Friday, December 10, 2010 Part VII Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 223 Endangered and Threatened Species; Proposed Threatened Status for Subspecies of the Ringed Seal; Endangered and Threatened Species; Proposed Threatened and Not Warranted Status for Subspecies and Distinct Population Segments of the Bearded Seal; Proposed Rules VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:23 Dec 09, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\10DEP4.SGM 10DEP4 mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS4 77476 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 237 / Friday, December 10, 2010 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// the finding is to be published promptly www.regulations.gov. in the Federal Register. National Oceanic and Atmospheric • Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK After reviewing the petition, the Administration 99802. literature cited in the petition, and other • Fax: (907) 586–7557. literature and information available in 50 CFR Part 223 • Hand delivery to the Federal our files, we found (73 FR 51615; September 4, 2008) that the petition met [Docket No. 101126590–0589–01] Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK. the requirements of the regulations RIN 0648–XZ59 All comments received are a part of under 50 CFR 424.14(b)(2), and we the public record. No comments will be determined that the petition presented Endangered and Threatened Species; posted to http://www.regulations.gov for substantial information indicating that Proposed Threatened Status for public viewing until after the comment the petitioned action may be warranted. Subspecies of the Ringed Seal period has closed. Comments will Accordingly, we proceeded with the AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries generally be posted without change. All status reviews of ringed, bearded, and Service, National Oceanic and Personal Identifying Information (for spotted seals and solicited information Atmospheric Administration, example, name, address, etc.) pertaining to them. Commerce. voluntarily submitted by the commenter On September 8, 2009, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in ACTION: Proposed rule; 12-month may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business the U.S. District Court for the District of petition finding; status review; request Columbia alleging that we failed to for comments. Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. make the requisite 12-month finding on SUMMARY: We, NMFS, have completed a We will accept anonymous comments its petition to list the three seal species. comprehensive status review of the (enter N/A in the required fields, if you Subsequently, the Court entered a ringed seal (Phoca hispida) under the wish to remain anonymous). You may consent decree under which we agreed Endangered Species Act (ESA) and submit attachments to electronic to finalize the status review of the announce a 12-month finding on a comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, ringed seal (and the bearded seal) and petition to list the ringed seal as a WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats submit this 12-month finding to the threatened or endangered species. Based only. Office of the Federal Register by on consideration of information The proposed rule, maps, status December 3, 2010. Our 12-month presented in the status review report, an review report, and other materials petition finding for bearded seals is assessment of the factors in the ESA, relating to this proposal can be found on published as a separate notice and efforts being made to protect the the Alaska Region Web site at: http:// concurrently with this finding. Spotted species, we have determined the Arctic alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/. seals were also addressed in a separate Federal Register notice (75 FR 65239; (Phoca hispida hispida), Okhotsk FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: October 22, 2010; see also, 74 FR 53683, (Phoca hispida ochotensis), Baltic Tamara Olson, NMFS Alaska Region, (Phoca hispida botnica), and Ladoga October 20, 2009). (907) 271–5006; Kaja Brix, NMFS The status review report of the ringed (Phoca hispida ladogensis) subspecies Alaska Region, (907) 586–7235; or Marta seal is a compilation of the best of the ringed seal are likely to become Nammack, Office of Protected scientific and commercial data available endangered throughout all or a Resources, Silver Spring, MD (301) 713– concerning the status of the species, significant portion of their range in the 1401. including the past, present, and future foreseeable future. Accordingly, we SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March threats to this species. The Biological issue a proposed rule to list these 28, 2008, we initiated status reviews of Review Team (BRT) that prepared this subspecies of the ringed seal as ringed, bearded (Erignathus barbatus), report was composed of eight marine threatened species, and we solicit and spotted seals (Phoca largha) under mammal biologists, a fishery biologist, a comments on this proposed action. At the ESA (73 FR 16617). On May 28, marine chemist, and a climate scientist this time, we do not propose to 2008, we