimate, the cost to procure a single bird is 
less than $5,000, which, with an upper limit of 75 birds, translates 
into $375,000. Expenditures for building facilities would be less than 
$40,000 for 75 birds and care and feeding less than $75,000. These 
expenditures, totaling less than $500,000, represent an upper limit of 
potential economic impact from the addition of Vermont and West 
Virginia to the list of approved States.
    This rule has no potential takings implications for private 
property as defined in Executive Order 12630. The only effect of this 
rule on the constituent community will be to allow falconers in the 
States of Vermont and West Virginia to apply for falconry permits. It 
is estimated that no more than 25 people would apply for falconry 
permits in both Vermont and West Virginia combined. This rule does 
contain information collection requirements that are approved by OMB 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The 
information collection is covered by an existing OMB approval for 
licenses/permit applications, number 1018-0022. For further details 
concerning the information collection approval see 50 CFR part 21.4.
    We have determined and certify pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates 
Act, 2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq., that this rulemaking will not impose a cost 
of $100 million or more in any given year on local or State governments 
or private entities. The rule does not have significant Federalism 
effects pursuant to Executive Order 12612. We also have determined that 
these regulations meet the applicable standards provided in sections 
3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988 for civil justice reform, and 
that the rule does not unduly burden the judicial system and meets the 
requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of the Order.
    Regarding Government-to-Government relationships with Tribes, this 
rulemaking will have no effect on federally recognized Tribes. There 
are no federally recognized Indian tribes in the States of Vermont or 
West Virginia. Furthermore, the revisions to the existing regulations 
are of a purely administrative nature affecting no Tribal trust 
resources.
    Author: The primary author of this rulemaking is Cyndi Perry, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Migratory Bird Management, 1849 C 
Street, NW., MS 634 ARLSQ, Washington, DC 20240.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 21

    Exports, Hunting, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Transportation, Wildlife.

Regulation Promulgation

    Accordingly, we amend Part 21, subchapter B of chapter 29, title 50 
of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 21--MIGRATORY BIRD PERMITS

    1. The authority citation for part 21 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Pub. L. 95-616, 92 Stat. 3112 (16 U.S.C. 712(2)).

    2. Amend section 21.29 by revising paragraphs (a), (c), (j)(2) and 
(k) to read as follows:


Sec. 21.29  Federal falconry standards.

    (a) Before you can practice falconry in any State. You cannot take, 
possess, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer to sell, purchase, 
or barter any raptor for falconry purposes, in any State unless the 
State allows the practice of falconry, and the State has submitted 
copies of its laws and regulations governing the practice of falconry 
to us (Director), and we have determined that they meet or exceed the 
Federal falconry standards established in this section. If you are a 
Federal falconry permittee, you can possess and transport for falconry 
purposes a lawfully possessed raptor through States that do not allow 
falconry or meet Federal falconry standards so long as the raptors 
remain in transit in interstate commerce. The States that are in 
compliance with Federal falconry standards are listed in paragraph (k) 
of this section.
* * * * *
    (c) What is the process for Federal approval of a State program? 
Any State that wishes to allow the practice of falconry must submit to 
the Director of the Service a copy of the laws and regulations that 
govern the practice of falconry in the State. If we determine that they 
meet or exceed the Federal standards, which are established by this 
section, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register adding the 
State to the list of approved States in paragraph (k) of this section. 
Any State that was listed in paragraph (k) prior to September 14, 1989, 
is considered to be in compliance with our standards.
* * * * *
    (j) What other restrictions must a State have?
* * * * *
    (2) If you possessed raptors before January 15, 1976, the date 
these regulations were enacted, and you had more than the number 
allowed under your permit, you may retain the extra raptors. However, 
each of those birds must be identified with markers we supplied, and 
you cannot replace any birds, nor can you obtain any additional 
raptors, until the number in your possession is at least one fewer than 
the total number authorized by the class of permit you hold.
* * * * *
    (k) List of States meeting Federal falconry standards. We have 
determined that the following States meet or exceed the minimum Federal 
standards established in this section for regulating the taking, 
possession, and transportation of raptors for the purpose of falconry. 
The States that are participants in a joint Federal/State permit system 
are designated by an asterisk (*).

*Alabama
*Alaska
Arizona
*Arkansas
*California
*Colorado
*Florida
*Georgia
*Idaho
*Illinois
*Indiana
*Iowa
*Kansas
*Kentucky
*Louisiana
Maine
Maryland

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Massachusetts
*Michigan
*Minnesota
*Mississippi
Missouri
*Montana
*Nebraska
*Nevada
*New Hampshire
*New Jersey
*North Dakota
New York
New Mexico
*North Carolina
*Ohio
Oklahoma
*Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
*South Carolina
*South Dakota
*Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
*Virginia
*Washington
West Virginia
*Wisconsin
*Wyoming

    Dated: August 6, 1999.
Donald Barry,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 99-23168 Filed 9-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P