[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25664-25668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10407]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2011-0039; 92220-1113-0000-C6]
RIN 1018-AX94


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the 
Gray Wolf in Wyoming From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened 
Wildlife and Removal of the Wyoming Wolf Population's Status as an 
Experimental Population

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
reopening of the public comment period on our October 5, 2011, proposal 
to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming from the List of 
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. This proposal relied heavily on 
Wyoming's wolf management plan and noted that conforming changes to 
State law and regulation would be required to allow Wyoming's plan to 
be implemented as written. Wyoming recently completed four documents 
that clarify Wyoming's approach to wolf management should we delist the 
gray wolf in Wyoming, including revised State statutes, revised gray 
wolf management regulations (chapter 21), revised gray wolf hunting 
season regulations (chapter 47), and an Addendum to the Wyoming Gray 
Wolf Management Plan. We are reopening the comment period for the 
proposal to allow all interested parties an additional opportunity to 
comment on the proposed rule in light of these documents. If you 
submitted comments previously, you do not need to resubmit them because 
we have already incorporated them into the public record and will fully 
consider them in preparation of the final rule.

DATES: We will consider all comments received or postmarked on or 
before May 16, 2012. Comments submitted electronically using the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES section, below) must be 
received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
    (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for FWS-R6-ES-2011-0039, which is the 
docket number for this rulemaking. On the search results page, under 
the Comment Period heading in the menu on the left side of your screen, 
check the box next to ``Open'' to locate this document. Please ensure 
you have found the correct document before submitting your comments. If 
your comments will fit in the provided comment box, please use this 
feature of http://www.regulations.gov, as it is most compatible with 
our comment review procedures. If you attach your comments as a 
separate document, our preferred file format is Microsoft Word. If you 
attach multiple comments (such as form letters), our preferred format 
is a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2011-0039; Division of Policy and 
Directives

[[Page 25665]]

Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 
2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
    We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide 
us (see ``Public Comments'' in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more 
information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on wolves in the 
northern Rocky Mountains see http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/, or contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Mountain-Prairie Region Office, Ecological Services Division, 134 Union 
Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80228; telephone 303-236-7400. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comments

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on the October 5, 2011, proposal (76 FR 61782) 
to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming from the List of 
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in light of four recently revised 
documents that clarify Wyoming's approach to wolf management should we 
delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, including: revised State statutes; a 
revised gray wolf management regulations (chapter 21); a revised gray 
wolf hunting season regulations (chapter 47); and an Addendum to the 
Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan. Copies of the revised State statute, 
Wyoming's ``Gray Wolf Management'' regulations (chapter 21), ``Gray 
Wolf Hunting Seasons'' regulations (chapter 47), and the Addendum to 
the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan are available: on the Internet at 
http://www.regulations.gov or http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/; or upon request from the Mountain-Prairie Region 
Office, Ecological Services Division (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT). We will consider information and recommendations from all 
interested parties.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We will not accept 
comments sent by email or fax or to an address not listed in ADDRESSES. 
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire 
comment--including your personal identifying information--will be 
posted on the Web site. If you submit a hardcopy comment that includes 
personal identifying information, you may request at the top of your 
document that we withhold this information from public review. However, 
we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will post all 
hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available 
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by appointment, 
during normal business hours, at the Mountain-Prairie Region Office 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Background