received a petition from the from NMFS’s Alaska and Northeast designate critical habitat for the Arctic Center for Biological Diversity to list Fisheries Science Centers, NOAA’s ringed seal because it is not currently these three species of seals as threatened Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, and determinable. In order to complete the or endangered under the ESA, primarily the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service critical habitat designation process, we due to concerns about threats to their (USFWS). The status review report also solicit information on essential habitat from climate warming and loss underwent independent peer review by physical and biological features of of sea ice. The Petitioner also requested five scientists with expertise in ringed Arctic ringed seal habitat. that critical habitat be designated for seal biology, Arctic sea ice, climate DATES: Comments and information these species concurrent with listing change, and ocean acidification. regarding this proposed rule must be under the ESA. Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the received by close of business on ESA of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. ESA Statutory, Regulatory, and Policy February 8, 2011. Requests for public 1531 et seq.), requires that when a Provisions hearings must be made in writing and petition to revise the List of Endangered There are two key tasks associated received by January 24, 2011. and Threatened Wildlife and Plants is with conducting an ESA status review. ADDRESSES: Send comments to Kaja found to present substantial scientific The first is to delineate the taxonomic Brix, Assistant Regional Administrator, and commercial information, we make a group under consideration; and the Protected Resources Division, Alaska finding on whether the petitioned action second is to conduct an extinction risk Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. is (a) Not warranted, (b) warranted, or assessment to determine whether the You may submit comments, identified (c) warranted but precluded from petitioned species is threatened or by RIN 0648–XZ59, by any one of the immediate proposal by other pending endangered. To be considered for listing following methods: proposals of higher priority. This under the ESA, a group of organisms • Electronic Submissions: Submit all finding is to be made within 1 year of must constitute a ‘‘species,’’ which electronic public comments via the the date the petition was received, and section 3(16) of the ESA defines as ‘‘any VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:23 Dec 09, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\10DEP4.SGM 10DEP4 mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS4 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 237 / Friday, December 10, 2010 / Proposed Rules 77477 subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, scientific and commercial data available regions including the White Sea, the Sea and any distinct population segment of for each respective threat. For example, of Okhotsk, and the Baltic Sea, ringed any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife because the climate projections in the seals occasionally rest on island shores which interbreeds when mature.’’ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate or offshore reefs. In lakes Ladoga and term ‘‘distinct population segment’’ Change’s (IPCC’s) Fourth Assessment Saimaa, ringed seals typically rest on (DPS) is not commonly used in Report extend through the end of the rocks and island shores when ice is scientific discourse, so the USFWS and century (and we note the IPCC’s Fifth absent. In all subspecies except the NMFS developed the ‘‘Policy Regarding Assessment Report, due in 2014, will Okhotsk, pups normally are born in the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate extend even farther into the future), we subnivean lairs (snow caves) on the sea Population Segments Under the used those models to assess impacts ice (Arctic and Baltic ringed seals) or in Endangered Species Act’’ to provide a from climate change through the end of subnivean lairs along shorelines consistent interpretation of this term for the century. We continue to recognize (Saimaa and Ladoga ringed seals) in late the purposes of listing, delisting, and that the farther into the future the winter to early spring. Although use of reclassifying vertebrates under the ESA analysis extends, the greater the subnivean lairs has been reported for (61 FR 4722; February 7, 1996). We inherent uncertainty, and we Okhotsk ringed seals, this subspecies describe and use this policy below to incorporated that limitation into our apparently depends primarily on guide our determination of whether any assessment of the threats and the sheltering in the lee of ice hummocks. population segments of this species species’ response. For other threats, The seasonality of ice cover strongly meet the DPS criteria of the DPS policy. where the best scientific and influences ringed seal movements, The ESA defines the term commercial data does not extend as far foraging, reproductive behavior, and ‘‘endangered species’’ as ‘‘any species into the future, such as for occurrences vulnerability to predation.