[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 7, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61658-61661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21368]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2016-0042; FXES11130900000-167-FF09E42000]
RIN 1018-BA41


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the 
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Population of Grizzly Bears From the 
Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period; availability of 
peer review and supplementary documents.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
reopening of the public comment period on our March 11, 2016, proposed 
rule to revise the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, under 
the authority of the Endangered Species Act, by removing the Greater 
Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos 
horribilis). In our proposed rule, we emphasized that the governments 
of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho needed to promulgate regulations 
managing human-caused mortality of grizzly bears before we would 
proceed with a final rule. Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho recently 
finalized such mechanisms. We are also announcing the receipt of five 
independent peer reviews of the proposed rule. We are reopening the 
comment period for the proposed rule to allow all interested parties an 
additional opportunity to comment on the proposed rule in light of 
these documents. If you submitted comments previously, you do not need 
to resubmit them because we have already incorporated them into the 
public record and will fully consider them in preparing the final rule.

DATES: We will consider comments received or postmarked on or before 
October 7, 2016. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59 
p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
    (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the search box, enter the docket number for the 
proposed rule, which is FWS-R6-ES-2016-0042. Then click on the Search 
button. On the resulting page, you may submit a comment by clicking on 
``Comment Now!'' Please ensure you have found the correct document 
before submitting your comments. If your comments will fit in the 
provided comment box, please use that feature of http://www.regulations.gov, as it is most compatible with our comment review 
procedures. If you attach your comments as a separate document, our 
preferred file format is Microsoft Word. If you attach multiple 
comments (such as form letters or a petition), our preferred format is 
a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2016-0042; Division of Policy, 
Performance, and Management Programs; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 
MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    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 Public Comments below in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more 
information).
    Document availability: You may obtain the information and documents 
associated with this reopened public comment period and described below 
in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket 
No. FWS-R6-ES-2016-0042, from the Service's Mountain Prairie Region 
Grizzly Bear Web site https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/grizzlybear.php, or from the office listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Kasworm, Acting Grizzly Bear 
Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grizzly Bear 
Recovery Office, University Hall, Room #309, University of Montana, 
Missoula, MT 59812; telephone 406-243-4903. For Tribal inquiries, 
contact Ivy Allen, Native American Liaison, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service; telephone: 303-236-4575. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comments

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on the March 11, 2016, proposed rule (81 FR 
13174) to remove the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) population of 
grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) from the List of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife. We specifically seek comments on the proposed rule 
in light of five peer reviews and recently finalized State regulatory 
mechanisms. The State regulations describe Wyoming, Montana, and 
Idaho's approach to managing human-caused mortality should we delist 
the grizzly bear in the GYE. The State regulatory mechanisms include 
Montana's Grizzly Bear Hunting Regulations, Chapter 67 of the Wyoming 
Game and Fish Commission regulations, Idaho's Fish and Game Commission 
Proclamation, and the Memorandum of Agreement Regarding the Management 
and Allocation of Discretionary Mortality of Grizzly Bears in the 
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Tri-State MOA). Copies of Grizzly Bear 
Montana Hunting Regulations, Chapter 67 of the Wyoming Game and Fish 
Commission regulations, Idaho's Fish and Game Commission Proclamation, 
and the Tri-State MOA are available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2016-0042 or at https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/grizzlybear.php; or upon request from 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grizzly Bear Recovery Office (see 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). We will consider information and 
recommendations from all interested parties.

[[Page 61659]]

    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. 
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire 
comment--including your personal identifying information--will be 
posted on the Web site. 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. We will post all 
hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov.
    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 under Docket No. 
FWS-R6-ES-2016-0042, or by appointment, during normal business hours, 
at the Grizzly Bear Recovery Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

Background

    On March 11, 2016, we published a proposed rule to revise the List 
of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in title 50 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.11(h), under the authority of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), by 
removing the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) population of grizzly 
bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) (81 FR 13174). In the proposed rule, we 
explained that State regulations addressing human-caused grizzly bear 
mortality in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho must include five elements to 
maintain a recovered population of grizzly bears in the GYE:
    1. Suspension of all discretionary mortality inside the Demographic 
Monitoring Area (DMA), except if required for human safety, if the 
model-averaged Chao2 population estimate falls below 600.
    2. Suspension of grizzly bear hunting inside the DMA if total 
mortality limits for any sex/age class (as per tables 1, 2, and 3 in 
the proposed rule) are met at any time during the year (the mortality 
limits in these tables are reiterated in table 1 in this document, 
below).
    3. Prohibition of recreational harvest of female grizzly bears with 
young.
    4. In a given year, allowance of discretionary mortality only if 
nondiscretionary mortality (e.g., mortality from illegal kills, 
mortality from self-defense, calculated unknown/unreported mortalities, 
natural mortalities, and mortality from other causes such as vehicle 
collisions) does not meet or exceed total mortality limits for that 
year.
    5. Provisions to ensure that any mortality that exceeds total 
mortality limits in any year will be subtracted from that age/sex class 
total mortality limit for the following year to ensure that long-term 
mortality levels remain within prescribed limits inside the DMA.

