Vol. 76 Wednesday, No. 249 December 28, 2011 Part III Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revising the Listing of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) in the Western Great Lakes; Final rule VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:26 Dec 27, 2011 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\28DER3.SGM 28DER3 srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES3 81666 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 28, 2011 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR www.regulations.gov at Docket No. connected, and that subspecies FWS–R3–ES–2011–0029, or by boundaries were thus malleable. Fish and Wildlife Service appointment, during normal business However, the 1978 rule also stated hours at the following Ecological that ‘‘biological subspecies would 50 CFR Part 17 Services offices: continue to be maintained and dealt [Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2011–0029; • Twin Cities, Minnesota Ecological with as separate entities’’ (43 FR 9609), FXES11130900000C6–123–FF09E32000] Services Field Office, 4101 American and offered ‘‘the firmest assurance that [the Service] will continue to recognize RIN 1018–AX57 Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN; (612) 725–3548. valid biological subspecies for purposes Endangered and Threatened Wildlife • Green Bay, Wisconsin Ecological of its research and conservation and Plants; Revising the Listing of the Services Field Office, 2661 Scott programs’’ (43 FR 9610, March 9, 1978). Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) in the Western Tower Dr., New Franken, WI; (920) Accordingly, recovery plans were Great Lakes 866–1717. developed for the wolf populations in • East Lansing, Michigan Ecological the following regions of the United AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Services Field Office, 2651 Coolidge States: the northern Rocky Mountains in Interior. Road, Suite 101, East Lansing, MI; 1980, revised in 1987; the eastern U.S. ACTION: Final rule. (517) 351–2555. in 1978, revised in 1992; and the Southwest in 1982, the revision of FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and which is now under way. Laura Ragan, (612) 713–5350. Direct all Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS) are In the 1978 rule, we also identified questions or requests for additional revising the 1978 listing of the Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, information to: GRAY WOLF Minnesota population of gray wolves and Minnesota wolf management zones QUESTIONS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife (Canis lupus) to conform to current 1, 2, and 3, as critical habitat. We also Service, 5600 American Boulevard statutory and policy requirements. We promulgated special regulations under West, Suite 990, Bloomington, rename what was previously listed as section 4(d) of the Act for operating a Minnesota 55437. Additional the Minnesota population of the gray wolf management program in Minnesota information is also available on our Web wolf as the Western Great Lakes (WGL) at that time. The depredation control site at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/ Distinct Population Segment (DPS), and portion of the special regulation was wolf. Individuals who are hearing- delineate the boundaries of the later modified (50 FR 50793; December impaired or speech-impaired may call expanded Minnesota population 12, 1985); these special regulations are the Federal Relay Service at 1–(800) segment to include all of Minnesota, found in 50 CFR 17.40(d)(2). 877–8337 for TTY assistance. Wisconsin, and Michigan and portions On April 1, 2003, we published a final of the adjacent states. We are removing SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: rule revising the listing status of the the WGL DPS from the List of Background gray wolf across most of the Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. conterminous United States (68 FR We are taking this action because the Previous Federal Actions for WGL 15804). Within that rule, we identified best available scientific and commercial Wolves three DPSs for the gray wolf, including information indicates that the WGL DPS The eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus an Eastern DPS, which was reclassified does not meet the definitions of lycaon) was listed as endangered in from endangered to threatened, except threatened or endangered under the Act. Minnesota and Michigan in the first list where already classified as threatened. This final rule also removes the of species that were protected under the In addition, we established a second designated critical habitat for the wolf 1973 Act, published in May 1974 (USDI section 4(d) rule that applied provisions in Minnesota and Michigan and the 1974). On March 9, 1978, we published similar to those previously in effect in special regulations under section 4(d) of a rule (43 FR 9607) reclassifying the Minnesota to most of the Eastern DPS. the Act for wolves in Minnesota. gray wolf at the species level (Canis The special rule was codified in 50 CFR We are