[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12887-12906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5823]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AB88


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of Three 
Kangaroos From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

 [[Page 12888]] ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has determined 
that three common species of kangaroos, the red kangaroo, the western 
gray kangaroo, and populations of the eastern gray kangaroo in mainland 
Australia, should be removed from the list of threatened species under 
the Endangered Species Act (Act or ESA). The Service also announces 
that it is denying a December 20, 1989, petition to reimpose a ban on 
the commercial importation of products from these three species of 
kangaroos from mainland Australia on procedural grounds. The Service, 
with this rule, also rescinds the existing special rule applicable to 
threatened kangaroo populations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: The complete file for the rule is available for public 
inspection by appointment, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Room 750, 4401 
North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Charles W. Dane, Office of 
Scientific Authority, at the above address, or by phone (703-358-1708) 
or by fax (703-358-2276).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The term ``kangaroo'' in this rule refers to all populations of the 
red kangaroo (Macropus rufus), the western gray kangaroo (M. 
fuliginosus), and the eastern gray kangaroo (M. giganteus) in mainland 
Australia, which are being removed from the list of endangered and 
threatened wildlife (50 CFR 17.11) under Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544). The 
subspecies of the eastern gray kangaroo (M. g. tasmaniensis), which 
occurs solely in Tasmania retains its endangered classification under 
the Act. The red kangaroo, western gray kangaroo, and the eastern gray 
kangaroo in mainland Australia were listed on December 30, 1974 (39 FR 
44990), as threatened species pursuant to the Act and the commercial 
importation of kangaroos, their parts, and products was banned. A 
special rule to allow such importations into the United States after 
development of adequate State management plans accompanied the listing. 
The Service accepted the management programs for four Australian States 
and lifted the importation ban on April 29, 1981 (46 FR 23929), after 
kangaroo management plans and population survey techniques had been 
strengthened. The Service, in two Federal Register notices of April 8, 
1983, proposed to delist the three species of kangaroos (48 FR 15428) 
and to continue the commercial importation of kangaroos (48 FR 15434). 
The final rule allowing the continuation of the importation of 
kangaroos was published on August 1, 1983 (48 FR 34757). The Service 
withdrew the proposed rule to delist the three kangaroo species on 
April 24, 1984 (49 FR 17555), after receiving new data from the 
Australian Government that the severe drought in the summer of 1982-3 
had caused significant reductions in kangaroo populations. It was noted 
that the drought was broken in winter 1983, that kangaroos were again 
beginning to breed, but the ability of kangaroo populations to recover 
from the major 1982-3 population fluctuation was unknown. It was 
further noted that the delisting action could be reconsidered after the 
Service had a better understanding of how kangaroo populations recover 
from drought events.
    The Service was petitioned on December 20, 1989, by Greenpeace USA, 
with subsequent support from other groups, ``to reinstate the ban on 
commercial importation of kangaroos and of kangaroo products.'' The 
petitioners contended that Australia's management of kangaroos was 
inherently flawed and that Australian States did not have adequate and 
effective conservation programs that ensured the protection of the 
threatened species. The Service, in order to respond to the December 
20, 1989, petition in a meaningful manner, sent three representatives 
to Australia in March 1990 to investigate the population status of the 
three kangaroo species (survey methods, numbers, and trends) and the 
implementation of management programs. In addition, the team received 
comments about the conservation benefit of management plans that 
allowed the harvest of kangaroos. The Service team spent 12 days 
meeting with selected members of Parliament, representatives of various 
nongovernmental organizations, scientists, State and federal natural 
resource managers, enforcement personnel, grain growers, and ranchers. 
The team also visited parks, open range, chillers, faunal dealers, 
ports and exporters. The team presented their findings in a June 5, 
1990, report (Nichols et al. 1990). The Service, in a Federal Register 
notice of August 8, 1990 (55 FR 32276), announced the receipt of the 
Greenpeace petition and the availability of the June 5, 1990, Service 
report and requested comments on the status of the three species of 
kangaroos in Australia. The comment period on the status review for the 
December 20, 1989, petition was extended to November 6, 1990.
    The Wildlife Legislative Fund of America submitted a petition dated 
November 6, 1990, which was received by the Service on the following 
day. That petition requested that all populations of the red kangaroo 
(Macropus rufus), the western gray kangaroo (M. fuliginosus), and the 
eastern gray kangaroo (M. giganteus), except the subspecies M. g. 
tasmaniensis, be removed from the list of threatened species under the 
Endangered Species Act (Act).
    The Wildlife Legislative Fund petition presented the June 5, 1990, 
report prepared by Service personnel as the principal basis for the 
petition. Among other things, the petitioners cited the conservative 
estimates of the 1987 kangaroo populations (red kangaroos--7.5 million, 
western gray kangaroos--1.7 million, and eastern gray kangaroos--4.7 
million) and the fact that kangaroo conservation programs exist within 
individual range states as reasons for delisting the species.
    The Service, in a Federal Register notice of June 12, 1991 (56 FR 
26971), found that the action requested in the November 6, 1990, 
petition may be warranted and requested additional comments as part of 
a continuing status review of kangaroos and kangaroo management in 
Australia. The comment period was reopened until September 10, 1991. 
That comment period was later extended to September 24, 1991, in a 
Federal Register notice dated September 17, 1991 (56 FR 47060).