    On October 5, 2011, we proposed to remove the gray wolf in Wyoming 
from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (76 FR 61782). This 
proposal relied heavily on Wyoming's 2011 wolf management plan (Wyoming 
Game and Fish Commission (WGFC) 2011) and noted that conforming changes 
to State law and regulation would be required to allow Wyoming's plan 
to be implemented as written. These changes have now been finalized by 
Wyoming.
    Following publication of the proposal, we began discussions with 
Wyoming on necessary or advisable revisions to its State statutes. On 
January 9, 2012, we notified the Governor of Wyoming that draft 
legislative language, developed by the State in consultation with the 
Service, should provide an acceptable legal basis for implementing the 
State's Gray Wolf Management Plan (Ashe 2012a). This legislation was 
passed by the Wyoming legislature during the 2012 session and, on March 
7, 2012, was signed by the Governor of Wyoming and became law.
    Wyoming also developed an Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf 
Management Plan to address concerns raised by the independent peer 
review panel that evaluated our proposed rule and its supporting 
information. The addendum, developed by the State in consultation with 
the Service, provides additional clarification and detail about the 
Wyoming Game and Fish Department's approach to managing wolves. On 
March 5, 2012, Wyoming released the addendum for public review and 
comment. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved a final version 
of the addendum on March 22, 2012.
    In early 2012, we began discussions with Wyoming on necessary or 
advisable revisions to its State regulations including Wyoming's ``Gray 
Wolf Management'' regulations (chapter 21) and ``Gray Wolf Hunting 
Seasons'' regulations (chapter 47). On March 9, 2012, we notified the 
Governor of Wyoming that we regard the draft revised regulations, 
developed by the State in consultation with the Service, to be 
consistent with State law and Wyoming's conditionally approved Wolf 
Management Plan (Ashe 2012b). On March 9, 2012, the Wyoming Game and 
Fish Department made the proposed regulations available for public 
review and comment. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved a 
final version of these revised regulations at their April 25-26, 2012, 
meeting.

Highlights of Recently Released Wyoming Management Documents

    Population Management--The Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf 
Management Plan reaffirms Wyoming's commitment to manage the wolf 
population with a buffer above the agreed-upon population minimums of 
at least 10 breeding pairs and at least 100 wolves in Wyoming outside 
of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation at 
the end of the calendar year (WGFC 2012, pp. 3-5). The addendum adopts 
this approach, as it would provide the greatest assurance that minimum 
agreed-upon population targets can be confidently exceeded on an annual 
basis, and that Wyoming would not risk managing wolves near minimum 
recovery levels (WGFC 2012, p. 5). Furthermore, Wyoming clarified that 
the buffer would be applied solely within Wyoming's portion of the 
population in the Wyoming Trophy Game Management Area (WTGMA) (i.e., 
wolves in Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian 
Reservation would not constitute the buffer) (WGFC 2012, p. 5). 
Regarding the size of the buffer, no specific number or range was 
offered. Instead, Wyoming noted that the buffer would be determined 
through an adaptive management approach and may fluctuate based on 
natural population dynamics and the effects of specific management 
actions (WGFC 2012, p. 4).
    The Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan also 
reaffirms and clarifies Wyoming's intention to use an adaptive 
management framework based on intensive monitoring efforts to ensure 
minimum population objectives are never compromised (WGFC 2012, pp. 5-
7). The addendum explains that, because of additional human-caused 
mortality, Wyoming would monitor the wolf population more intensively 
than the Service has in the past, and that this effort would become 
more intense as the

[[Page 25666]]

