[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 156 (Friday, August 12, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53391-53394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19221]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 20

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2016-0051; FF09M21200-156-FXMB1231099BPP0]
RIN 1018-BB40


Migratory Bird Hunting; Supplemental Proposals for Migratory Game 
Bird Hunting Regulations for the 2017-18 Hunting Season; Notice of 
Meetings

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; supplemental.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), proposed in 
an earlier document this year to establish annual hunting regulations 
for certain migratory game birds for the 2017-18 hunting season. This 
supplement to that proposed rule provides the regulatory alternatives 
for the 2017-18 duck hunting seasons, announces the Service Migratory 
Bird Regulations Committee (SRC) and Flyway Council meetings, and 
provides Flyway Council recommendations resulting from their March 
meetings.

DATES: Comments: We will accept comments on this proposed rule and any 
subsequent proposed rules resulting from upcoming SRC meetings until 
January 15, 2017.
    Meetings: The SRC will meet to consider and develop proposed 
regulations for the 2017-18 migratory game bird hunting seasons on 
October 25-26, 2016. Meetings on both days will commence at 
approximately 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposals by one of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-HQ-
MB-2016-0051.
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: FWS-HQ-MB-2016-0051; Division of Policy, Performance, and 
Management Programs; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC; 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041.
    We will not accept emailed or faxed comments. We will post all 
comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that your 
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will 
be posted on the Web site. See the Public Comments section, below, for 
more information.
    Meetings: The October 25-26, 2016, SRC meeting will be at the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 5600 American Boulevard, Bloomington, MN 
55437.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron W. Kokel at: Division of Migratory 
Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the 
Interior, MS: MB, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041; (703) 
358-1714.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

New Process for the Annual Migratory Game Bird Hunting Regulations

    As part of the Department of the Interior's retrospective 
regulatory review, we developed a schedule for migratory game bird 
hunting regulations that is more efficient and provides hunting season 
dates much earlier than was possible under the old process. The new 
process makes planning much easier for the States and all parties 
interested in migratory bird hunting. Beginning last year with the 
development of the 2016-17 hunting seasons, we are using a new schedule 
for establishing our annual migratory game bird hunting regulations. We 
combine the previously used early- and late-season regulatory processes 
into a single process, and make decisions for harvest management based 
on predictions derived from long-term biological information and 
established harvest strategies to establish migratory bird hunting 
seasons much earlier than the system we used for many years. Under the 
new process, we develop proposed hunting season frameworks for a given 
year in the fall of the prior year. We then finalize those frameworks a 
few months later, thereby enabling the State agencies to select and 
publish their season dates in early summer. We provided a detailed 
overview of the new process in the June 10, 2016, Federal Register (81 
FR 38050). This proposed rule is the second in a series of proposed and 
final rules for the establishment of the 2017-18 hunting seasons.

Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee Meetings

    The SRC will meet October 25-26, 2016, to review information on the 
current status of migratory game birds and develop 2017-18 migratory 
game bird regulations recommendations for these species. In accordance 
with Departmental policy, these meetings are open to public 
observation. You may submit written comments to the Service on the 
matters discussed.

Announcement of Flyway Council Meetings

    Service representatives will be present at the individual meetings 
of the four Flyway Councils this August, September, and October. 
Although agendas are not yet available, these meetings usually commence 
at 8 a.m. on the days indicated.
    Atlantic Flyway Council: October 6-7, 2016, Hyatt Regency, 225 East 
Coastline Drive, Jacksonville, FL.
    Mississippi Flyway Council: August 25-26, 2016, Hyatt Regency, 311 
South 4th Street, Louisville, KY.
    Central Flyway Council: September 22-23, 2016, Sheraton Steamboat 
Resort, 2200 Village Inn Court, Steamboat Springs, CO.
    Pacific Flyway Council: September 30, 2016, Sun Valley Resort, 1 
Sun Valley Road, Sun Valley, ID.