  Table 1 \1\--Total Mortality \2\ Limits for Grizzly Bears Inside the
                       Demographic Monitoring Area
   [These mortality rates were calculated as those limits necessary to
 manage toward the long-term average population size that occurred from
 2002 to 2014 using the model-averaged Chao2 population estimate method
 (674, 95% CI = 600-747). If the population estimate is fewer than 674,
  the total mortality rate for independent females and dependent young
 must be less than 7.6 percent. If population size is estimated at fewer
   than 600 in any year, no discretionary mortality will occur unless
                     necessary for human safety.\3\]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Total grizzly bear population
                                                  estimate
                                  --------------------------------------
                                      <=674       675-747        >747
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mortality limit % for independent       <=7.6%           9%          10%
 FEMALES (>=2 years) (using model-
 averaged Chao2 method)..........
Mortality limit % for independent          15%          20%          22%
 MALES (>=2 years) (using model-
 averaged Chao2 method)..........
Mortality limit % for DEPENDENT         <=7.6%           9%          10%
 YOUNG (using model-averaged
 Chao2 method)...................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Similar to table 1 in proposed rule (81 FR 13174, March 11. 2016).
\2\ Total mortality: Documented known and probable grizzly bear
  mortalities from all causes including but not limited to: Management
  removals, illegal kills, mistaken-identity kills, self-defense kills,
  vehicle kills, natural mortalities, undetermined-cause mortalities,
  grizzly bear hunting, and a statistical estimate of the number of
  unknown/unreported mortalities.
\3\ The phrasing in the table header in the proposed rule erroneously
  noted that there would be no discretionary mortality at population
  levels fewer than or equal to 600 bears, as opposed to population
  levels fewer than 600 bears. We changed the phrasing here to match the
  phrasing in the rest of the proposed rule, the revised recovery
  criteria, and the draft conservation strategy.

    We noted that regulatory mechanisms containing these provisions 
must be in place in each State for delisting to occur because the 
adequacy or inadequacy of those regulatory mechanisms help inform us 
whether a species, once delisted, will remain recovered. The ESA 
requires the Service to consider existing regulatory mechanisms when 
making listing determinations.
    Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho recently finalized such regulatory 
mechanisms governing potential hunting seasons for grizzly bear. These 
three States also approved the Tri-State MOA, which outlines their 
coordinated plans for grizzly bear management and allocates 
discretionary mortality of grizzly bears in the GYE between the three 
States. The three States approved the Tri-State MOA on the following 
dates: Wyoming, on May 11, 2016; Montana, on July 13, 2016; and Idaho, 
on August 8, 2016.

Highlights of Recently Released State Grizzly Bear Management 
Regulations

    Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho each used a different regulatory 
method, appropriate to their respective legal processes, to enact their 
State rules governing human-caused grizzly bear mortality. Montana's 
Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted hunting regulations that outline 
the structure of a possible future grizzly bear hunting season on July 
13, 2016 (Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, 2016). Montana's Fish 
and Wildlife Commission also approved the Tri-State MOA (Wyoming Game 
and Fish Commission, Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, & Idaho Fish 
and Game Commission, 2016). Before adopting these regulations and the 
MOA, Montana released the drafts of these documents for public comment 
and review. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted the 
hunting regulations and the MOA in the same manner that it adopts other 
regulations, with public notice and comment. In the Service Assessment 
below, we assume the MOA and hunting regulations are regulatory in 
nature.
    On July 8, 2016, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved a 
regulatory framework that ``provides for the management of grizzly 
bears in Wyoming to ensure a recovered population'' (Wyoming Game and 
Fish Commission, 2016). The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission invited 
the

[[Page 61660]]

public to participate in the process of developing these regulations 
with a public comment period. Once the Governor of Wyoming approves and 
signs these regulations, they will be incorporated into Chapter 67 of 
the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission's regulations. In the Service 
Assessment, set forth below, we anticipate that, prior to publication 
of our final rule, the Governor of Wyoming will sign the version of the 
regulations that was approved by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.
    Idaho's Fish and Game Commission issued a proclamation relating to 
the limit of the take of grizzly bears in the GYE on August 8, 2016 
(Idaho Fish and Game Commission, 2016). Idaho Code Section 36-105 
authorizes the Idaho Fish and Game Commission to use proclamations, 
which ``have full force and effect as law,'' as a means of ``setting 
any season or limit on numbers, size, sex or species of wildlife 
classified by the commission as game animals.'' Since grizzly bears are 
classified as game animals in Idaho Administrative Code 
13.01.06.100.01e, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission may use a 
proclamation to establish binding limits on the take of grizzly bears 
(Idaho Administrative Code 13.01.06.100.01e).
    Table 2 cross-references the aforementioned requirements in the 
proposed rule with the content of each State's regulations. The full 
text of the State regulations and the Tri-State MOA can be found on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2016-
0042 or https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/grizzlybear.php; or 
upon request from the Grizzly Bear Recovery Office (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

