[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38464-38465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-18137]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Availability of Draft Habitat-Based Recovery Criteria for the
Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) for Review and Comment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability for public review of draft habitat-based recovery criteria
for the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the Yellowstone
Ecosystem. Final habitat-based recovery criteria will be appended to
the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan. We solicit review and comment from the
public on this draft information.
DATES: Comments on the draft habitat-based recovery criteria must be
received on or before September 14, 1999 to ensure that they will be
received in time for our consideration prior to finalization of the
criteria.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft habitat-based recovery
criteria may obtain a copy by contacting the Grizzly Bear Recovery
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University Hall, Room 309,
University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812. Written comments and
materials regarding this information should be sent to the Recovery
Coordinator at the address given above. Comments and materials received
are available on request for public inspection, by appointment, during
normal business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Christopher Servheen, Grizzly Bear
Recovery Coordinator (see ADDRESSES above), at telephone (406) 243-
4903.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is
a primary goal of the Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered species
program. To help guide the recovery effort, we prepare recovery plans
for most of the listed species native to the United States. Recovery
plans describe actions considered necessary for conservation of the
species, establish criteria for recovery levels for reclassifying or
delisting the species, and estimate time and cost for implementing the
recovery measures needed.
The grizzly bear was listed under the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (Act) as amended as a threatened species in the 48 conterminous
States on July 28, 1995 (40 FR 31734). Threats to grizzly bear
populations come primarily from habitat modification caused by human
activities and from direct bear/human conflicts resulting from
recreational and resource use activities, highway and railroad
corridors, and illegal mortality.
In May 1994 The Fund For Animals, Inc., and 22 other organizations
and individuals filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District
of Columbia over the adequacy of the Plan approved in 1993. Later in
May 1994 the National Audubon Society and 19 other organizations and
individuals also filed suit in the same court. The two cases were
eventually consolidated. In September 1995 the court issued an opinion.
The motions for summary judgment of both the plaintiffs and the
defendants were granted in part and denied in part. The court remanded
five issues that might affect grizzly bear recovery for our
reconsideration. Those issues were: disease and parasites; livestock
interactions and mortality; the effects of genetic isolation;
population monitoring methods; and our reliance
[[Page 38465]]
on Canada for recovery of the grizzly bear.
On September 10, 1997, we published a Notice of Availability (62 FR
47677, Sept. 10, 1997) for the draft supplemental information on the
five remanded issues. We provided our final finding on the issues to
the court on May 15, 1999, and a notice of availability of that
document will be published in the Federal Register in the near future.
Under the provisions of the Act we approved the revised Grizzly
Bear Recovery Plan on September 10, 1993. Task 423 in the 1993 Grizzly
Bear Recovery Plan (USFWS 1993) states: ``Establish a threshold of
minimal habitat values to be maintained within each Cumulative Effects
Analysis Unit in order to ensure that sufficient habitat is available
to support a viable population.'' This task, developing habitat-based
recovery criteria, is specific to each ecosystem, as the habitat
necessary to support a viable grizzly bear population will vary between
ecosystems due to differences in foods, vegetation, habitat, and human
activities.
As part of a 1997 court settlement on the Recovery Plan, all
parties agreed that:
1. Prior to our release of the draft habitat-based recovery
criteria for the grizzly bear in Yellowstone, plaintiffs could submit
comments to us and such comments would be considered as part of the
administrative record. We would convene a workshop during the public
comment period on the draft habitat-based recovery criteria where all
interested parties could present their ideas on the habitat needs for
grizzly bear recovery and discuss proposals for habitat-based recovery
criteria. This workshop was held in Bozeman, Montana, on June 17, 1997.
2. The information and views presented at the workshop, together
with all other information submitted to us during the public comment
period on the draft habitat criteria would be considered by us before
the habitat-based recovery criteria are finalized. When we finalize the
habitat-based recovery criteria, we will address significant public
comments in writing, including those significant public comments
offered at the workshop.
We received 1,167 comments at or in response to the grizzly bear
habitat workshop. Of these, 132 were letters, 3 were form letters, 923
were postcards with preprinted form comments, 44 were postcards with
preprinted form comments and written comments, and 65 were written
remarks delivered at the workshop. Major issues identified in the
comments included: using science and data to the best extent possible,
using cumulative effects modeling, maintaining habitat security,
identifying important seasonal foods and ensuring their monitoring and
availability, the role of private lands and impacts of private land
development, road densities and access management, maintaining roadless
habitat and habitat security in such areas, ensuring effective road
closures, minimizing human development and activities that result in
human-bear conflicts, and minimizing actions that result in nuisance
bears. The comments were carefully considered, reviewed, and discussed
by a team of specialists from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Geological
Survey, Forest Service, Park Service, the Idaho Department of Fish and
Game, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department. This group of agency specialists
developed these draft habitat criteria using the information and ideas
in the public comments from the workshop, as well as the best available
scientific information on the grizzly bear habitat and population in
the Yellowstone ecosystem.
Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in 1988, requires that public
notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be provided
during recovery plan development. We will consider all information
presented during a public comment period prior to approval of each new
or revised recovery plan. We and other Federal land management agencies
also will take these comments into account in the course of
implementing approved recovery plans.
We now seek public comment on the draft habitat-based recovery
criteria for the Yellowstone ecosystem to both address Task 423 in the
Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan and the lawsuit settlement agreement.
Public Comments Solicited
We solicit written comments on the information described above. All
comments received by the date specified in the DATES section above will
be considered prior to finalization of the habitat-based recovery
criteria. Appropriate portions of these criteria will be appended to,
and become part of, the Plan.
Authority: The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the
Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).
Dated: July 9, 1999.
Terry T. Terrell,
Deputy Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 99-18137 Filed 7-15-99; 8:45 am]
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