Comment on FR Doc # 2011-02529

Abstract The proposed reclassification of the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) from endangered to threatened should not be adopted at this time. While the Service’s review of the traditional five-factor test determining federal protection is largely backed by scientific evidence, recent historical scholarship of the changes in the North American ecosystem suggest that current wood bison numbers are still dangerously low and merit further protection. Moreover, the proposed rule overlooks key recent developments in wood bison conservation, namely, the coordinated plan by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to reintroduce the animal to its original habitat in Southeast Alaska. The understood benefits of a threatened listing (greater local administrative flexibility) can be achieved by obtaining an experimental population listing, as is the current intent of the program, without sacrificing to the whims of local interested parties the enhanced protections the federal endangered listing provides. Full comment is attached.