12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the Pacific Walrus As Threatened Or
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Vol. 76 Thursday, No. 28 February 10, 2011 Part II Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the Pacific Walrus as Endangered or Threatened; Proposed Rule VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:13 Feb 09, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\10FEP2.SGM 10FEP2 jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS2 7634 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 28 / Thursday, February 10, 2011 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: evaluate the Pacific walrus petition in James MacCracken, Marine Mammals FY 2008. Fish and Wildlife Service Management, Alaska Regional Office On December 3, 2008, the Center for (see ADDRESSES); by telephone: 800– Biological Diversity filed a complaint in 50 CFR Part 17 362–5148; or by facsimile: 907–786– U.S. District Court for the District of [Docket No. FWS–R7–ES–2009–0051; MO 3816. If you use a telecommunications Alaska for declaratory judgment and 92210–0–0008–B2] device for the deaf (TDD), please call the injunctive relief challenging the failure Federal Information Relay Service of the Service to make a 90-day finding Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (FIRS) at 800–877–8339. on their petition to list the Pacific and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: walrus, pursuant to section 4(b)(3) of the Petition to List the Pacific Walrus as Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. Endangered or Threatened Background 1533(b)(3), and the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 706(1). On May AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Endangered 18, 2009, a settlement agreement was Interior. Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that, approved in the case of Center for ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish and finding. for any petition to revise the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife Service, et al. (3:08–cv–00265– SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Plants that contains JWS), requiring us to submit our 90-day Wildlife Service, announce a 12-month substantial scientific or commercial finding on the petition to the Federal finding on a petition to list the Pacific information that listing the species may Register by September 10, 2009. On walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) be warranted, we make a finding within September 10, 2009, we made our 90- as endangered or threatened and to 12 months of the date of receipt of the day finding that the petition presented designate critical habitat under the petition. In this finding, we will substantial scientific information Endangered Species Act of 1973, as determine whether the petitioned action indicating that listing the Pacific walrus amended. After review of all the is: (a) Not warranted, (b) warranted, or may be warranted (74 FR 46548). On available scientific and commercial (c) warranted, but the immediate August 30, 2010, the Court approved an information, we find that listing the proposal of a regulation implementing amended settlement agreement Pacific walrus as endangered or the petitioned action is precluded by requiring us to submit our 12-month threatened is warranted. Currently, other pending proposals to determine finding to the Federal Register by however, listing the Pacific walrus is whether species are endangered or January 31, 2011. This notice constitutes precluded by higher priority actions to threatened, and expeditious progress is the 12-month finding on the February 7, amend the Lists of Endangered and being made to add or remove qualified 2008, petition to list the Pacific walrus Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Upon species from the Federal Lists of as endangered or threatened. publication of this 12-month petition Endangered and Threatened Wildlife This 12-month finding is based on our finding, we will add Pacific walrus to and Plants. Section 4(b)(3)(C) of the Act consideration and evaluation of the best our candidate species list. We will requires that we treat a petition for scientific and commercial information develop a proposed rule to list the which the requested action is found to available. We reviewed the information Pacific walrus as our priorities allow. be warranted but precluded as though provided in the petition submitted to We will make any determination on resubmitted on the date of such finding, the Service by the Center for Biological critical habitat during development of that is, requiring a subsequent finding to Diversity, information available in our the proposed listing rule. Consistent be made within 12 months. We must files, and other available published and with section 4(b)(3)(C)(iii) of the publish these 12-month findings in the unpublished information. Additionally, Endangered Species Act, we will review Federal Register. in response to our Federal Register the status of the Pacific walrus through notice of September 10, 2009, requesting our annual Candidate Notice of Review. Previous Federal Actions information from the public, as well as DATES: The finding announced in this On February 8, 2008, we received a our September 10, 2010 press release, document was made on February 10, petition dated February 7, 2008, from and other outreach efforts requesting 2011. the Center for Biological Diversity, new information from the public, we received roughly 30,000 submissions, ADDRESSES: This finding and supporting requesting that the Pacific walrus be which we have considered in making documentation are available on the listed as endangered or threatened this finding, including information from Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at under the Act and that critical habitat be Docket Number FWS–R7–ES–2009– designated. The petition included the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, 0051. A range map of the three walrus supporting information regarding the the State of Alaska, the Alaska North subspecies and a more detailed map of species’ ecology and habitat use Slope Borough, the Eskimo Walrus the Pacific walrus range are available at patterns, and predicted changes in sea- Commission, the Humane Society of the the following Web site: http:// ice habitats and ocean conditions that United States, the Center for Biological alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/walrus/ may impact the Pacific walrus. We Diversity, the American Petroleum wmain.htm. Supporting documentation acknowledged receipt of the petition in Institute, and many interested citizens. we used in preparing this finding is a letter to the Center for Biological We also consulted with recognized available for public inspection, by Diversity, dated April 9, 2008. In that Pacific walrus experts and Federal, appointment, during normal business letter, we stated that an emergency State, and Tribal agencies. hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife listing was not warranted and that all Species Information Service, Alaska Regional Office, 1011 remaining available funds in the listing East Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503. program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 had Taxonomy and Species Delineation Please submit any new information, already been allocated to the U.S. Fish The walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) is materials, comments, or questions and Wildlife Service’s (Service) highest the only living representative of the concerning this finding to the above priority listing actions and that no family Odobenidae, a group of marine address. listing funds were available to further carnivores that was highly diversified in VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:13 Feb 09, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\10FEP2.SGM 10FEP2 jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS2 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 28 / Thursday, February 10, 2011 / Proposed Rules 7635 the late Miocene and early Pliocene found some differences in the ratio of land or ice, in any season, walruses tend (Kohno 2006, pp. 416–419; Harington trace elements in the teeth of Pacific to lie in close physical contact with 2008, p. 26). Fossil evidence suggests walruses sampled in winter from two each other. Young animals often lie on that the genus evolved in the North breeding areas (southeast Bering Sea top of adults. Group size can range from Pacific Ocean and dispersed throughout and St. Lawrence Island), suggesting a few individuals up to several the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic that the sampled animals had a history thousand animals (Gilbert 1999, p. 80; during interglacial phases of the of feeding in different regions. Scribner Kastelein 2002, p. 1298; Jefferson et al. Pleistocene (Harington and Beard 1992, et al. (1997, p. 180), however, found no 2008, p. 378). At any time of the year, pp. 311–319; Dyke et al. 1999, p. 60; difference in mitochondrial and nuclear when groups are disturbed, stampedes Harington 2008, p. 27). DNA among Pacific walruses sampled from a haulout can result in injuries and Three modern subspecies of walruses from different breeding areas. Pacific mortalities. Calves and young animals are generally recognized (Wozencraft walruses are identified and managed in are particularly vulnerable to trampling 2005, p. 525; Integrated Taxonomic the United States and the Russian injuries (Fay 1980, pp. 227–227; Fay Information System, 2010, p. 1): The Federation (Russia) as a single and Kelly 1980, p. 226). Atlantic walrus (O. r. rosmarus), which population (Service 2010, p. 1). The reaction of walruses to ranges from the central Canadian Arctic disturbance ranges from no reaction to eastward to the Kara Sea (Reeves 1978, Species Description escape into the water, depending on the pp. 2–20); the Pacific walrus (O. r. Walruses are readily distinguished circumstances (Fay et al. 1984, pp. 13– divergens), which ranges across the from other Arctic pinnipeds (aquatic 14). Many factors play into the severity Bering and Chukchi Seas (Fay 1982, pp.