[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71557-71559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25433]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107; FF09E21000 FXES11110900000 234]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Request for New
Information for the North American Wolverine Species Status Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Request for new information.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), notify the
public that we are requesting new information to update the Species
Status Assessment (SSA) for the North American Wolverine (Gulo gulo
luscus) occurring in the contiguous United States to make a final
determination whether to list this species under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). As a result of court action, the
wolverine is now proposed for listing as a threatened species under the
Act. The Service is updating the 2018 SSA and will reevaluate whether
the North American wolverine occurring in the contiguous United States
is a distinct population segment and, if so, whether the distinct
population segment meets the definition of an endangered or threatened
species under the Act. We now request new information regarding the
North American wolverine to inform our SSA update and reevaluation
under the Act. As directed by the court, the Service is to make a final
listing determination by the end of November 2023.
DATES: In order to fully consider and incorporate new information, the
Service requests submittal of new information by close of business
December 23, 2022. Information 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:
Document availability: You may obtain copies of the 2013 proposed
rule, the 2018 SSA report, and other supporting documents on the
internet at https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5123 or at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107 or by mail or
email from the Region 1 Ecological Services Regional Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Submission of information: You may submit written information by
one of the following methods:
[[Page 71558]]
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107.
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send new information only by the methods
described above. We will post all new information received on https://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Information Requested
section below for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jodi Bush, Deputy Assistant Regional
Director, Ecological Services, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 911 Northeast 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232; telephone:
503-231-2256; email: [email protected]. Individuals in the United
States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Species Information
On February 4, 2013, we published a proposed rule to list the
distinct population segment (DPS) of wolverine occurring in the
contiguous United States as a threatened species under the Act, with a
proposed rule under section 4(d) of the Act that outlined the
prohibitions considered necessary and advisable for the conservation of
the wolverine (78 FR 7864; hereafter referred to as the ``2013 proposed
rule''). Please refer to the 2013 proposed rule and the 2018 Species
Status Assessment (SSA) for the North American Wolverine (Gulo gulo
luscus) for information about the wolverine's taxonomy; life history;
requirements for habitat, space, and food; densities; status in Canada
and Alaska; geographic range delineation complexities; distribution;
and habitat relationships and distribution. The SSA report can be found
at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2016-0106 or
https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5123.
Previous Federal Actions
Please refer to the 2013 proposed rule for a detailed description
of Federal actions concerning the wolverine prior to 2013. On October
31, 2013 (78 FR 65248), we reopened the comment period on the 2013
proposed rule. On February 5, 2014 (79 FR 6874), we extended our final
determination date and reopened the comment period on the 2013 proposed
rule. On August 13, 2014 (79 FR 47522), we withdrew the 2013 proposed
rule based on our conclusion that the factors affecting the DPS were
not as significant as believed at the time of publication of the
proposed rule. That 2014 withdrawal decision was challenged and
ultimately vacated by court order in 2016 (Defenders of Wildlife v.
Jewell, No. 9:14-cv-00246-DLC, Doc108 (D. Mont. April 4, 2016)).
Following the court's decision, on October 18, 2016 (81 FR 71670), we
reopened a comment period on the 2013 proposed rule.
On October 13, 2020 (85 FR 64618), the Service again withdrew the
2013 proposed rule to list the DPS of the North American wolverine
occurring in the contiguous United States as a threatened species under
the Act. The 2020 withdrawal decision was based on our conclusion that
the factors affecting the species as identified in the 2013 proposed
rule were not as significant as believed at the time of publication of
the proposed rule. We also found that the North American wolverines
occurring in the contiguous United States did not qualify as a DPS.
The Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians filed
lawsuits in the District Court for the District of Montana challenging
the Service's 2020 decision to withdraw the proposal to list the North
American wolverine DPS. The cases were consolidated, and the State of
Idaho's motion to intervene was granted. On February 4, 2022, the
Service filed a motion asking the court to voluntarily return (remand)
the 2020 withdrawal decision to the Service to allow the Service to
reevaluate it; the Service also requested that the withdrawal decision
remain in effect pending that reevaluation. On May 26, 2022, the court
granted the Service's request for a voluntary remand of the 2020
withdrawal decision, but the court decided to vacate the withdrawal
decision. Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Haaland, No. CV 20-181-M-DWM
(D. Mont. May 26, 2022).