Regulatory Schedule for 2017-18

    On June 10, 2016, we published a proposal to amend title 50 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at part 20 (81 FR 38050). The 
proposal provided a background and overview of the migratory bird 
hunting regulations process, and addressed the establishment of 
seasons, limits, and other regulations for hunting migratory game birds 
under Sec. Sec.  20.101 through 20.107, 20.109, and 20.110 of subpart 
K. This document is the second in a series

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of proposed, supplemental, and final rules for migratory game bird 
hunting regulations. We will publish additional supplemental proposals 
for public comment in the Federal Register as population, habitat, 
harvest, and other information become available. Major steps in the 
2017-18 regulatory cycle relating to open public meetings and Federal 
Register notifications were illustrated in the diagram at the end of 
the June 10, 2016, proposed rule (81 FR 38050).
    All sections of this and subsequent documents outlining hunting 
frameworks and guidelines are organized under the numbered headings set 
forth in the June 10, 2016, proposed rule (81 FR 38050). Later sections 
of this and subsequent documents will refer only to numbered items 
requiring your attention. Therefore, it is important to note that we 
will omit those items requiring no attention, and remaining numbered 
items will be discontinuous, thereby making the list appear incomplete.
    The regulatory alternatives for the 2017-18 duck hunting seasons 
are contained at the end of this document. We plan to publish proposed 
season frameworks in mid-December 2016. We plan to publish final season 
frameworks in late February 2017.

Review of Public Comments

    This proposed rulemaking describes recommended changes or specific 
preliminary proposals that vary from the 2016-17 regulations and issues 
requiring discussion, action, or the attention of the States or tribes. 
We will publish responses to all proposals and written comments when we 
develop final frameworks for the 2017-18 season. We seek additional 
information and comments on this supplemental proposed rule.
    New proposals and modifications to previously described proposals 
are discussed below. Wherever possible, they are discussed under 
headings corresponding to the numbered items identified in the June 10, 
2016, proposed rule (81 FR 38050). Only those categories requiring your 
attention or for which we received Flyway Council recommendations are 
discussed below.

1. Ducks

    Duck harvest management categories are: (A) General Harvest 
Strategy; (B) Regulatory Alternatives, including specification of 
framework dates, season length, and bag limits; (C) Zones and Split 
Seasons; and (D) Special Seasons/Species Management.

A. General Harvest Strategy

    Council Recommendations: The Mississippi Flyway Council recommended 
that regulation changes be restricted to one step per year, both when 
restricting as well as liberalizing hunting regulations.
    Service Response: As we stated in the June 10, 2016, proposed rule 
(81 FR 38050), we intend to continue use of Adaptive Harvest Management 
(AHM) to help determine appropriate duck-hunting regulations for the 
2017-18 season. AHM is a tool that permits sound resource decisions in 
the face of uncertain regulatory impacts, as well as providing a 
mechanism for reducing that uncertainty over time. The current AHM 
protocol is used to evaluate four alternative regulatory levels based 
on the population status of mallards and their breeding habitat (i.e., 
abundance of ponds). Special hunting restrictions are enacted for 
certain species, such as canvasbacks, black ducks, scaup, and pintails.
    Regarding the Mississippi Flyway Council recommendation to limit 
regulatory changes to one step per year, we recognize the longstanding 
interest by the Council to impose a one-step constraint on regulatory 
changes. We note that the Central and Mississippi Flyways have worked 
with Service staff over the past 2 years to re-visit the AHM protocol 
for managing harvest of mid-continent mallards (i.e., ``double-
looping''). This effort has included a discussion of appropriate 
management objectives, regulatory packages, and management of non-
mallard stocks. We continue to believe that these discussions are the 
appropriate venue to discuss what role, if any, a one-step constraint 
might play in management of waterfowl in the Central and Mississippi 
Flyways. Such discussions should include the potential impact of a one-
step constraint on the frequency of when the liberal, moderate, and 
restrictive packages would be recommended. On a final note, while we 
recognize the Council's concern about potentially communicating a large 
regulatory change to hunters, we have concerns about the 
appropriateness of a one-step constraint in situations when the status 
of the waterfowl resource may warrant such a measure. We look forward 
to continued work with the Flyway Councils on this issue.