population approaches minimum population objectives (WGFC 2012, p. 5). 
Regarding management responses, the addendum clarifies that if the 
minimum population objectives are approached, the State would 
sequentially limit: Control actions for unacceptable impacts to 
ungulates; harvest levels; control for damage to private property; and 
lethal take permits (WGFC 2012, p. 7). The last item in this sequential 
list (lethal take permits) is discussed further below. Regarding 
hunting specifically, the addendum notes that Wyoming would employ an 
iterative, adaptive, and public process whereby season structures, hunt 
areas, and quotas are evaluated and adjusted based on the response of 
the wolf population to prior management actions (WGFC 2012, pp. 4-7). 
Furthermore, the addendum notes Wyoming's authority to revise, reduce, 
or close hunting seasons if necessary (WGFC 2012, pp. 6-7).
    The Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan also confirms 
the State's intention to manage wolf numbers to gradually reduce the 
wolf population over a series of years (WGFC 2012, p. 6). This will 
give the State an opportunity to understand how to best manage wolves 
in Wyoming, while not risking relisting of wolves under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (WGFC 2012, p. 
6). Within the WTGMA, at the end of 2011, there were at least 177 
wolves in at least 29 packs (including 16 breeding pairs), as well as 
at least 4 lone wolves; within the seasonal WTGMA, at the end of 2011, 
there were at least 10 wolves in at least 2 packs (including 1 breeding 
pair), as well as at least 5 lone wolves (Jimenez 2012, in litt.). If 
we delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, the State intends to authorize a 
hunting quota of 52 wolves in 2012, and once reproduction is accounted 
for, the State believes this would reduce the population by about 10 
percent within the WTGMA (Mills 2012, pers. comm.). Specifically, 
Wyoming estimates the population within the WTGMA would be around 170 
wolves and 15 breeding pairs at the end of 2012 (Mills 2012, pers. 
comm.). We note that this first year goal is comfortably above the 
minimum agreed-upon population targets.
    In the permanent predator area, we estimated there were at least 22 
wolves in at least 5 packs (including 2 breeding pairs), and at least 6 
lone wolves at the end of 2011 (Jimenez 2012, in litt.). Additionally, 
1 pack with 3 wolves (the Owl Creek pack on the Wind River Indian 
Reservation) borders and likely spends a significant portion of its 
time in the predator area (Jimenez 2012, in litt.). We believe few of 
the wolf packs in predator portions of Wyoming would persist to the end 
of 2012, although some individuals from these packs could survive as 
lone animals. Similarly, some of the current lone wolves in the 
predator area would be killed. Because none of the packs resident to 
the WTGMA are known to spend a significant portion of their time in the 
predator portions of Wyoming (Jimenez 2012, in litt.), the predator 
designation would not be expected to meaningfully impact wolves in the 
WTGMA (Jimenez 2012, pers. comm.).
    Regarding genetics, Wyoming's gray wolf management regulations 
indicate the State is committed to managing gray wolves in Wyoming to 
ensure that genetic diversity and connectivity issues do not threaten 
the population (Chapter 21, section 4(a)(ii)). This regulation goes on 
to say this commitment would be accomplished by encouraging effective 
migrants into the population in accordance with the Wyoming Gray Wolf 
Management Plan (Chapter 21, section 4(a)(ii)). The Addendum to the 
Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan indicates the Wyoming Game and Fish 
Department would strive for a minimum genetic target of ~1 effective 
migrant per generation (WGFC 2012, pp. 6-7). If this minimum target is 
not achieved, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would first consider 
changes to the monitoring program, if the increased monitoring is 
likely to overcome the failure to document the desired level of gene 
flow (WGFC 2012, p. 6). If the Wyoming Game and Fish Department 
determines increased monitoring is unlikely to detect adequate levels 
of genetic interchange, or they determine that sufficient interchange 
is not occurring regardless of monitoring efforts, they would alter 
management, including reducing mortality quotas in dispersal corridors 
or reducing total mortality quotas over a series of years to increase 
the probability that migrants into the population survive and reproduce 
(WGFC 2012, pp. 6-7). Translocation of wolves between subpopulations 
would only be used as a stop-gap measure, if necessary to increase 
genetic interchange (WGFC 2012, p. 7). These efforts would be 
coordinated with Montana and Idaho (WGFC 2012, p. 7).

