[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 93 (Friday, May 13, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 29272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10382]



[[Page 29272]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2021-0103; FXES111303WOLF0-223-FF02ENEH00]
RIN 1018-BE52


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Revision 
to the Regulations for the Nonessential Experimental Population of the 
Mexican Wolf

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of availability of a final supplemental 
environmental impact statement and a draft record of decision.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of the final supplemental environmental impact statement 
(FSEIS) on the proposed revisions to the regulations for the 
nonessential experimental population designation of the Mexican wolf 
and our draft record of decision, under the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended. Our intended action is to revise the 
regulations established in our 2015 final rule under section 10(j) of 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, for the nonessential 
experimental population of the Mexican wolf. In the FSEIS, we analyzed 
the environmental consequences of three alternatives, including the 
proposed action and no action alternative, for our proposed rule. The 
action would be implemented through a final rule.

DATES: The Service will issue the record of decision (ROD) no earlier 
than 30 days after the publication date of this document announcing the 
availability of the FSEIS.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: The FSEIS and draft ROD are available 
electronically on https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-
2021-0103. The FSEIS will also be available for public inspection, by 
appointment, during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at the 
New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road NE, 
Albuquerque, NM 87113.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brady McGee, Mexican Wolf Recovery 
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Ecological 
Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113; by 
telephone at 505-761-4748; or by facsimile 505-761-2542. Individuals in 
the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States. 
You may also visit the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program's website at 
https://www.fws.gov/program/mexican-wolf for information about our 
proposed revision to the experimental population designation for the 
Mexican wolf.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Reviewing Documents

    With this Federal Register document, we announce the availability 
of the final supplemental environmental impact statement (FSEIS) and 
our draft record of decision (ROD) for the proposed revision to the 
regulations for the nonessential experimental population of the Mexican 
wolf (Canis lupus baileyi). We developed the FSEIS and our draft ROD in 
compliance with the agency decision-making requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
We have described all alternatives in detail, and we have evaluated 
them in our FSEIS. Our draft ROD is based on our review of the 
alternatives and their environmental consequences as described in our 
FSEIS. You may obtain a copy of the FSEIS and draft ROD as described 
above in ADDRESSES.

Background

    On April 15, 2020 (85 FR 20967), we published a notice of intent to 
prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement in conjunction 
with a proposed rule to revise the existing nonessential experimental 
designation of the Mexican wolf in the Mexican Wolf Experimental 
Population Area (MWEPA) in Arizona and New Mexico under section 10(j) 
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (``10(j) rule''). The 
revised rule and supplemental environmental impact statement have been 
developed in response to a court-ordered remand by the District Court 
of Arizona of our 2015 10(j) rule to revise the nonessential 
experimental population designation and management of Mexican wolves in 
the MWEPA. In the scoping notice, we explained that we would address 
the issues on remand in a revised rule by establishing population and 
genetic objectives for the MWEPA that support the long-term 
conservation and recovery of the Mexican wolf and by ensuring our take 
provisions support the genetic health of the population, in addition to 
making a new essentiality determination (85 FR 20967, April 15, 2020, 
p. 20969).
    On October 29, 2021 (86 FR 59953), we published the proposed rule 
and draft supplemental environmental impact statement (DSEIS) for a 90-
day public comment period ending January 27, 2022, and we announced 
three public information sessions and two public hearings. The DSEIS 
analyzed three alternatives, including the proposed action, a second 
alternative, and the no action alternative. These alternatives 
evaluated a revised population objective, a new genetic objective, and 
the temporary restriction of three take provisions on land use, 
biological resources, economic activity associated with livestock 
production and big game hunting, human health and public safety, and 
environmental justice.

Next Steps

    We developed our FSEIS after assessing and considering all comments 
on the DSEIS and proposed rule both individually and collectively. Our 
responses to the substantive comments that we received on the DSEIS are 
provided as an appendix to the FSEIS. After full consideration of all 
information and comments received on the proposed rule and DSEIS, we 
will base the final rule on the best available information.

Authors

    The primary authors of this document are the staff members of the 
New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

Signing Authority

    The Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Martha 
Williams, Director, approved this document on May 10, 2022, for 
publication.

Madonna Baucum,
Regulations and Policy Chief, Division of Policy, Risk Management, and 
Analytics of the Joint Administrative Operations, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-10382 Filed 5-12-22; 8:45 am]
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