    The Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on 
January 21, 1993 (58 FR 5341) proposing to remove the three species of 
kangaroos in mainland Australia from the list of threatened species 
under the Act. The Service had found that the four States that 
commercially harvest kangaroos (New South Wales, Queensland, South 
Australia, and Western Australia) had developed and implemented 
adequate and effective conservation programs that ensured the 
protection of these species. The Service additionally found that 
kangaroo populations were high and that the three species were 
protected by appropriate legislation, had their populations regularly 
monitored by direct and indirect procedures, and were managed by a 
complex licensing system which regulated the extent of the legal 
harvest. The Service in that Federal Register document also announced 
that it was deferring a decision on the December 20, 1989, petition by 
Greenpeace USA to reimpose the ban on the importation of kangaroo 
products until the final [[Page 12889]] decision on the proposed action 
was made. The Service also indicated that if the final decision was to 
delist the three species that it would then act to rescind the special 
rule allowing imports of kangaroo products from threatened populations 
into the United States.
    The Service notes that a nonlisted status for these three species 
under the Act is wholly consistent with listing decisions made by other 
organizations. The three species of kangaroos are described as abundant 
by the Australian Conservation Foundation. The species are not on lists 
published by the Council of Nature Conservation Ministers, World Wide 
Fund for Nature Australia (WWF), or Fund for Animals Ltd., that 
variously identify species of Australian fauna they find to be 
endangered, threatened, or vulnerable. The status of the three species 
in mainland Australia is described as stable by the Species Survival 
Commission of the World Conservation Union's (IUCN/SSC) Australasian 
Marsupial and Monotreme Specialist Group in its 1992 publication 
(Kennedy 1992). That publication also indicates that the western gray 
kangaroo has declined less than 10 percent in geographic range since 
European settlement and that the eastern gray kangaroo and the red 
kangaroo may actually have increased their geographic range since 
European settlement. The IUCN/SSC publication also listed the three 
kangaroos as among those taxa for which there is no genetic concern-- 
either because they are common in captivity, or readily available from 
the wild, requiring monitoring only by annual census.

Summary of Comments and Recommendations

    The Service received about 740 comments in response to the January 
21, 1993, request for comments published in the Federal Register (58 FR 
5341). Virtually all correspondents supported the request to ban the 
importation of kangaroo products into the United States and/or 
advocated the retention of threatened status for the species. Most 
comments provided no substantive information on these issues.
    The harvest of kangaroo products provides raw materials for a 
primary industry in Australia. Many individuals and organizations 
expressed dissatisfaction or distaste for this fact. For example, about 
700 comments were in response to an Action Alert published by the 
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) which stated that the 
Australian Government sanctioned the slaughter of 5.2 million kangaroos 
in 1992 to supply the domestic and international market for kangaroo 
skins. This was from a combined kangaroo population which the HSUS 
claimed only totaled 13.9 million. Respondents especially advocated the 
retention of threatened status (374 replies), or the retention of 
threatened status and the reimposition of the importation ban (260 
replies).
    The underlying concern expressed by the HSUS respondents as well as 
many other commentators regarded the commercial harvest and trade in 
these kangaroo species, which are protected species under Australian 
domestic legislation. Commenters frequently expressed (1) an outrage 
that a commercial harvest was allowed to occur by an industry that many 
persons characterized as illegitimate; (2) a view that market forces, 
if not at present, might in the future overwhelm conservation practices 
to the detriment of the species; and (3) a view that the threat of 
trade restrictions was necessary to ensure that Australian governments 
continue to manage kangaroos in a responsible manner.
    The Service response to this recurring and significant concern is 
as follows. The determination to utilize, in commercial trade, kangaroo 
products from well-managed populations is a domestic issue that will 
ultimately be determined at the ballot box, in the legislatures, and in 
the courts of Australia. The Service has the responsibility to 
determine whether the species are threatened or endangered under the 
Endangered Species Act and to promulgate certain special rules if 
required. A finding of threatened or endangered is made after five 
specific listing criteria have been evaluated. The second of these 
criteria questions whether overutilization occurs, for among other 
reasons, commercial purposes. The Service has found, as indicated 
below, that the commercial quotas are related to kangaroo populations 
occurring within the commercial utilization area (CUA). The CUA is that 
portion of the range of the individual species where the commercial 
harvest is allowed to occur.
    Kangaroo populations are known to cycle in abundance within the 
CUAs because much of inland Australia is an arid and drought-prone 
landscape where unregulated kangaroo numbers increase when water is 
plentiful and diminish in times of drought. Extensive annual surveys 
occur in South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland to estimate 
kangaroo populations in order to set harvest quotas for the subsequent 
calendar year. Those surveys using fixed-wing aircraft seem to reliably 
index kangaroo populations in open and arid landscapes but to 
significantly underestimate populations in woodlands, such as the mulga 
woodlands of southern Queensland. Aerial surveys conducted from 
helicopters seem to more reliably indicate kangaroo populations in the 
woodland habitats. The kangaroo populations in vast and thinly 
inhabited Western Australia are estimated every third year from aerial 
surveys and inferred in intermediate years from a variety of data.
    Harvest quotas are usually established as a percentage of the 
estimated kangaroo population after considering potential range 
conditions as predicted from current rainfall data. Frequently, the 
harvest quota has totaled about 15-20 percent of the estimated kangaroo 
population and about 70 percent of the commercial harvest quota has 
been annually harvested. Kangaroo shooters are licensed, and can only 
kill kangaroos for commercial purposes on private properties after 
shooters have obtained permission from landowners. Commercial shooters 
can only sell their kangaroo hides and meat to licensed dealers. 
Products only from these commercially killed kangaroos can enter 
international commerce. The Service believes that the Commonwealth and 
State governments in Australia have a sincere interest in the 
preservation of their native wildlife species and act in a professional 
manner to manage these kangaroo species so they will occur in abundance 
into perpetuity. The Service has no reason to believe that market 
pressures will one day insidiously drive conservation activities in 
Australia, and notes that the United States and the international 
community could act to limit the trade in kangaroo products, should the 
status of these three kangaroo species be significantly reduced in the 
future.
