[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 124 (Monday, June 29, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35183-35184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17151]
[[Page 35183]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of 12-Month
Finding on a Petition To List the Northern Goshawk in the Contiguous
United States West of the 100th Meridian
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition finding.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 12-month
finding on a petition to list the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
in the contiguous United States west of the 100th meridian under the
Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act). After review of all available
scientific and commercial information, the Service finds that listing
this population as endangered or threatened is not warranted.
DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on June 22,
1998.
ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments or questions concerning this
petition should be sent to Mr. David Wesley, Assistant Regional
Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 N.E. 11th
Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181, ATTN: Office of Technical Support.
The petition, finding, supporting data and comments will be available
for public inspection by appointment, during normal business hours at
the following address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of
Technical Support for Forest Resources, 333 S.W. 1st Avenue, 4th Floor,
Portland, Oregon 97204, (503/808-2565).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Wesley, Assistant Regional
Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 N.E. 11th
Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181 (503/231-6159); or Monty Knudsen,
Office of Technical Support for Forest Resources, 333 S.W. 1st Avenue,
Portland, Oregon 97204, (503/808-2565).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) requires that the Service
make a finding on whether a petition to list, delist or reclassify a
species presents substantial scientific or commercial information to
indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted. To the maximum
extent practicable, this finding is to be made within 90 days of the
receipt of the petition (90-day finding), and notice of the finding is
to be published promptly in the Federal Register. If a finding is made
that substantial information was presented, the Service is required to
promptly commence a status review of the species involved and determine
whether the petitioned action is warranted, not warranted or warranted
but precluded by other higher priority listing actions.
On September 29, 1997, the Service announced a 90-day finding (62
FR 50892) for a petition to list the northern goshawk in the contiguous
United States west of the 100th meridian under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended. In that finding, the Service found that the
petition presented substantial information indicating that the listing
of the northern goshawk as a threatened or endangered species in the
contiguous United States west of the 100th meridian may be warranted.
At that time, the Service initiated a status review for this population
of the northern goshawk and announced that a 12-month finding will be
prepared at the conclusion of the review.
The northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) occurs in temperate and
boreal forests of North America, Europe and Asia. In North America, the
northern goshawk breeds from western and central Alaska, northern
Yukon, eastern and southern Mackenzie, southern Keewatin, northeastern
Manitoba, northern Ontario, central and northeastern Quebec, Labrador,
and Newfoundland south to southern Alaska, central California, southern
Nevada, southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, the eastern
foothills of the Rockies and the Black Hills, central Alberta, central
Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, northern Minnesota, central Michigan,
Pennsylvania, central New York, northwestern Connecticut, and locally
south in the montane habitats at least to West Virginia and possibly to
eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina (Squires in prep). This
notice pertains to the northern goshawk that occurs in the contiguous
United States west of the 100th meridian.
In North America, the winter range of goshawks includes all of the
breeding range, and extends south as far as southern California,
northern Mexico and Texas, and occasionally to northern portions of the
Gulf States, rarely including Florida (Squires in prep).
Two groups of the northern goshawk are recognized worldwide: the
palearctic gentilis group and the nearctic atricapillus group. The
latter occurs in North America and consists of A.g. atricapillus
(Wilson 1812, type locality Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). The
atricapillus group occurs over much of Alaska, Canada, and the
mountains of the western and eastern United States. In addition to A.g.
atricapillus, at least two other subspecies are currently, but
variously, accepted--A.g. laingi (Taverner 1940, type locality Queen
Charlotte Islands, British Columbia), which occurs on islands off the
Canadian Pacific coast, and A.g. apache van Rossem (van Rossem 1938,
type locality Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona), which occurs in the
mountains. A.g. laingi is the subject of a separate petition action and
is not further addressed in this notice.
Recognition of the apache subspecies in the American southwest is a
subject of current debate. It is recognized by a number of scientists,
but not by the American Ornithologists' Union. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service acknowledged the existence of apache as a subspecies
in its 1992 administrative finding relative to the petition to list the
northern goshawk. However, the Service now considers the issue of
recognition of apache as a legitimate subspecies to be unresolved, and
does not consider it a separate subspecies for purposes of this notice.
