[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 73 (Friday, April 14, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20125-20126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9280]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 21

RIN 1018-AF93


Migratory Bird Permits; Determination That the State of Delaware 
Meets Federal Falconry Standards and Amended List of States Meeting 
Federal Falconry Standards

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We propose to add the State of Delaware to the list of States 
whose falconry laws meet or exceed Federal falconry standards. This 
action would enable residents of the State of Delaware to apply for a 
Federal/State falconry permit and to practice falconry in that State. 
We also propose to amend the list of States that participate in the 
cooperative Federal/State permit system by adding Delaware and Vermont. 
The State of Vermont has recently begun to participate in the 
cooperative program.

DATES: You may submit comments on or before May 15, 2000 at the 
location noted below under the heading ADDRESSES.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted to the Chief, Office of Migratory 
Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax 
Drive, Room 634, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Copies of the environmental 
assessment (EA) and the State falconry rules for Delaware are available 
by writing to this same address. The public may inspect comments during 
normal business hours at this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon Andrew, Chief, Office of Migratory 
Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone 703/358-
1714.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations in 50 CFR part 21 provide for 
review and approval of State falconry laws by the Fish and Wildlife 
Service. A list of States whose falconry laws are approved by the 
Service is found in 50 CFR 21.29(k). The practice of falconry is 
authorized in those States. As provided in 50 CFR 21.29 (a) and (c), 
the Director has reviewed certified copies of the falconry regulations 
adopted by the State of Delaware and has determined that they meet or 
exceed Federal falconry standards. Federal falconry 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. Delaware regulations 
also meet or exceed all restrictions or conditions found in 50 CFR 
21.29(j), which include requirements on the number, species, 
acquisition, and marking of raptors. Therefore, we are proposing that 
the State of Delaware be listed under Sec. 21.29(k) as a State that 
meets Federal falconry standards. Inclusion of Delaware in this list 
would eliminate the current restriction that prohibits falconry within 
that State.
    We are publishing the entire list of States that have met the 
Federal falconry standards, including the State of Delaware. We believe 
that publishing this list in its entirety will eliminate any confusion 
concerning which States have approval for falconry and further indicate 
which States participate in a cooperative Federal/State permit system 
program. We are adding asterisks to both Delaware and Vermont to 
identify them as participants in the cooperative permit program as 
explained below.

Why Is This Rulemaking Needed?

    The need for the proposed changes to 50 CFR 21.29(k) arose from the 
expressed desire of the State of Delaware to institute a falconry 
program for the benefit of citizens interested in the sport of falconry 
and to participate in a cooperative Federal/State permit system. 
Accordingly, the State has promulgated regulations that meet or exceed 
Federal requirements protecting migratory birds. The proposed changes 
to 50 CFR 21.29(k) are necessary to allow, by inclusion within the 
listing of authorized falconry States, persons in the State of Delaware 
to practice falconry. We are also identifying the State of Vermont as a 
participant in a cooperative Federal/State permit system following that 
State's addition to the list of approved falconry States on September 
7, 1999 (64 FR 48565).

NEPA Consideration

    In compliance with the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)), and the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations for 
implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Service prepared an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) in July 1988 to support establishment of 
simpler, less restrictive regulations governing the use of most 
raptors. This EA is available to the public at the location indicated 
under the ADDRESSES caption. Based on review and evaluation of the 
proposed rule to amend 50 CFR 21.29(k) by adding Delaware to the list 
of States whose falconry laws meet or exceed Federal falconry 
standards, and Delaware and Vermont as participants in the cooperative 
application program, we have determined that the issuance of the 
proposed rule is categorically excluded from NEPA documentation under 
the Department of the Interior's NEPA procedures in 516 DM 2, Appendix 
1.10.

Endangered Species Act Considerations

    Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1972, as amended 
(16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.), provides 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'' [and] shall 
``insure that any action authorized, funded, or carried  *  *  *  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 this action is not likely to adversely affect 
listed species. A copy of this determination is available by contacting 
us at the address indicated under the ADDRESSES caption.

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

[[Page 20126]]

determined that this rule would 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 20 individuals would obtain falconry 
permits as a result of this rule, and many of the expenditures of those 
permittees would accrue to small businesses. The maximum number of 
birds allowed by a falconer is 3, so the maximum number of birds likely 
to be possessed is 60. Some birds would be taken from the wild, but 
others could 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 60 birds, translates 
into $300,000. Expenditures for building facilities would be less than 
$32,000 for 60 birds, and for care and feeding less than $60,000. These 
expenditures, totaling less than $400,000, represent an upper limit of 
potential economic impact from the addition of Delaware 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 
proposed rule on the constituent community would be to allow falconers 
in the State of Delaware to apply for falconry permits. We estimate 
that no more than 20 people would apply for falconry permits in 
Delaware. 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 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 13132. 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.
    Regarding Government-to-Government relationships with Tribes, this 
rulemaking would have no effect on federally recognized Tribes. There 
are no federally recognized Tribes in the State of Delaware. 
Furthermore, the revisions to the existing regulations are of a purely 
administrative nature affecting no Tribal trust resources.

Request for Comments

    If you wish to comment, you may do so by any one of several 
methods. You may mail or hand-deliver comments to: Chief, Office of 
Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North 
Fairfax Drive, Room 634, Arlington, Virginia 22203. You may also fax 
comments to this office at (703) 358-2016.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their home address from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to 
the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which 
we would withhold from the rulemaking record a respondents's identify, 
as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or 
address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your 
comment. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make 
all submissions from organizations or businesses and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 21

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

    For the reasons described in the preamble, we are proposing to 
amend part 21, subchapter B, chapter I of title 50 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations, as set forth below:

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 Sec. 21.29 by revising paragraph (k) as follows:


Sec. 21.29  Federal falconry standards.

* * * * *
    (k) States meeting Federal falconry standards. We have determined 
that the following States meet or exceed the minimum Federal falconry 
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 cooperative Federal/State permit 
system are designated by an asterisk (*).

*Alabama
*Alaska
*Arizona
*Arkansas
*California
*Colorado
*Delaware
*Florida
*Georgia
*Idaho
*Illinois
*Indiana
*Iowa
*Kansas
*Kentucky
*Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
*Michigan
*Minnesota
*Mississippi
*Missouri
*Montana
*Nebraska
*Nevada
*New Hampshire
*New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
*North Carolina
*North Dakota
*Ohio
Oklahoma
*Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
*South Carolina
*South Dakota
*Tennessee
Texas
*Utah
*Vermont
*Virginia
*Washington
West Virginia
*Wisconsin
*Wyoming

    Dated: April 7, 2000.
Stephen C. Saunders,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 00-9280 Filed 4-13-00; 8:45 am]
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