    The Service disagrees that threatened status should be retained for 
these abundant and sufficiently managed species, at this time, to 
ensure that a primary industry behaves or because one day the 
threatened status may somehow be useful in the management of kangaroos. 
The Service believes the lists of endangered and threatened species 
should only include those animals and plants whose current status fit 
the definitions of the Act. The Service has found that these three 
species of kangaroos are not threatened species (i.e., species in 
danger of extinction, within the foreseeable future, throughout all or 
a significant portion of their range).
    Several comments stated that the threatened status should be 
retained for the three species of kangaroos because [[Page 12890]] of 
the current quality of kangaroo management in Australia. These comments 
(A-M) are treated together in this assessment because they are closely 
related and actually pertain to a larger issue, which is ``How much 
management is sufficient?'' The comments and Service responses are 
listed below for comments A-M and this is followed by a discussion of 
the ``sufficiency of management'' question.
    A. Comment: Survey methods, especially in Queensland, are 
unreliable. Response: Nichols et al. (1990) stated that ``Australian 
biologists have been leaders in the development of aerial survey ethods 
for estimating animal population size. Current surveys are very 
extensive, properly standardized and well thought out. Some additional 
work needs to be done on the estimation of visibility correction 
factors, but such work is well underway. Current research indicates 
that previously-used correction factors may be too small. Published 
estimates of kangaroo population size thus are based on sound 
methodology but are probably too small.'' Additional studies have been 
conducted since 1990. Queensland is especially concerned about methods 
to more reliably estimate animal numbers in woodland habitats. 
Queensland has annually accomplished fixed-wing aerial surveys from 
1984 to 1992, and helicopter surveys since 1991. Queensland plans to 
further review the results of population surveys using fixed-wing 
aircraft and helicopters to establish revised correction factors for 
use in surveys of woodland habitats.
    B. Comment: The Commonwealth and State governments have failed to 
implement measures to make kangaroo plans adequate to protect 
kangaroos. Response: It is unclear whether this comment pertains to the 
apparent contradiction wherein different domestic statutes provide both 
protective status to the species and allow a commercial harvest of the 
species or to some perceived inadequacy in the kangaroo management 
plans. Any conflict in domestic legislation is an Australian domestic 
matter. The Service has found that the kangaroo management plans 
developed by the States and agreed to by the Commonwealth are 
sufficient to allow the species to be delisted.
    C. Comment: The commercial slaughter of kangaroos constitutes a 
very real threat to the survival of the species. Response: For the 
reasons stated above, and later in this final rule, the Service has 
found that the current commercial harvest of these managed kangaroo 
species does not threaten the survival of these species in mainland 
Australia at present nor is it likely to in the foreseeable future.
    D. Comment: The kangaroo slaughter is unnecessary. Response: The 
necessity and desirability of commercially harvesting kangaroos is an 
Australian domestic matter. The Service's assessment is only that the 
present managed harvest does not cause the Service to conclude that the 
kangaroo populations should be listed as threatened.
    E. Comment: The development of a meat market will increase demands 
on kangaroo populations. Response: The decision to seek domestic and 
international markets for kangaroo meat is an Australian domestic 
issue. The Service believes that the present management is sufficient 
and notes that extensive non-use of kangaroo protein accompanies a 
skins-only harvest, and that a well run meat industry can more fully 
and more efficiently use the current harvest.
    F. Comment: The adoption of a sustained use management principle 
for a protected species was accomplished without a public debate. 
Response: The Service considers this to be an Australian domestic 
matter and not a factor in making a listing decision under the Act.
    G. Comment: The ``threatened'' listing was valuable because it 
allowed the Service to act as an international watchdog on the kangaroo 
industry. Response: The Service promotes the international conservation 
of species and the international enhancement of biodiversity. The 
Service is obligated to properly classify these species based on the 
criteria stipulated in the Act.
    H. Comment: Kangaroos routinely carry such a high parasite load 
that they are unfit for human consumption. Response: It is the 
responsibility of the Commonwealth government to assure the citizens of 
Australia and the world, if such exports are allowed, about the quality 
of any kangaroo meat product. The Service notes this is clearly not an 
issue to consider when making an evaluation under the Act.
    I. Comment: Tags placed on carcasses and skins are not species 
specific. Response: The Service agrees that species specific kangaroo 
tags would likely allow the States to have a better control over the 
kangaroo harvest and over the marketing of kangaroo products. The 
Service notes that the kangaroo harvest is sufficiently monitored in 
other ways such as the assessment of shooter's records, dealer's 
records, sex-age composition of the kill and descriptors of other 
biological attributes. These records help ensure that the kangaroo 
harvest is adequately managed.
    J. Comment: Customs officers do not inspect all consignments of 
kangaroo products prior to their export. Response: The kangaroo harvest 
and exports are thoroughly reported and State and Federal enforcement 
personnel have authority for search and seizures that the Service 
believes will adequately control any significant illegal activities.
    K. Comment: Harvest quotas do not include animals killed for the 
domestic market or for nuisance purposes. Response: The Service agrees 
that it would be beneficial to management if all kangaroos killed were 
tagged and reported. This effort would benefit the estimate of total 
harvest and would help curtail any movement of untagged animals into 
commerce. The Service notes that harvest quotas are based on estimates 
of the living population so that the establishment of a harvest quota 
is a function of all sources of mortality that have impacted kangaroo 
populations up to the time of quota determination. The Service further 
notes that kangaroos killed for the domestic market are part of the 
kill regulated by the harvest quotas but that kangaroos killed for pest 
control are outside the harvest quota. The kill for pest control, 
however, is limited. For example, the number of kangaroos killed for 
damage mitigation purposes is believed to be less than 1 percent of the 
population.