B. Regulatory Alternatives

    Council Recommendations: The Mississippi and Central Flyway 
Councils recommended that regulatory alternatives for duck hunting 
seasons remain the same as those used in 2016-17. The Mississippi 
Flyway Council further recommended changing the framework closing date 
to January 31 during ``moderate'' and ``liberal'' seasons.
    Service Response: As we stated in a final rule published earlier 
this year (81 FR 17302, March 28, 2016), we do not support the 
Council's recommendation to extend the duck season framework closing 
date to January 31 at this time. We note that the current framework 
opening and closing dates were developed through a cooperative effort 
between all four Flyway Councils and that framework dates are only one 
of several components that comprise the regulatory packages utilized in 
AHM. Regulatory packages also consider season length, daily bag limits, 
and shooting hours. We believe the current regulatory packages in the 
Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways should remain unchanged until 
revisions to the AHM protocols have been completed. Those efforts will 
include examination of duck harvest management objectives, model 
updates, and revisions to regulatory packages, including framework 
dates. We prefer that the issue of framework dates and any other 
component of the regulatory packages be addressed through this 
cooperative process and would prefer a comprehensive approach to 
revising regulatory packages rather than making incremental changes.
    Thus, the regulatory alternatives proposed in the June 10, 2016, 
Federal Register (81 FR 38050) will be used for the 2017-18 hunting 
season (see accompanying table at the end of this document for specific 
information). In 2005, the AHM regulatory alternatives were modified to 
consist only of the maximum season lengths, framework dates, and bag 
limits for total ducks and mallards. Restrictions for certain species 
within these frameworks that are not covered by existing harvest 
strategies will be addressed in the proposed frameworks rule in early 
December. For those species with specific harvest strategies (pintails, 
black ducks, and scaup), those strategies will again be used for the 
2017-18 hunting season.

D. Special Seasons/Species Management

iv. Canvasbacks

    Council Recommendations: The Central Flyway Council recommends a 2-
bird canvasback daily bag when populations are above 480,000, a 1-bird 
daily bag limit when between 460,000-480,000, and a closed season when 
below 460,000.

[[Page 53393]]

16. Mourning Doves

    Council Recommendations: The Atlantic and Mississippi Flyway 
Councils recommended that the framework closing date for mourning doves 
in the Eastern Management Unit be moved from January 15 to January 31 
for the 2017-18 hunting season.

Public Comments

    The Department of the Interior's policy is, whenever practicable, 
to afford the public an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking 
process. Accordingly, we invite interested persons to submit written 
comments, suggestions, or recommendations regarding the proposed 
regulations. Before promulgation of final migratory game bird hunting 
regulations, we will take into consideration all comments we receive. 
Such comments, and any additional information we receive, may lead to 
final regulations that differ from these proposals.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We will not accept 
comments sent by email or fax or to an address not listed in ADDRESSES. 
Finally, we will not consider hand-delivered comments that we do not 
receive, or mailed comments that are not postmarked, by the date 
specified in DATES. We will post all comments in their entirety--
including your personal identifying information--on http://www.regulations.gov. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you 
should be aware that your entire comment--including your personal 
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, 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, or by 
appointment, during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, 5275 Leesburg 
Pike, Falls Church, VA.
    We will consider, but possibly may not respond in detail to, each 
comment. As in the past, we will summarize all comments we receive 
during the comment period and respond to them after the closing date in 
any final rules.

Required Determinations

    Based on our most current data, we are affirming our required 
determinations made in the June 10, 2016, proposed rule (81 FR 38050); 
for descriptions of our actions to ensure compliance with the following 
statutes and Executive Orders, see that document:
     National Environmental Policy Act;
     Endangered Species Act;
     Regulatory Flexibility Act;
     Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act;
     Paperwork Reduction Act;
     Unfunded Mandates Reform Act; and
     Executive Orders 12630, 12866, 12988, 13132, 13175, 13211, 
and 13563.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 20

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

Authority

    The rules that eventually will be promulgated for the 2017-18 
hunting season are authorized under 16 U.S.C. 703-711, 16 U.S.C. 712, 
and 16 U.S.C. 742 a-j.

    Dated: August 2, 2016.
Karen Hyun,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 
Parks.

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[FR Doc. 2016-19221 Filed 8-11-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P