Information reviewed by the Service indicates that data regarding
goshawk population trends is limited (Squires and Reynolds 1997), and
migration or Christmas bird counts are difficult to interpret because
of low numbers observed, biases inherent in the methodology, and
irruptive migrations (Titus and Fuller 1990). However, Kennedy (1997)
conducted a comprehensive review of available, peer-reviewed research,
and found no evidence of a decline in goshawks in North America based
on its range, demographics (density, fecundity, and survival) and
population trends. Based on a variety of information from across North
America, Kennedy concluded that there is no strong evidence to indicate
that goshawk populations are declining, increasing or stable. She
emphasizes two possible conclusions based on her analysis: 1) either
the goshawk is not declining or 2) current sampling techniques are
insufficient to detect population trends. Based on the best available
information gathered for the Service's Status Review, the Service did
not find evidence of a declining population trend for goshawks. The
Service found that approximately 75 percent of the reported territories
analyzed for its status review were discovered within the past 10
years. In those areas where intensive survey and monitoring efforts
have been implemented, goshawks generally are found. The available data
indicate that
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goshawks remain widely distributed throughout their historic range in
the western United States.
The habitat information gathered and reviewed by the Service
indicates that changes have occurred in the distribution, amount and
structural characteristics of mature forests throughout much of the
western United States. In general, the primary change has been
reduction of mature forest cover by logging, although other factors
such as fire suppression and catastrophic fire have also been
implicated. However, the extent to which goshawk populations are
correlated with amounts of mature forest cover is unknown. Recent
survey efforts continue to result in discovery of goshawks, even in
areas of historic logging activity, which indicates that the species
may not be uncommon, but rather is difficult to locate and adequately
survey. The Service found no evidence that goshawk habitat is limiting
the population, or that a significant curtailment of the species'
habitat or range is occurring.
The information presented in the petition relies largely on the
contention that the northern goshawk is dependent on large, unbroken
tracts of ``old-growth'' and mature forest. However, the Service has
found no evidence to support this claim. The Service found that while
the goshawk typically does use mature forest or larger trees for
nesting habitat, it appears to be a forest habitat generalist in terms
of the types and ages of forests it will use to meet its life history
requirements. Goshawks can use small patches of mature habitat to meet
their nesting requirements within a mosaic of habitats of different age
classes; a key factor appears to be availability of prey.
While timber management has been demonstrated to affect goshawks at
least at local levels (Reynolds 1989, Crocker-Bedford 1990, Bright-
Smith and Mannon 1994, Woodbridge and Detrich 1994, Beier and Drennan
1997, Desimone 1997), forest management practices, such as the use of
controlled fire and selective thinning, also may make habitats more
suitable to goshawks by opening up dense understory vegetation,
creating snags, down logs, and woody debris, and creating other
conditions conducive to goshawks and their prey (Reynolds et al. 1992,
Graham et al. 1997).
Throughout much of the western United States, the nature and rate
of decline in mature forest habitats on Federal lands has slowed
significantly during the past decade. The Service estimates that 80
percent of goshawk habitat occurs on Federal forest lands. Public
debate over management of Federal forest resources has resulted in
regional forest management strategies, many of which focus on retention
and restoration of mature forest habitats. These changes are reflected
in declines of timber volume sold from National Forest lands in many
western states. Although mature forest habitat continues to be
harvested, the Service finds that, in general, habitat conditions on
Federal lands are no longer declining as in previous decades, and are
improving in many areas throughout the west.
In conclusion, the Service finds that while forest management
(e.g., timber harvest and fire exclusion) has changed the vegetation
characteristics throughout much of the western United States, the
goshawk continues to be well-distributed throughout its historic range.
The Service finds no evidence that the goshawk population is declining
in the western United States, that habitat is limiting the overall
population, that there are any significant areas of extirpation, or
that a significant curtailment of the species' habitat or range is
occurring. The petition relies largely on the contention that the
goshawk is dependent on large, unbroken tracts of old-growth and mature
forest in its assertion that the species is in danger of extinction.
However, neither the petition nor other information available to the
Service supports this claim. The Service found that while goshawks
frequently use stands of old-growth and mature forest for nesting,
overall the species appears to be a forest habitat generalist in terms
of the variety and age-classes of forest types it uses to meet its life
history requirements. Therefore, the Service finds that listing the
northern goshawk in the contiguous United States west of the 100th
meridian as threatened or endangered is not warranted because the best
available information does not indicate that it is in danger of
extinction or likely to become so in the foreseeable future.
References
A complete list of references used in preparation of this finding
is available upon request from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Office of Technical Support (see ADDRESSES section).
Author
The primary author of this document is Catrina Martin, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Office of Technical Support (see ADDRESSES
section).
Authority
16 U.S.C. 1381-1487l; 16 U.S.C. 4201-4245; Pub L. 99-625, 100 Stat.
3500; unless otherwise noted.
Dated: June 22, 1998.
Jamie Rappaport Clark,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 98-17151 Filed 6-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
