[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29096-29098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11052]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[FWS-R2-ES-2008-0059; 1111 FY07 MO-B2]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 
Status Review for the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the 
Sonoran Desert Area of Central Arizona and Northwestern Mexico

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; initiation of status review and solicitation of new 
information.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
initiation of a status review for the bald eagle (Haliaeetus 
leucocephalus) in the Sonoran Desert area of central Arizona and 
northwestern Mexico, hereafter referred to as the ``Sonoran Desert area 
bald eagle.'' Through this action, we encourage all interested parties 
to provide us with information regarding the status of, and any 
potential threats to, the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle.

DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request 
that information be submitted on or before July 7, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit information by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2008-0059; Division of Policy and Directives 
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.

    We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all information 
received on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we 
will post any personal information you provide us (see the Information 
Solicited section below for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, 
Arizona Ecological Services Office, 2321 West Royal Palm Road, Suite 
103, Phoenix, AZ 85021-4951; telephone 602-242-0210; facsimile 602-242-
2513. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Solicited

    To ensure that the status review is complete and based on the best 
available scientific and commercial information, we are soliciting 
information concerning the status of the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle 
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Information gained during this process will 
be used to evaluate whether the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle is a 
Distinct Population Segment (DPS) as described in our policy on 
determining a DPS (61 FR 4722, February 7, 1996) (DPS), and if listing 
as threatened or endangered is warranted under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). If we determine that listing the Sonoran 
Desert area bald eagle is warranted, we intend to propose critical 
habitat to the maximum extent prudent and determinable at the time we 
prepare a proposed listing rule.
    At this time, we request any additional information from the 
public, other concerned governmental agencies, Native American Tribes, 
the scientific community, industry, or any other interested parties on 
the status of the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle, including:
    (1) Information regarding Sonoran Desert area bald eagles' 
historical and current population status, distribution, and trends; 
biology and ecology; and habitat selection. We also solicit information 
of this type on adjacent populations and geographic areas for use in 
evaluating discreteness and significance of the Sonoran Desert area 
bald eagle.
    (2) Information that supports or refutes the appropriateness of

[[Page 29097]]

considering the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle to be discrete, as 
defined in the Policy Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate 
Population Segments Under the Endangered Species Act (61 FR 4722, 
February 7, 1996), including, but not limited to:
    (a) Information indicating that Sonoran Desert area bald eagles are 
markedly separated from other populations of bald eagles due to 
physical, physiological, ecological, or behavioral factors. This may 
include information regarding bald eagles of Sonoran Desert area natal 
origin breeding with bald eagles from populations of different natal 
origin, and information regarding the Sonoran Desert area bald eagles' 
isolation from other breeding populations of eagles.
    (b) Information indicating whether or not the Sonoran Desert area 
bald eagle is delimited by international governmental boundaries within 
which significant differences in control of exploitation, management of 
habitat, conservation status, or regulatory mechanisms exist.
    (3) Information that supports or refutes the appropriateness of 
considering the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle to be significant, as 
defined in the Policy Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate 
Population Segments Under the Endangered Species Act (61 FR 4722, 
February 7, 1996) including, but not limited to:
    (a) Information indicating that the ecological setting, including 
such factors as temperature, moisture, weather patterns, plant 
communities, etc., in which the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle persists 
is unusual or unique when compared to that of bald eagles found 
elsewhere in the United States or Mexico. This may also include 
information indicating that the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle has or 
has not developed adaptations to that unique environment, such as 
breeding behavior, morphological characteristics, egg development and 
characteristics, or nest types.
    (b) Information indicating that loss of Sonoran Desert area bald 
eagle would or would not result in a significant gap in the range of 
the taxon.
    (c) Information indicating that the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle 
differs markedly from other populations of bald eagles in its genetic 
characteristics.
    (4) Information regarding the availability of suitable, but 
unoccupied, breeding habitat that might allow for expansion of the 
Sonoran Desert area bald eagle populations. This may include 
information on areas outside of the boundaries delineated for the 
Sonoran Desert area bald eagle in our May 1, 2008, final listing rule 
(73 FR 23966).
    (5) Information on the effects of potential threat factors that are 
the basis for a listing determination under section 4(a) of the Act, 
which are:
    (a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or 
curtailment of the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle's breeding habitat or 
range, including but not limited to the effects on habitat from: Water 
management (river diversions, dams, dam operations, surface and 
groundwater withdrawals); human population growth and accompanying 
increases in water demands; human recreation; reduced riparian health 
and regrowth of streamside trees for nesting, foraging, and roosting; 
urban development; and climate change;
    (b) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes;
    (c) Disease or predation, including but not limited to the effects 
of avian pox or West Nile virus, Mexican chicken bugs, or ticks;
    (d) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms, including but 
not limited to adequacy or inadequacy of funding for ongoing 
management; appropriateness and effect of incidental take permitted for 
Sonoran Desert area bald eagles while listed under the Act; impacts of 
low-flying aircraft and effectiveness of flight advisories; and the 
adequacy or inadequacy of protections under the Bald and Golden Eagle 
Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; and
    (e) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued 
existence, including but not limited to information on: Productivity, 
survival, and mortality rates of this population; the occurrence and 
effect of inbreeding; effects to Sonoran Desert area bald eagles while 
outside the Sonoran Desert area; effects to Sonoran Desert area bald 
eagles' prey base and productivity, including effects of nonnative 
predatory fish and native fish restoration; the presence and abundance 
of pesticides and contaminants such as lead, mercury, or 
dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE); the effects of climate change; 
and the effects from eggshell thinning.
    (6) Information supporting the existing boundary developed in our 
May 1, 2008, final listing rule (73 FR 23966) for Sonoran Desert area 
bald eagles under consideration in this status review, or information 
indicating that the boundary should be modified to include other areas.
    Please note that submissions merely stating support for or 
opposition to the action under consideration without providing 
supporting information, although noted, will not be considered in 
making a determination, because section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) directs that determinations as to whether any 
species is a threatened or endangered species shall be made ``solely on 
the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available.'' At 
the conclusion of the status review, we will determine whether listing 
is warranted, not warranted, or warranted but precluded.
    You may submit your information concerning this status review by 
one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will not 
consider submissions sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not listed 
in the ADDRESSES section.
    If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your 
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will 
be posted on the Web site. If your submission is made via a hardcopy 
that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the 
top of your document that we withhold this personal identifying 
information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.
    Information and materials we receive will be available for public 
inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by appointment, during 
normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona 
Ecological Services Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that we make a finding on 
whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species presents 
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the 
petitioned action may be warranted. We are to base this finding on 
information provided in the petition, supporting information submitted 
with the petition, and information otherwise available in our files at 
the time we make the determination. To the maximum extent practicable, 
we are to make this finding within 90 days of our receipt of the 
petition and publish our notice of the finding promptly in the Federal 
Register. Section 4(b)(3)(B) also requires that, for any petition to 
revise the Lists of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife and Plants that 
contains substantial scientific or commercial information that the 
action may be warranted, we make a finding within 12