Current Situation
The court's action returns the listing process relative to the
wolverine to the proposed rule stage. Therefore, the Service notifies
the public that the February 4, 2013, proposed rule to list the DPS of
wolverine occurring in the contiguous United States as threatened under
the Act (78 FR 7864) has been reinstated. For purposes of consultation
under section 7 of the Act, the wolverine, as of May 26, 2022, is again
a species proposed for listing and subject to conferencing
requirements.
Next Steps
We will be updating the SSA for the North American wolverine to
include any new information not available as of the report published on
March 1, 2018. We will use the updated SSA as the scientific foundation
to aid in our reevaluation of whether the DPS is valid pursuant to our
1996 DPS policy (61 FR 4722), and if so, whether the DPS meets the
definition of an endangered or threatened species under the Act, or
whether the species is not warranted for listing. Per the court order,
the Service is to make a final listing determination within 18 months
of the court's judgment, i.e., on or before November 27, 2023. Any
listing determination we make must be made based on the best available
information. We invite the public to provide new information that has
become available since the March 1, 2018, publication of the SSA to
inform our final determination regarding the North American wolverine.
Information Requested
We are seeking information that has become available since March 1,
2018, regarding the wolverine. We will consider information from all
interested parties. We are particularly interested in specific
information concerning:
(1) Biological, commercial trade, or other relevant data concerning
any threats (or lack thereof) to wolverine, and regulations that may be
addressing those threats.
(2) the historical and current status, range, distribution, and
population size of this species, including the locations of additional
populations of wolverine.
(3) the biological or ecological requirements for wolverine, as
well as ongoing conservation measures or efforts for the species and
its habitat.
(4) Current or planned activities in the areas occupied by
wolverine and possible impacts of these activities on this species.
(5) the amount and distribution of wolverine habitat, including den
sites.
(6) the impacts of small population size and genetic diversity on
the wolverine.
(7) the projected and reasonably likely impacts of climate change
on the wolverine and its habitat, including the
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loss of snowpack and impacts to wolverine denning habitat.
(8) population connectivity between Canada and the lower 48
contiguous States of the United States and information on differences
in regulations governing wolverine management, or wolverine
conservation status, in Canada and the lower 48 contiguous States.
Please note that we are not requesting any additional public
comments on the proposed listing rule published in 2013 (78 FR 7864).
Instead, we are seeking only new information to update the SSA for the
North American wolverine that was published on March 1, 2018. If you
submitted comments or information on the proposed rule (78 FR 7864)
during the initial comment periods from February 4, 2013, to May 6,
2013, from October 31, 2013, to December 2, 2013, from February 5,
2014, to May 6, 2014, or from October 18, 2016, to November 17, 2016,
please do not resubmit them. Any such comments have been incorporated
as part of the public record of the proposed rule, and we will fully
consider them in the preparation of our final determination. Our final
determination will take into consideration all written comments and any
additional information we received during all comment periods or in
response to this document. Our final determination may again be a
withdrawal of the 2013 proposed rule; it may be a determination to
finalize the 2013 proposed rule; or our final listing determination may
differ from the proposed rule. If, after considering all new
information, we reaffirm that the wolverine DPS is a listable entity
and that it meets the definition of a threatened or endangered species
under section 4 of the Act, we may decide it is appropriate to
repropose the species for listing. At that time, we would provide an
opportunity for public comment on an updated proposed rule.
You may submit new information concerning the update to the status
assessment by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that
you send information only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will
be posted on the website. We will post all hardcopy submissions on
http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy of new
information 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.
Information and materials we receive will be available for public
inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-
0107. You may obtain copies of the proposed rule and the SSA for the
North American Wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2012-0107 and https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5123 or by mail or email from the Region 1
Ecological Services Regional Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT). Please note that the 2012 docket has documents and other
information related to the proposed rule, as well as the comments
received and the proposed rule itself, and is also the correct docket
for submission of information in response to this document.
Authors
The primary authors of this document are staff members of the
Species Assessment Team, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-25433 Filed 11-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P