[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6874-6875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02362]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AY26


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 6-Month Extension 
of Final Determination for the Proposed Listing of the Distinct 
Population Segment of the North American Wolverine Occurring in the 
Contiguous United States as a Threatened Species

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 
6-month extension of the final determination of whether to list the 
distinct population segment of the North American wolverine (Gulo gulo 
luscus) occurring in the contiguous United States as a threatened 
species. We also reopen the comment period on the proposed rule to list 
that distinct population segment. We are taking this action based on 
substantial disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the 
available data relevant to the proposed listing, making it necessary to 
solicit additional information by reopening the comment period for 90 
days. We will publish a final listing determination on or before August 
4, 2014.

DATES: The comment period end date is May 6, 2014. If you comment using 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES), you must submit you 
comment by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by one of the following 
methods:
    (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107, 
which is the docket number for the proposed rule to list the contiguous 
United States distinct population segment of the wolverine as 
threatened. Then, in the Search panel on the left side of the screen, 
under the Document Type heading, check on the Proposed Rules link to 
locate the proposed rule. You may submit a comment by clicking on 
``Comment Now!''
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107; Division of Policy and 
Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax 
Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
    We request that you send comments only by the methods described 
above. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide 
us (see the Public Comments section below for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jodi Bush, Field Supervisor, Montana 
Ecological Services Office, 465 Shepard Dr., Helena, MT 59601; by 
telephone at (406) 449-5225; or by facsimile at 406-449-5339. Persons 
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On February 4, 2013, we published a proposed rule (78 FR 7864) to 
list the distinct population segment of the North American wolverine 
occurring in the contiguous United States as threatened, under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.). For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the 
distinct population segment of the North American wolverine (Gulo gulo 
luscus) occurring in the contiguous United States, please refer to the 
February 4, 2013, proposed rule. The proposed listing rule opened a 90-
day comment period, ending May 6, 2013. In addition to the original 
comment period associated with the publication of the proposed rule, we 
held three public information workshops in conjunction with three 
public hearings in March 2013: March 13 in Boise, Idaho; March 19 in 
Lakewood, Colorado; and March 27 in

[[Page 6875]]

Helena, Montana. On October 31, 2013, we reopened the comment period 
for 30 days to allow additional comment on scientific issues raised by 
two peer reviewers and several State wildlife agencies (78 FR 65248). 
The second comment period closed on December 2, 2013.
    Section 4(b)(6) of the Act requires that we take one of three 
actions within 1 year of a proposed listing: (1) Finalize the proposed 
listing; (2) withdraw the proposed listing; or (3) extend the final 
determination by not more than 6 months, if there is substantial 
disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the available 
data relevant to the determination.
    Since the publication of the proposed rule, there has been 
substantial disagreement regarding the interpretation of the habitat 
requirements for wolverines and the available climate change 
information used to determine the extent of threats to the species. 
Differing interpretations of the available climate change information 
have led to a significant disagreement regarding the current status of 
the species. In particular, some commenters and peer reviewers raised 
questions regarding:
    (1) The interpretation of scientific literature in the proposed 
rulemaking and scientific literature that may not have been readily 
available for our use in our analysis to define habitat parameters. 
Specifically, some commenters and peer reviewers questioned the basis 
for defining wolverine habitat based on persistent spring snow used by 
Copeland et al. (2010). Some peer reviewers and commenters suggested 
that other methods of habitat definition or other dates used to define 
habitat based on persistent snow are more scientifically defensible and 
would yield very different results.
    (2) Commenters suggested that McKelvey et al. (2011) used an 
invalid habitat model developed by Copeland et al. (2010) to project 
future climate impacts to wolverine habitat, and for that reason, the 
commenters believe projections in McKelvey et al. (2011) are also 
invalid.
    (3) Commenters also asserted that there is high uncertainty with 
projections made using downscaled global climate modeling, which we 
used to analyze the impacts of climate change on wolverine habitat and 
ecology.
    As a result of these comments and peer reviews, there is 
substantial disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the 
available data relevant to our listing determination. Therefore, in 
consideration of these disagreements, we have determined that a 6-month 
extension of the final determination of this rulemaking is necessary, 
and we are hereby extending the final determination for 6 months in 
order to solicit information that will help to clarify these issues and 
fully analyze this information.
    As noted in the proposed listing rule (78 FR 7864), we were 
previously required by statutory deadline to make a final decision on 
the wolverine listing no later than February 4, 2014. Therefore, with 
this 6-month extension, we will make a final determination on the 
proposed rule no later than August 4, 2014. In conjunction with the 
proposed rule to list the wolverine, we also proposed a special rule 
under section 4(d) of the Act that would tailor the prohibitions of the 
Act to specifically address the threats to wolverines (78 FR 7864), 
and, in a separate rule, we proposed the establishment of a 
nonessential experimental population area for the wolverine in the 
southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, southern Wyoming, and northern 
New Mexico (78 FR 7890). Because these rules are contingent on a 
wolverine listing, our final decisions for these rules will also be 
delayed until we make a final listing determination for the distinct 
population segment.

Public Comments

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on our proposed listing (and special 4(d) rule) 
for the distinct population segment of the North American wolverine 
occurring in the contiguous United States that was published in the 
Federal Register on February 4, 2013 (78 FR 7864). We will consider 
information and recommendations from all interested parties. We intend 
that any final action resulting from the proposal be as accurate as 
possible and based on the best available scientific and commercial 
data.
    We are particularly interested in new information and comments 
regarding:
    (1) Whether there is scientific information in addition to that 
considered in our proposed rule that may be useful in our analysis.
    (2) Whether persistent spring snow represents a reasonable estimate 
of wolverine habitat.
    (3) The use of projected amounts and distribution of persistent 
spring snow to assess the potential impacts of climate change on 
wolverine habitat.
    (4) The use of information generated by downscaled global climate 
models as a basis to then project and evaluate the impacts of climate 
change on wolverine habitat.
    (5) The potential effects on wolverine from the projected changes 
in its habitat related to climate change.
    If you previously submitted comments or information on the proposed 
rule during the two previously open comment periods, please do not 
resubmit them. We have incorporated them into the public record, and we 
will fully consider them in the preparation of our final determination. 
Our final determination concerning the proposed listing will take into 
consideration all written comments and any additional information we 
receive.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you 
send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
    If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire 
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted 
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment that 
includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top 
of your document that we withhold this information from public review. 
However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available 
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R6-ES-2012-0107, or by appointment, during normal business hours, at 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Ecological Services Office 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain copies of the 
proposed rule on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket 
No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107, or by mail from the Montana Ecological 
Services Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authority

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

    Dated: January 29, 2014.
 Daniel M. Ashe,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-02362 Filed 2-4-14; 8:45 am]
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