    L. Comment: There is inadequate enforcement of animal welfare 
requirements. Response: The Service agrees that any wildlife harvest 
should be conducted in as humane a manner as is possible, but this is 
not a criterion to be considered in making listing determinations under 
the Act.
    M. Comment: The State and Commonwealth governments have inadequate 
resources for kangaroo management. Response: The Service finds that 
resources available to conservation agencies in Australia are 
sufficient so these three species of kangaroos are adequately protected 
under present management.
    A decision to list or delist species under the Act often requires a 
decision about the ``sufficiency of management.'' No government or 
agency provides perfect management but many governments and agencies 
provide sufficient management so individual wildlife species can be 
used in a sustainable manner. A reasonable standard for the Service to 
use to determine sufficiency of management in any country is to compare 
the management of the foreign species with the management of a 
comparable species within the United States. The [[Page 12891]] white-
tailed deer in the United States is, in some ways, comparable to the 
kangaroo in Australia. The white-tailed deer analogy is utilized herein 
to provide a measure of scale. Scale is important for understanding the 
size of ranges, the size of populations, the size of the harvest, and 
the magnitude of management and law enforcement problems. It is fully 
understood that harvest mechanisms differ between deer (sport-hunting) 
and kangaroos (commercial harvest). That significant difference, 
however, is not directly relevant to the present discussion.
    The white-tailed deer may be about as numerous in the United States 
as are the three kangaroos in Australia, and the white-tailed deer is 
sufficiently managed at about the same intensity as are the kangaroos. 
State and the Commonwealth governments in Australia accomplish a 
variety of aerial and ground censuses and computer simulations to 
estimate kangaroo populations, and these estimates become the basis for 
the establishment of harvest quotas. State governments in the United 
States use a variety of ground surveys and computer simulation models 
to estimate white-tailed deer populations, and these estimates become 
the basis for establishing desired levels of harvest. Some level of 
public comment is sought in establishing harvest levels in both 
countries. Some level of appraisal of habitat carrying capacity 
frequently occurs for both deer and the kangaroo species. The actual 
harvests of kangaroos in Australia and deer in the United States are 
regulated by complex licensing systems. Landholders seek harvest 
permits from State governments in Australia and professional hunters 
seek licenses from those State governments and hunt permission from 
individual landholders in order to legally kill kangaroos. The 
professional hunter then sells kangaroo hides and/or carcasses to 
licensed dealers. State governments in the United States establish 
hunting seasons and bag limits and sell licenses to individual hunters 
who must seek permission to hunt on private lands but who may also hunt 
on certain public lands. Deer hunters vary considerably in their 
hunting skills and deer products are for personal rather than 
commercial use. Some level of illegal kill occurs in each country 
because there are insufficient resources to police all levels of the 
kangaroo industry and all deer hunting events.
    One major difference between deer and kangaroo management is that 
kangaroos in arid habitats seem more likely to experience large 
population fluctuations. A second difference between deer and kangaroo 
management is that in the United States 12 million licensed hunters 
annually kill 3 million deer for personal consumption, whereas in 
Australia 3 million kangaroos may be killed by about 1700 licensed 
professional hunters who each kill an average of 1800 kangaroos for 
commercial purposes. Neither species is threatened by its respective 
management regime, as both deer and kangaroos are managed in a way that 
is adequate to maintain harvestable populations over time.
    The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provided 
three comments that are answered individually, below. The first comment 
from CIEL stated that the proposal to delist the three species is a 
political action and is not a justified biological decision. CIEL 
maintained that Australia had put political pressure on the Bush 
administration, and that this delisting action was the last act of the 
Service during that Administration. CIEL also held that a brief 60-day 
comment period underscores the attempt to sneak a final rule past a new 
Administration.
    The Service response is that the proposal to delist these species, 
published in the Federal Register on January 21, 1993, evolved from a 
request in a December 20, 1989, petition filed by Greenpeace USA, ``to 
reinstate the ban on commercial importation of kangaroos and kangaroo 
products''. That petition generated a review that was subsequently 
cited in a petition to delist the species filed on November 6, 1990, by 
the Wildlife Legislative Fund of America. The Service notes 
correspondence from the Center for International Environmental Law, 
dated April 9, 1992, requesting that the Service make a final decision 
on both petitions by the end of the summer of 1992. Consequently, the 
Service made every effort to arrive at a decision regarding the two 
petitions and to publish the required proposal in as timely a manner as 
possible. A Service biologist returned from a fact-finding trip to 
Australia on August 1, 1992, and prepared the proposed rule by mid-
November. The intervening 2-month period from mid-November until 
publication in mid-January reflects normal Service review time and 
delays associated with the holiday season. The 60-day comment period on 
the proposed rule is not at all unusual. It is the same comment period 
specified in some other recent proposed rules involving foreign species 
such as the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly in the March 1, 1989, 
Federal Register (54 FR 8574) and the Nile Crocodile in the August 3, 
1992, Federal Register (57 FR 34095).
    The second comment from CIEL declared that the proposal to delist 
the three species of kangaroos continues a pattern seen over the past 
few years during which time the Service has failed to add protection 
to, or has reduced protection for, several species of commercial 
interest.