Variations or Clarifications From What Was Described in the Proposed 
Rule

    Lethal Take Permits--Consistent with the Wyoming Gray Wolf 
Management Plan (WGFC 2011, pp. 22-23, 32), the proposed rule explained 
that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department ``may'' issue lethal take 
permits in chronic depredation areas. However, Wyoming law (W.S. 23-1-
304(n)) states that permits ``shall be issued'' to landowners or 
livestock owners in cases where wolves are harassing, injuring, 
maiming, or killing livestock or other domesticated animals, and where 
wolves occupy geographic areas where chronic wolf predation occurs. 
This mandatory approach to issuance of lethal take permits is a 
significant change from both current management and our summary of 
anticipated State management provided in the proposed rule. Another 
meaningful change from current Federal management is Wyoming's 
allowance for lethal take permits for ``harassment.'' While these 
factors indicate lethal take permits could become a significant source 
of mortality if we delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, numerous safeguards 
are in place that limit their potential to meaningfully and 
detrimentally impact the population.
    For example, State statute requires that permits be issued, and 
renewed as necessary, in 45-day increments (W.S. 23-1-304(n)), and 
State regulations limit the take allowance for each permit to a maximum 
of 2 gray wolves, and specify that each permit can only apply to a 
specified limited geographic or legally described area (Chapter 21, 
section 7(b)(ii)). These requirements ensure application of this source 
of take is limited in time and geography. Similarly, State regulations 
indicate that purported cases of wolf harassment, injury, maiming, or 
killing must be verified by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department 
(Chapter 21, section 6(b)). We believe this requirement for Wyoming 
Game and Fish Department verification would limit potential abuse for 
this source of mortality. Finally, and most importantly, State law 
(W.S. 23-1-304(n)) and the implementing regulation (Chapter 21, section 
7(b)(iii)) clarify that existing permits would be cancelled, and 
issuance of new permits would be suspended, if the Wyoming Game and 
Fish Department determines further lethal control ``could'' compromise 
the State's ability to maintain a population of at least 10 breeding 
pairs and at least 100 wolves in Wyoming outside of Yellowstone 
National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation at the end of the 
calendar year. Importantly, the word ``could'' (as opposed to would or 
will) provides authority for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to 
manage for a buffer above the minimum target and limit control from 
lethal take permits, if necessary, to maintain an adequate minimum 
buffer. However, the

[[Page 25667]]

Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan explains that the 
State law's mandatory approach to issuance of lethal take permits 
requires that Wyoming's adaptive management framework limit other 
discretionary sources of mortality before it limits this source of 
mortality (WGFC 2012, p. 7).
    On the whole, the available information indicates that, if we 
delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, Wyoming's approach to lethal take 
permits may impact population abundance (particularly at a localized 
level where wolf-livestock conflict is high), but that Wyoming has 
instituted sufficient safeguards to ensure that this source of 
mortality would not compromise the State's ability to maintain a 
population of at least 10 breeding pairs and at least 100 wolves in 
Wyoming outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian 
Reservation at the end of the calendar year.
    Management on the Wind River Indian Reservation--Another issue 
incorrectly characterized in the proposed rule is wolf management 
within the Wind River Indian Reservation. Specifically, the proposed 
rule noted that wolves would be classified as game animals within the 
Wind River Indian Reservation's boundaries. This assumption was 
reflected in the proposal's discussion of the percentage of Wyoming 
where wolves would be protected or managed as a game animal, as this 
calculation considered the entire reservation as game. However, the 
Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan clarifies that, if we 
delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, wolves would be classified as 
predators on non-Indian fee titled lands within the Wind River Indian 
Reservation's boundaries (WGFC 2012, p. 3). This altered interpretation 
would have minimal impact on wolf management and abundance, as these 
inholdings tend to be concentrated on the eastern side of the 
reservation outside of reported areas of wolf activity (Shoshone and 
Arapaho Tribal Fish and Game Department 2007, Figure 1). Furthermore, 
this change in our understanding is likely of little biological 
consequence as the proposed rule noted an expectation that the 
reservation would likely support only a ``very modest * * * number of 
wolves.'' Therefore, this change does not alter our perspective on the 
viability of the Wyoming wolf population should delisting move forward.
    Management Authority and Hunting--Following publication of the 
proposed rule, many members of the public expressed confusion about 
what it means to be included in the WTGMA and whether hunting would 
occur within National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System 
units. First, let us clarify that nothing in the proposed rule would 
alter, or in any way affect, the jurisdiction or authority of the State 
of Wyoming, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service with respect to the regulation of hunting in any unit of the 
National Park System or National Wildlife Refuge System. Whatever 
jurisdiction or authority the State and the respective Services had to 
authorize, prohibit, or regulate hunting in such areas prior to any 
final rule would be unchanged by the promulgation of that rule (except, 
of course, that, if adopted, the proposed rule would remove the 
protections of the Endangered Species Act from wolves wherever they may 
occur in Wyoming).
    Wyoming regulations (Chapter 21, section 2; Chapter 47, section 4) 
and the Addendum to the Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan (WGFC 2012, 
p. 3) clarify management authority over various portions of the WTGMA. 
Specifically, Wyoming clarified that the State of Wyoming has no 
management authority in Yellowstone National Park, on lands 
administered by the National Park Service within Grand Teton National 
Park, on National Wildlife Refuges, and on lands within the Wind River 
Indian Reservation except non-Indian owned fee titled lands (as 
discussed above) (WGFC 2012, p. 3). Wyoming further clarified that, if 
we delist the gray wolf in Wyoming, wolves present within Grand Teton 
National Park and the National Elk Refuge would be designated as trophy 
game animals solely for the purposes of counting wolves toward the 
State's agreed-upon management objectives (WGFC 2012, p. 3), and that 
any planned allowance for hunting would not apply in these areas 
(Chapter 47, section 4(a)). Although some hunting is currently allowed 
in the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway under the Parkway's 
enabling legislation and Wyoming law, Wyoming's hunting regulations are 
clear that gray wolf hunting would be closed in the Parkway for at 
least 2012 (Chapter 47, section 4(i)).
    While such clarifications are important to have a complete 
understanding of wolf management, if we delist the gray wolf in 
Wyoming, these characterizations of authority and clarifications of 
intention have little, to no, biological impact on the ability of 
Wyoming's regulatory framework to satisfy its agreed-upon management 
objectives.

