[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42700-42701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19140]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2017-N136; FF09M21200-178-FXMB1232099BPP0L2]


Migratory Birds; Take of Peregrine Falcons for Use in Falconry

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In December 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed 
an environmental assessment (EA) on the take of peregrine falcons for 
use in falconry. In 2009 and 2010, we published notices in the Federal 
Register describing the take limits and geographic allocation of take 
for first-year fall-migrant (passage) peregrine falcons consistent with 
the selected alternative in that EA. The overall take limits have 
remained constant since 2009. This notice is to inform the public that, 
at the request of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Central Flyway 
Councils, we have reviewed recent data and are revising the take limits 
for passage peregrine falcons beginning in the fall of 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian A. Millsap, National Raptor 
Coordinator, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, at 505-761-4724; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The authority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to govern take 
of raptors and other migratory birds is derived from the Migratory Bird 
Treaty Act (MBTA; 16 U.S.C. 703-712). In carrying out this 
responsibility, we have administratively divided the Nation into four 
Flyways: Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific. Each Flyway has a 
Flyway Council that assists in researching and providing migratory game 
bird management information. The Federal regulations to carry out the 
MBTA are located in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
    The MBTA prohibits any person from, among other things, taking, 
possessing, purchasing, bartering, selling, or offering to purchase, 
barter, or sell, raptors (birds of prey) and other migratory birds 
listed in 50 CFR 10.13, unless the activities are allowed under Federal 
regulations. Take and possession of raptors for use in falconry is 
governed by regulations at 50 CFR 21.29. Under the provisions of the 
Federal falconry regulations, the Service administers a program to 
approve State, tribal, and territorial falconry programs. Since January 
1, 2014, the 48 continental States and Alaska all have approved 
falconry regulatory programs, and the Service no longer issues permits 
for the practice of falconry.
    We completed an environmental assessment (EA) on take of migrant 
peregrine falcons in 2008 (see 73 FR 74508, December 8, 2008). Our 
preferred alternative at that time allowed a take of 36 passage 
peregrine falcons from September 20 through October 20 from anywhere in 
the United States east of 100 degrees W. longitude. Allocation of the 
36 passage peregrine falcons was agreed upon by the Atlantic, 
Mississippi, and Central Flyway Councils. Our management strategy 
analyzed in the preferred alternative in the 2008 EA incorporated three 
important safeguards to ensure against negative impacts from authorized 
falconry take on peregrine falcons across their range.
    First, we constrained the timing and location of the falconry 
captures to focus the take on the northern peregrine

[[Page 42701]]

falcon management population (i.e., those birds originating from natal 
areas north of 54 degrees N. latitude), which was known to be healthy 
and able to sustain take. We constrained captures in this way to 
minimize take from the eastern and western management populations 
(i.e., those originating from sites east and west, respectively, of 100 
degrees W. longitude and south of 54 degrees N. latitude), which were 
still recovering from the negative population-level effects of 
pesticide contamination. We committed to evaluate whether our 
management strategy effectively focused take on the northern management 
population by collecting feathers from falconer-captured passage 
peregrine falcons, and analyzing deuterium levels in those feathers to 
estimate the latitude of origin.
    Second, because we lacked credible estimates of the size of the 
northern passage peregrine falcon population in 2008, we consulted with 
the Canadian Wildlife Service and adopted an extremely conservative 
estimate of the number (i.e., 3,590) of passage peregrine falcons for 
the northern management population. We derived this estimate from the 
number of known breeding pairs in the Arctic.
    Finally, in our EA and in subsequent Federal Register notices (74 
FR 36253, July 22, 2009; 75 FR 56555, September 16, 2010), we committed 
to reviewing data on peregrine falcons in the future at the request of 
the Flyway Councils to reassess the allowable take limits if data 
required or supported a change.