    The Service response is that it has not abrogated its 
responsibilities to world conservation and arbitrarily reduced 
protection to species because of their commercial value. The Service 
supports the sustainable use of wildlife if that use can be shown not 
to threaten the survival of the species. The Service, since 1989, has 
added foreign species to the list of endangered species under the 
United States Endangered Species Act (e.g., the chimpanzee, several 
snub-nosed monkeys, and a variety of birds, including psittacines, and 
turtles). The Service periodically reevaluates the status of species as 
new information becomes available and occasionally transfers species 
between lists or removes species from the lists of endangered and 
threatened species when justified. The Service supported the listing of 
the African elephant and six species of fruit bats to Appendix I at the 
Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 
(CITES) in 1989 and successfully proposed the addition of the Goffin's 
cockatoo and the bog turtle to Appendix I at the Eighth Meeting of the 
CITES Conference of the Parties in 1992. The Service also successfully 
proposed five other additions to Appendix II at the 1992 meeting and 
offered proposals to amend Appendices, in accordance with the 10-year 
review process of CITES. Some of those proposals required the transfer 
of species between Appendices. The Service sought to suspend commercial 
trade in certain wild bird species of concern that are listed in 
Appendix II of CITES at the 1992 CITES Convention and supported the 
passage of domestic legislation in 1992 (The Wild Bird Conservation Act 
of 1992) to ensure that U.S. bird imports do not jeopardize wild bird 
populations.
    The third comment from CIEL states that the Service must retain the 
kangaroos on the list of threatened species and reinstate the import 
ban because the long and continuing drought constitutes an important 
natural factor affecting the existence of these species of kangaroos.
    The Service notes that enclosures submitted by CIEL on March 22, 
1993, clearly indicate extensive areas in New [[Page 12892]] South 
Wales (NSW) and Queensland that retain a drought-declared designation 
as of March 1, 1993. These enclosures are presented as evidence that 
drought continues to devastate Australia and kangaroo populations. A 
February 5, 1993, letter from John Eveleigh, Assistant Regional 
Manager, Western Region, New South Wales, to the Director, Australian 
National Parks and Wildlife Service (ANPWS), clearly indicates that 
economic factors as well as rainfall totals determine the declaration 
of drought status by the Department of Agriculture.
    An El Nino-related drought occurred in parts of Australia during 
1991-2 and affected some populations of the three kangaroo species. 
Rainfall deficiencies from March through October 1991 occurred 
throughout nearly all of Queensland, in northcentral and northeastern 
New South Wales, some portions of the Northern Territory and in extreme 
northeastern Western Australia. Rains during November 1991 through 
January 1992 essentially reduced the rainfall-deficient area to the 
eastern two-thirds of Queensland, the northern portion of the Northern 
Territory and northern Western Australia. Additional rains during 
February 1992 further reduced the rainfall-deficient areas to 
southcentral Queensland and the northeastern coastal areas of 
Queensland, the northern portion of the Northern Territory and northern 
Western Australia. The rainfall-deficient area, by May 1992, was 
further reduced to southcentral Queensland, northcentral New South 
Wales, and the central and northern coasts of Queensland. The rainfall-
deficient area for the 17-month period from March 1, 1991 to July 31, 
1992, occurred in southcentral Queensland and extreme northcentral New 
South Wales. Much of this southcentral Queensland and northcentral New 
South Wales area experienced severe rainfall deficiencies and two small 
localized portions of this area recorded record rainfall deficiencies 
during this 17-month period. These portions of Queensland and New South 
Wales constitute important kangaroo habitat.
    The 1991-1992 drought event ended in these kangaroo habitats 
because rainfall totals listed as highest on record were recorded 
throughout the southern portion of South Australia, southwestern New 
South Wales and much of Victoria from November 1, 1992 to January 31, 
1993. Rainfall totals recorded as very much above average were recorded 
for much of the remainder of South Australia and western and central 
New South Wales during this same three month period. At least average 
rainfall fell over most of Queensland, including the most important 
kangaroo habitats, in the November 1, 1992 to January 31, 1993 period. 
Drought areas in New South Wales received reasonable rains in the first 
half of 1993 and even better rains in the second half of the year. 
Drought declarations in Queensland, by early 1994, occurred in about 46 
percent of the State's land area. No rangelands are drought declared in 
Western Australia in early 1994, and South Australia has experienced 
good rainfall years from 1989-1993 in most parts of the State. The 
1991-2 drought, at one time or another, affected northern New South 
Wales, most of Queensland, eastern and northern portions of the 
Northern Territory and northern Western Australia. The 1991-2 drought 
was not experienced in the other 60 percent of the continent.
    About 70 percent of Australia is classified as arid or semi-arid 
and is characterized by high variability in rainfall. Drought 
periodically occurs to these landscapes, and its severity and duration 
can clearly affect pasture quality and kangaroo well-being and numbers. 
At least 47 major drought events have been recorded somewhere on the 
continent during the 100 year period from 1888 to 1988 (data provided 
by ANPWS and excerpted from ``Water 2000: Consultants Report No 13--
Water Resources Aspects of Drought in Australia'' Dept. Resources and 
Energy (1983) and Bureau of Meteorology). Areas of deficient rainfall 
are to be expected on the Australian continent. Wildlife management 
specialists accept drought as a ``normal'' event and manage their 
resources accordingly by reducing kill during years when kangaroo 
populations are diminished and increasing harvest when populations are 
increased (see below). The 1991-1992 drought impacted kangaroos, 
especially in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, but did 
not and does not threaten the continental population of these three 
species.
    Drought areas were declared in most of New South Wales and some 
southern and eastern areas of Queensland in Australia's winter of 1994. 
The effect of this drought on kangaroo populations is not yet known, 
but as noted earlier, kangaroo populations have recovered from the 
previous severe drought of 1982-83 (longer in some areas). Furthermore, 
while 1995 kangaroo harvest quotas are not yet known, the Service has 
reviewed and discussed the State and Commonwealth management program 
and believes that appropriate quotas will be established to maintain 
kangaroo populations.