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months of the date of the receipt of the petition on whether the 
petitioned action is: (a) Not warranted, (b) warranted, or (c) 
warranted but precluded by other pending proposals. Such 12-month 
findings are to be published promptly in the Federal Register.
    On October 6, 2004, we received a petition, dated October 6, 2004, 
from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the Maricopa Audubon 
Society, and the Arizona Audubon Council requesting that the 
``Southwestern desert nesting bald eagle population'' be classified as 
a DPS, that this DPS be reclassified from a threatened species to an 
endangered species, and that we concurrently designate critical habitat 
for the DPS under the Act.
    On March 27, 2006, the CBD and the Maricopa Audubon Society filed a 
lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Service for 
failing to make a timely finding on the petition. The parties reached a 
settlement, and the Service agreed to complete its petition finding by 
August 2006. On August 30, 2006 (71 FR 51549), we announced our 90-day 
finding that the petition did not present substantial scientific or 
commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be 
warranted.
    On January 5, 2007, the CBD and the Maricopa Audubon Society filed 
a lawsuit challenging the Service's 90-day finding that the ``Sonoran 
Desert population'' of the bald eagle did not qualify as a DPS, and 
further challenging the Service's 90-day finding that the population 
should not be up-listed to endangered status.
    On July 9, 2007 (72 FR 37346), we published the final delisting 
rule for bald eagles in the lower 48 States. In that final delisting 
rule, we stated that our findings on the status of the Sonoran Desert 
population of bald eagles superseded our 90-day petition finding 
because the final delisting rule constituted a final decision on 
whether the Sonoran Desert population of bald eagles qualified for 
listing as a DPS under the Act.
    On March 5, 2008, the U.S. District Court for the District of 
Arizona ruled in favor of the CBD and the Maricopa Audubon Society. The 
court order (Center for Biological Diversity v. Kempthorne, CV 07-0038-
PHX-MHM (D. Ariz)) was filed on March 6, 2008.
    The court ruled for the plaintiffs and ordered the Service to:
    (1) Conduct a status review of the Sonoran Desert area bald eagle 
population pursuant to the Act to determine whether listing that 
population as a DPS is warranted, and if so, whether listing that DPS 
as threatened or endangered pursuant to the Act is warranted;
    (2) Issue a 12-month finding on whether listing the Sonoran Desert 
area bald eagle population as a DPS is warranted, and if so, whether 
listing that DPS as threatened or endangered is warranted; and
    (3) Issue the 12-month finding within 9 months of the court order 
pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)(B), which translates to on or before 
December 5, 2008.
    Further, the court enjoined the Service's application of the July 
9, 2007 (72 FR 37346), final delisting rule to the Sonoran Desert 
population of bald eagles pending the outcome of our status review and 
12-month petition finding. The court order was effective as of March 6, 
2008, the date it was filed. On May 1, 2008, we published a final rule 
(73 FR 23966) listing the potential Sonoran Desert area bald eagle DPS 
as threatened under the Act in response to the court order. Please 
refer to the map and final rule published on May 1, 2008 (73 FR 23966) 
for details of the geographic area affected by this action.
    At this time, we are soliciting new information on the status of 
and potential threats to the Sonoran Desert population of bald eagles. 
We will base our new determination as to whether listing is warranted 
on a review of the best scientific and commercial information 
available, including all such information received as a result of this 
notice. For more information on the biology, habitat, and range of the 
Sonoran Desert population of bald eagles, please refer to our previous 
90-day finding published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2006 (71 
FR 51549), and our final delisting rule for the bald eagle published in 
the Federal Register on July 9, 2007 (72 FR 37346).

Author

    The primary author of this notice is the staff of the Arizona 
Ecological Services Office.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: May 8, 2008.
Kenneth Stansell,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8-11052 Filed 5-19-08; 8:45 am]
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