New Information

    We have reviewed two recent scientific analyses that provide 
important new information relevant to the take of passage peregrine 
falcons. First, Franke (2016) used a mark-recapture model to generate 
an improved data-based estimate of the average number of passage 
peregrine falcons produced in the northern management population 
annually. Franke's (2016) data-based estimate of 21,000 is more than 
five times greater than the number we used to set take limits in the 
2008 EA. Second, the Service and cooperators completed the analysis of 
deuterium levels in passage peregrine falcons captured in fall within 
the prescribed take area. The deuterium level analysis shows that the 
management strategy outlined in the 2008 EA is likely resulting in more 
than 75 percent of the falconer take coming from the northern peregrine 
falcon management population (Franke et al. 2017). This outcome is more 
protective than the objective outlined in the 2008 EA, which was that 
at least 65 percent of the passage peregrine falcons taken by falconers 
must originate from the northern management population. Overall, 
peregrine falcon populations remain healthy across North America, and 
indices such as the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) show the continental 
population increasing (BBS index for the period 2005-2015 = 6.4 percent 
per year, with a 95 percent credible interval of 0.45-13.45 percent) 
and no regional populations appear to be declining (Sauer et al. 2017).
    The Atlantic, Mississippi, and Central Flyway Councils reviewed 
this new information in 2017 and formally requested that we reevaluate 
and revise the passage peregrine falcon take limits based on the 
updated estimate of the number of passage peregrine falcons produced 
annually in the northern management population. Further, the Flyway 
Councils requested that we use the 10th quantile (i.e., 18,000) of the 
probability distribution for the updated mean annual number of passage 
peregrine falcons exposed to take rather than the mean value (i.e., 
21,000). By using the 10th quantile, we expect there to be a 90 percent 
chance that the actual number is larger and, therefore, that we remain 
protective against overexploitation and account for the uncertainty in 
the production estimate. We undertook the analyses requested by the 
Flyway Councils by substituting 18,000 (the updated production estimate 
for the northern peregrine falcon management population) for 3,590 (the 
production estimate used in the 2008 EA) in the same models and using 
the same population-specific take rates as specified under the 
preferred alternative in the 2008 EA.
    The updated analysis indicates that 144 passage peregrine falcons 
may be taken annually by falconers east of the 100th meridian between 
September 20 and October 20 consistent with the management strategy and 
the objectives of the selected alternative in the 2008 EA. In 
accordance with these findings, and consistent with the Flyway 
Councils' request, this notice announces that the annual take limits 
for passage peregrine falcons starting in the fall of 2017 will 
increase from 36 to 144, to be divided equally between the Atlantic, 
Mississippi, and Central Flyways (i.e., 48 per flyway).
    The sole basis for this increase is the updated estimate for the 
northern management population. Thus, we consider this increase to be a 
technical update to incorporate new and better data. All other 
provisions outlined in the 2008 EA remain in effect (e.g., the take 
rates and management objectives are unchanged, the take season remains 
September 20 to October 20 annually, and the take of passage peregrine 
falcons is restricted to areas in the United States east of 100 degrees 
W. longitude). Therefore, the environmental impact of authorizing take 
of passage peregrine falcons under the preferred alternative will 
remain unchanged from that analyzed in the 2008 EA. Because this 
assessment addresses only take east of 100 degrees W. longitude, the 
general provisions for take of peregrine falcons west of 100 degrees W. 
longitude remain as described in our 2010 Federal Register notice (75 
FR 56555, September 16, 2010).
    We will continue to review peregrine falcon population and take 
data for Canada, the United States, and Mexico every 5 years, or at the 
request of the Flyway Councils, to reassess the allowable take limits. 
We will publish a notice in the Federal Register if we determine that 
the take limits for peregrine falcons should be changed again in the 
future.

Literature Cited

Franke, A. 2016. Population estimates for Northern juvenile 
peregrine falcons with implications for harvest levels in North 
America. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 7:36-45.
Franke, A., J. Duxbury, H. Qi, T. Coplen, G.L. Holroyd, and B.A. 
Millsap. 2017. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report: hydrogen 
stable isotope analysis of peregrine falcons in the United States. 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird 
Management, Washington, DC.
Sauer, J.R., D.K. Niven, J.E. Hines, D.J. Ziolkowski, K.L. Pardieck, 
J.E. Fallon, and W.A. Link. 2017. The North American Breeding Bird 
Survey, Results and Analysis 1966-2015, Version 2.07.2017. https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/atlasa15.pl?03560&1&15&csrfmiddlewaretoken=3YKakk7LxT2ki6NSpl4mstudYCqdW02C.

    Dated: August 24, 2017.
Gregory J. Sheehan,
Principal Deputy Director,U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-19140 Filed 9-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P