    An additional comment expressed by several persons concerned the 
capability and willingness of wildlife managers to reduce the kangaroo 
kill when populations are diminished. They claimed that Australia's 
management plans do not reduce the kill quotas during droughts and the 
present drought has sharply reduced kangaroo populations and clearly 
placed the species in jeopardy.
    The Service responds with a summary description of the management 
actions that one state, New South Wales (NSW), has undertaken to manage 
kangaroos during drought declared conditions in the 1980s and 1990s. 
NSW has about a third of the continent's population of red and gray 
kangaroos. This summary is excerpted from a letter from John Eveleigh, 
Assistant Regional Manager, Western Region, New South Wales National 
Parks and Wildlife Service, to the Director, Australian National Parks 
and Wildlife Service, dated February 5, 1993. A significant area of NSW 
was declared to be within a drought declared zone in 1982. A total 
harvest quota of 843,000 animals had previously been established for 
1982, which was 12 percent of the 1981 estimated NSW population of 7 
million kangaroos. A fixed quota was allocated for the first six months 
of 1982 and a notional quota was allocated for the second half of the 
year to be modified if climatic conditions dictated. The 1982 mid-
winter (June-August) population survey estimated a total NSW kangaroo 
population of about 9.4 million animals with the population of red 
kangaroos still increasing but that of gray kangaroos being diminished 
by about 29 percent.
    Because of the drought conditions the harvest quota for calendar 
year 1983 was maintained at 843,000, about 9 percent of the 1982 
estimated population. Drought conditions prevailed throughout far 
western and eastern portions of NSW during 1983, but relieving rains 
fell throughout the central portion of the state. Quotas were allocated 
as in 1982. The mid-winter 1983 population estimate indicated a total 
NSW kangaroo population of 5.5 million, with some decline in red 
kangaroos and a significant decline in the number of gray kangaroos. A 
total harvest quota of 500,000 was established for 1984, which 
represented about 9 percent of the total 1983 population. The harvest 
quota for red kangaroos was set at 12 percent, but no culling was 
authorized in selected one-degree blocks within management zones. 
Culling of gray kangaroos was [[Page 12893]] allowed in three 
management zones and was disallowed in seven other zones. In addition, 
properties of applicants for non-commercial culling of red or gray 
kangaroos within the closed areas were subject to physical inspection 
by NSW Rangers prior to license grant considerations.
    Drought conditions continued to widen across NSW in 1984. The mid-
winter 1984 population estimate indicated a total NSW kangaroo 
population of about 2.8 million with an increasing red kangaroo 
population, a static gray kangaroo population in the eastern management 
zones, and a decline in both red and gray populations in western 
management zones. A harvest quota of 300,000 (11 percent of the 1984 
population) was established for 1985, but no harvest was allowed in 
areas containing estimated population densities of one or fewer red or 
gray kangaroos per sq km. Drought conditions still extended across NSW 
in early 1985, except for the extreme southwestern portion of the 
state. Drought-breaking rains fell in late 1985, and early 1986 and the 
state was declared drought-free in 1986. The mid-winter 1985 population 
estimate indicated a total kangaroo population of about 4.15 million 
with a recovery of both red and gray kangaroo populations. Some pockets 
with low populations remained, and no harvest was allowed during 1986 
in areas with a kangaroo density less than or equal to one per sq km. A 
1986 harvest quota of 577,000 was established (14 percent of the 
population) but 15 percent of the quota was withheld and not allocated.
    Drought conditions did not occur in NSW from 1987-1991, and 
populations of both red and gray kangaroos and harvest quotas 
progressively increased each year. The total harvest also usually 
increased each year. The mid-winter 1990 population estimate indicated 
a total kangaroo population in NSW of 8.55 million with increases in 
both red and gray kangaroos. A 1991 harvest quota of 1.5 million was 
established which was 18 percent of the population estimate. Thirteen 
percent of the quota was held back and not allocated. Drought 
conditions began to extend southward from Queensland into the northern 
management zones of NSW. The mid-winter 1991 population estimate 
indicated a total kangaroo population in NSW of 9.1 million. A harvest 
quota of 2.1 million was established which was about 23 percent of the 
1991 population estimate. Fifteen percent of the harvest quota was held 
back and not allocated. By January 1992, the 1991-2 drought had 
extended further into NSW and was declared to cover the northern and 
eastern portions of the state. Kangaroos reportedly moved to the south 
as the drought progressed and some quota allocations were transferred 
from northern management zones to more southern zones. The notional 
quotas for July-December 1992 were reviewed in July 1992. Preliminary 
1992 survey figures indicated that central and southern populations 
were barely impacted by the drought and kangaroo populations were 
increasing in the most southern management zones.
    By December 1992 the drought declarations indicated that the 
drought had retreated to the most northern management zones of NSW. The 
mid-winter 1992 population estimate indicated a total NSW kangaroo 
population of 8.04 million. A harvest quota of 1.66 million was 
established which was about 21 percent of the 1992 population estimate.
    The 1992 survey indicated declines of the red kangaroo throughout 
the northern management zones, stability in the central management 
zones and increases in the southern management zones. Populations of 
the gray kangaroo were somewhat diminished in some management zones. 
Harvest quotas for 1993 were diminished for populations in those 
management zones where kangaroo populations were found to be reduced. 
Fourteen percent of the potential harvest quota was held back and not 
allocated.
    The notional quota for the second half of 1993 was reviewed when 
preliminary mid-winter 1993 population estimates were available. 