separating our determination lupus) as endangered throughout the 17.40(o). on the delisting of the Western Great conterminous 48 States and Mexico, U.S. District Court rulings in Oregon Lakes DPS from the determination on except for the Minnesota population, and Vermont on January 31, 2005, and our proposal regarding all or portions of which we classified to threatened. The August 19, 2005, respectively, the 29 eastern States we considered to separate subspecies listings, including invalidated the April 1, 2003, final rule. be outside the historical range of the C. l. lycaon, thus were subsumed into Consequently, the status of gray wolves gray wolf. This rule finalizes our the listings for the gray wolf in outside of Minnesota reverted back to determination for the WGL DPS. A Minnesota and the gray wolf in the rest endangered status, as had been the case subsequent decision will be made for of the conterminous United States and prior to the 2003 reclassification. The the rest of the eastern United States. Mexico. We considered the Minnesota courts also invalidated the three DPSs DATES: This rule becomes effective on group of gray wolves to be a listable identified in the April 1, 2003, rule, as January 27, 2012. entity under the Act, and listed it as well as the associated special ADDRESSES: This final rule is available threatened; we considered the gray wolf regulations. on the Internet at http:// group in Mexico and the 48 On March 27, 2006, we published a www.regulations.gov and at the U.S. conterminous States other than proposal (71 FR 15266–15305) to Fish and Wildlife Service, Midwest Minnesota to be another listable entity, identify a WGL DPS of the gray wolf, to Regional Office, 5600 American and listed it as endangered (43 FR 9607, remove the WGL DPS from the Boulevard West, Suite 990, 9610, respectively, March 9, 1978). This protections of the Act, to remove Bloomington, Minnesota 55437. reclassification was undertaken because designated critical habitat for the gray Comments and materials we received, as of uncertainty about the taxonomic wolf in Minnesota and Michigan, and to well as supporting documentation we validity of some of the previously listed remove special regulations for the gray used in preparing this final rule, are subspecies and because we recognized wolf in Minnesota. The proposal was available for public inspection on http:// that wolf populations were historically followed by a 90-day comment period, VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:26 Dec 27, 2011 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\28DER3.SGM 28DER3 srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES3 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 28, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 81667 during which we held four public of Natural Resources requesting that the Conformance With the Act’s Definition hearings on the proposal. gray wolf in Minnesota be removed from of Species On February 8, 2007, the Service the List of Endangered or Threatened issued a rule that identified and delisted Wildlife under the Act. Likewise, on Given the assurances we provided in the 1978 Canis lupus listing that we the WGL DPS of the gray wolf (Canis April 26, 2010, we received a petition would continue to treat gray wolf lupus) (72 FR 6052). Three parties from the Wisconsin Department of subspecies as separate entities for challenged this rule (Humane Society of Natural Resources requesting that the conservation purposes (as noted in the United States v. Kempthorne, 579 F. gray wolf in Minnesota and Wisconsin Supp. 2d 7 (D.D.C. 2008)), and on Previous Federal Actions for WGL be delisted. On April 26, 2010, we September 29, 2008, the court ruled in Wolves, above), we identified a need to received a petition from the Sportsmen’s favor of the plaintiffs and vacated the reconsider the listing in light of current rule and remanded it to the Service. Alliance, representing five other statutory and policy standards regarding On December 11, 2008, we published organizations, requesting that gray the Act’s definition of species. The Act a notice reinstating protections for the wolves in the Great Lakes area be provides for listing at various taxonomic gray wolf in the western Great Lakes delisted. On June 17, 2010, we received and subtaxonomic levels through its (and northern Rocky Mountains) a petition from Safari Club definition of ‘‘species’’ in section 3(16): pursuant to court orders (73 FR 75356). International, Safari Club International The term species includes any On April 2, 2009, we published a final Foundation, and the National Rifle subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, rule identifying the western Great Lakes Association of America requesting that and any distinct population segment of populations of gray wolves as a DPS and wolves of the western Great Lakes be any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife revising the List of Endangered and delisted. In response to those four which interbreeds when mature (16 Threatened Wildlife by removing the petitions, on September 14, 2010, we U.S.C.