Service Assessment

    The Service has reviewed the recently finalized Wyoming wolf 
management documents (including revised State statutes, revised gray 
wolf management regulations (chapter 21), revised gray wolf hunting 
season regulations (chapter 47), and an Addendum to the Wyoming Gray 
Wolf Management Plan), and concludes that the revisions to these 
documents are consistent with the conditionally approved Wyoming Gray 
Wolf Management Plan. Based on our review, we believe Wyoming's 
regulatory framework would likely maintain a population of at least 10 
breeding pairs and at least 100 wolves in Wyoming outside of 
Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation at the 
end of the calendar year and, when considered in the context of 
management across the entire State and the entire Northern Rocky 
Mountain (NRM) region, that the regulatory framework would likely 
maintain Wyoming's share of a recovered NRM gray wolf population and 
contribute to the continued maintenance of the larger NRM gray wolf 
population above minimum recovery levels.

Peer Review

    In accordance with our joint policy on peer review published in the 
Federal Register on July 1, 1994 (59 FR 34270), we intend to subject 
this proposal to peer review. Specifically, the peer review will 
evaluate the proposal in light of the four recently completed documents 
that clarify Wyoming's approach to wolf management should we delist the 
gray wolf in Wyoming, including: Revised State statutes; revised gray 
wolf management regulations (chapter 21); revised gray wolf hunting 
season regulations (chapter 47); and an Addendum to the Wyoming Gray 
Wolf Management Plan. We anticipate this peer review will be completed 
and provided to the Service during the public comment period. Once 
available, we intend to post the peer review comments online at http://www.regulations.gov and http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/. We will consider all comments and information provided 
by the public and peer reviewers during this comment period in 
preparation of a final determination on our proposed delisting. 
Accordingly, the final decision may differ from our proposal.

References Cited

    A complete list of references cited is available: On the Internet 
at http://www.regulations.gov or http://www.

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fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/; or upon request from 
the Mountain-Prairie Region Office, Ecological Services Office (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authors

    The primary authors of this notice are staff members of the 
Mountain-Prairie Region Office, Ecological Services Division, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: April 17, 2012.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-10407 Filed 4-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P