February 1993 reports indicated that drought-breaking rains were 
widespread in NSW and that drought conditions were retracting to the 
north.
    This synopsis indicates how New South Wales strives to manage 
kangaroos on ranges periodically impacted by droughts. It is not 
possible to attain and maintain a specific kangaroo population on such 
landscapes, and such populations are expected to cycle as periodic 
droughts overtake portions of the continent. Management strives to 
follow the cycle. This requires frequent monitoring of kangaroo 
populations and the setting of low harvest quotas when populations are 
low but allows for the setting of higher quotas when kangaroo 
populations are expanding. This is exhibited by the NSW data where a 
harvest quota of 300,000 was established for 1985 when the mid-winter 
1984 NSW population was estimated at 2.7 million and a harvest quota of 
2.07 million was established for 1992 when the 1991 mid-winter NSW 
kangaroo population was estimated at 9.11 million.
    Harvest quotas represent the maximum number of kangaroos that can 
enter domestic or international commerce in a given year after having 
been taken in accordance with state-approved plans. About 70 percent of 
the quota has been harvested during recent calendar years. The maximum 
allowable kill is regulated as is the relative location of that kill. 
New South Wales has closed management zones to harvest, has closed 
degree blocks within management zones to harvest, has reallocated 
harvest quotas between management zones as a result of new population 
survey information, routinely issues the second half of the harvest 
quota in the second half of the calendar year, and routinely holds back 
some percentage of the commercial quota as a safety precaution. In 
addition, the legal harvesting of kangaroos is a licensed operation and 
all aspects of licensing can be suspended at any time during the 
calendar year if such actions are necessary. Other harvesting States 
also have regulatory measures that allow the reduction of take if 
environmental or other factors adversely impact kangaroo populations.
    A comment supporting the Service's proposed rule was provided by 
The Wildlife Legislative Fund of America (WLFA) which had filed the 
November 6, 1990, petition to delist the three kangaroo species. WLFA 
stated it is a strong supporter of the Endangered Species Act when it 
is applied to species that truly require protection from over-
exploitation or critical habitat destruction. WLFA also stated that 
listing species like these three species overburdens the system and 
detracts from the ultimate goal of protecting truly endangered species. 
WLFA stated that recovered species should be delisted as quickly as 
possible to encourage recovery efforts for other listed species and to 
focus the limited efforts of the Service on species and populations in 
greater need of scientific and public attention. WLFA stated that 
keeping these species on the threatened list could only be interpreted 
as bureaucratic red tape designed to stifle the legitimate trade in a 
closely controlled and monitored renewable resource. WLFA further 
stated that delisting does not foreclose continued efforts by the 
Service to selectively monitor the kangaroo management programs of 
Australia. The Service concurs.
    The Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, now known as 
the Australian Nature Conservation Agency (ANCA), also submitted 
comments [[Page 12894]] about the extent and duration of the 1991-2 
drought, the sensitivity of the kangaroo management plans of New South 
Wales to drought and environmental stress during the 1980s and 1990s, 
and the 1992 population estimates and the kangaroo harvest quotas 
determined for 1993.
    The notice containing the proposed rule, published on January 21, 
1993 (58 FR 5341), described a series of monitoring reports to be 
submitted annually from the Commonwealth to the Service. The Service, 
on January 27, 1994, received a report of the 1993 population surveys. 
The Service, because the additional information was received before the 
final rule was finalized, announced the new information and extended 
the comment period in a Federal Register notice on February 18, 1994 
(59 FR 8163).
    After the close of the 1993 comment period on the proposed rule, 
additional letters were received before the comment period was 
reopened. These were tallied with those received when the comment 
period was reopened in 1994, and all of these comments were considered 
in the preparation of this rule. Comments received during this combined 
period included 883 letters and 14 ``petitions'' containing an 
additional 310 signatures. Most of these letters received during the 
interim period continued to raise concerns about the inhumane aspects 
of the harvest, the effects of drought, the adequacy of management 
plans, high harvest quotas, and high unregulated or illegal killings. 
The Service's responses to these issues were addressed above in the 
responses to earlier comments. One commenter supported the delisting 
because of its perception that this would enable the species to be used 
in ranching. This is not relevant to our decision.
    Several new comments were received in response to the February 18, 
1994, Federal Register notice. CIEL submitted several comments that 
seem based on inadequate or incomplete information. In addressing 
those, the Service notes (1) that the information submitted by ANCA was 
in voluntary compliance with monitoring provisions listed in the 
January 21, 1993, Federal Register (58 FR 5341); (2) that the 1993 
surveys were accomplished using standardized techniques that have been 
developed and improved upon for over a decade; (3) that the submitted 
numerical estimates represent additional data points in a long-term 
description of kangaroo populations in the commercial utilization areas 
of four different states; (4) that a substantial assessment of the 
status of kangaroos and kangaroo management is made in this final rule; 
(5) that the Service has actively sought input into the kangaroo issue 
by sending Service biologists to Australia in 1980, 1990 and 1992; (6) 
that the destructive fires of 1993 were largely outside the commercial 
utilization areas of New South Wales and Queensland; and (7) that the 
Service has a responsibility to delist species that are not presently 
threatened or endangered. The Service has considered and used the best 
available scientific and commercial information available in this 
decision and believes that no further data is necessary for it to make 
this delisting decision. The Service makes this decision based on all 
of the factors required by the Act as discussed specifically in this 
rule. In addition, the comment periods provided for consideration of 
this proposal met the requirements imposed by law; and this delisting 
will not breach the ESA duty to conserve the species as they are no 
longer threatened under the Act.