     Table 2--Cross-Reference Between the Regulatory Requirements in the Proposed Rule To Remove the Greater
  Yellowstone Ecosystem Population of Grizzly Bears From Listing Under the Endangered Species Act (81 FR 13174;
                        March 11, 2016) and the State Grizzly Bear Regulatory Mechanisms
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Montana (Tri-state
  Required element described in the    memorandum of agreement   Wyoming (Chapter 67 of  Idaho (ID Fish and Game
            proposed rule               (MOA) and Grizzly Bear      WY Game and Fish            Commission
                                         hunting regulations)   Commission regulations)       proclamation)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement 1: Suspension of all       Tri-State MOA: section   Section 4(c)...........  Section 2.
 discretionary mortality inside the     IV(2)(a)(i), section
 Demographic Monitoring Area (DMA),     IV(2)(c)(i), section
 except if required for human safety,   IV(4)(a), and section
 if the model-averaged Chao2            IV(6).
 population estimate falls below 600.
Requirement 2: Suspension of grizzly   Tri-State MOA: section   Section 4(d)...........  Section 3 and section
 bear hunting inside the DMA if total   IV(2)(c), section                                 5.
 mortality limits for any sex/age       IV(4)(a), and section
 class (as per tables 1, 2, and 3 in    IV(6).
 the proposed rule) are met at any
 time during the year (these
 mortality limits are reiterated in
 table 1 in this document).
Requirement 3: Prohibition of          Tri-State MOA: section   Section 4(e)...........  Section 4.
 recreational harvest of female         IV(4)(b); Grizzly Bear
 grizzly bears with young.              Hunting Regulations,
                                        pp. 4 and 7.
Requirement 4: In a given year,        Tri-State MOA: section   Section 4(d) and         Section 5.
 allowance of discretionary mortality   IV(2)(c), section        section 4(k).
 only if non-discretionary mortality    IV(4)(a), and section
 (e.g., mortality from illegal kills,   IV(6).
 self-defense, calculated unknown/
 unreported mortalities, natural
 mortalities, and other causes such
 as vehicle collisions) does not meet
 or exceed total mortality limits for
 that year.
Requirement 5: Provisions to ensure    Tri-State MOA: section   Section 4(g), section    Section 6.
 that any mortality that exceeds        IV(2)(c).                4(k), and section 4(l).
 total mortality limits in any year
 will be subtracted from that age/sex
 class total mortality limit for the
 following year to ensure that long-
 term mortality levels remain within
 prescribed limits inside the DMA.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Service Assessment

    The Service has reviewed the recently finalized State regulations 
governing the management of grizzly bears in the GYE and the regulation 
of human-caused mortality (including the Tri-State MOA, Montana's 
Grizzly Bear Hunting Regulations, Chapter 67 of Wyoming's Game and Fish 
Commission regulations, and Idaho's Fish and Game Commission 
Proclamation). Our preliminary assessment is that these documents are 
consistent with the letter or intent of the regulatory requirements 
regarding human-caused mortality that we outlined in the proposed rule. 
Thus, based on our review, we believe the regulatory framework in 
Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, in combination with the Tri-State MOA, 
will maintain a recovered population of grizzly bears in the GYE. We 
are accepting public comments on these State regulations and our 
preliminary assessment that they provide adequate regulatory mechanisms 
such that we can conclude that the population no longer meets the 
definition of threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Peer Review and Public Comments

    In accordance with our joint policy on peer review published in the 
Federal Register on July 1, 1994 (59 FR 34270), we subjected the 
proposed delisting rule to peer review. We received submissions from 
five independent peer reviewers, and their input is available as 
described under ADDRESSES. These peer reviews were conducted by third-
party selected scientific experts in large carnivore ecology and 
management with expertise in one or more of the following areas: 
population ecology, management, demographics, conservation, and 
population genetics.

[[Page 61661]]

We welcome any comments on the proposed rule in light of these reviews 
(see compiled reviews in Amec Foster Wheeler, 2016). Previously 
received public comments, and the data and information they provided, 
can be found at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-
2016-0042.

References Cited

    A complete list of references cited is available: on the Internet 
at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2016-0042; 
from the Service's Mountain Prairie Region Grizzly Bear Web site 
https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/grizzlybear.php; or upon 
request from the Grizzly Bear Recovery 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: August 16, 2016.
James W. Kurth,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-21368 Filed 9-6-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P