    Other comments by CIEL pertaining to the alleged political nature 
of the listing decision, the perceived failure of the Service to 
exercise its responsibilities to provide protection to commercially 
utilized species, and the importance of drought as an environmental 
hazard threatening kangaroo populations are addressed above in this 
final rule.
    The Kangaroo Protection Cooperative, Ltd., and the Australian 
Wildlife Protection Council believed the selection of large males in 
the commercial harvest would threaten the future fitness of the 
species. It is likely that this selective harvest will shorten the age 
structure in populations of wild kangaroos, but it is not evident 
whether it will adversely impact the gene pool of the species. The 
Species Survival Commission of the World Conservation Union (IUCN/SSC) 
Australasian Marsupial and Monotreme Specialist Group lists populations 
of the three species as stable with no genetic concerns (Kennedy 1992).
    The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the Australian and 
New Zealand Federation of Animal Societies, Dr. John Auty, representing 
the Australian Wildlife Protection Council, and CIEL each expressed 
concern about the estimates of major reductions in the kangaroo 
populations of Western Australia, from 1990-1993, and the explanation 
for that decline offered by ANCA. Dr. Gerry Maynes, of the ANCA, in a 
March 4, 1994, letter to Mr. Chris Wold of CIEL, offered the following 
explanation for the Western Australian data:
    ``The results for 1990 may be distorted by population estimates for 
the two blocks 012 and 013, which together contributed 50% to the 
overall estimate (this contrasts with contribution of 20% and 22% in 
1984 and 1987, respectively). The estimated density in the 012 block 
(45 per sq km) is far higher than in any previous year for either 
kangaroo species. This result may be an artifact of change placement in 
the transect line; in 1990 the flight line coincided exactly with the 
distinct vegetation ecotone of mallee and open plain (ideal habitat for 
kangaroos), but in previous years this may not have been so 
(navigational variation of a few kilometers is common, even with 
satellite navigation gear, and this could lead to such variation 
between years). Placement of only one line in each of these blocks in 
the 1990 and previous surveys would facilitate such possible random 
variation. We therefore suggest caution when interpreting the recent 
acceleration in population numbers, and recommend that in future 
surveys two lines be allocated to these blocks. Thus, while the long 
term increase is likely to be real, the estimated increase of 99% from 
1987 to 1990 may be an overestimate of the increase.''
    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes the kangaroo 
populations in Western Australia should be more intensively monitored 
to enhance the quality of their management.
    Several commenters suggested that the recent devastating fires in 
New South Wales and Queensland represented environmental disasters that 
threatened these species. Dr. Gerry Maynes of ANCA in a March 7, 1994, 
letter to Dr. C. Dane, indicated that:
    ``The area in which fires occurred was from the Queensland border 
to just north of the Victorian border. These fires had no effect on 
population numbers of kangaroos in the commercial harvest zone of New 
South Wales * * * Although the fires were widespread throughout the 
non-commercial zone they have had variable impacts on wildlife 
including kangaroos due to the variable areas involved and intensities 
of the fires. The New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service 
has initiated follow-up research in parks which were burnt to determine 
the effects of the fires and the recovery of wildlife populations. 
While fires have had localized impacts on wildlife populations, 
wildfires are only a significant threat to populations of wildlife 
which are restricted in distribution * * * or do not possess 
adaptations to avoid the immediate impacts of the fire or to recover 
quickly after the fire.''
    The HSUS indicated that the kangaroo species should be listed on 
CITES before [[Page 12895]] being removed from the lists of endangered 
and threatened species. This is not a statutory pre-condition to 
delisting, and is not relevant in light of the Service's finding that 
Australian regulatory mechanisms are adequate. Neither the HSUS nor any 
other group or individual petitioned the Service to list these 
kangaroos on the CITES Appendices when the Service published a Federal 
Register notice on July 15, 1993 (58 FR 38112) inviting CITES 
proposals. In addition, neither the HSUS nor any other group or 
individual commented on the absence of these kangaroos from the 
proposed list of species to be considered by the Service for possible 
CITES action, (59 FR 3832, January 27, 1994).
    Two comments dealing with the validity of the population estimates 
were received after the close of the February 18, 1994, comment period 
and are herein addressed. The first comment alleged that the Caughley 
correction factors overestimated the number of red kangaroos and the 
second comment alleged that the Caughley correction factors 
overestimated the number of gray kangaroos during extended drought 
conditions. The Service notes that a senior FWS biometrician traveled 
to Australia in 1990 and evaluated the procedures currently used to 
estimate kangaroo populations. His assessment, summarized in item A 
(above), indicates that current surveys are very extensive, properly 
standardized, well thought out, and that additional work to improve 
visibility correction factors is ongoing. Results from surveys, listed 
in Tables 1-4, indicate trends that are interpretable using data that 
have driven successful kangaroo management programs for over a decade. 
Further development of sampling procedures, including the additional 
refining of visibility correction factors, should further improve 
census data.
    Other comments submitted in response to the February 18, 1994, 
Federal Register notice are also addressed above in this final rule. 
These comments concern the impact that a meat market might have on the 
commercial utilization of kangaroos, the belief that staff cuts to the 
U.S. Customs Service might lead to nefarious activities in commerce, 
the belief that cruelty is rampant in the harvest of kangaroos, the 
belief that population data and management activities and trade 
controls are inadequate in kangaroo management, the argument that 
harvest quotas should consider all forms of mortality, and the 
perception that droughts and periodic floods represent substantial 
hazards to kangaroo populations.

Summary of Factors Affecting the Species

    Section 4(a)(1) of the Act and regulations implementing the listing 
provisions of the Act (50 CFR part 424) set forth the procedures for 
adding species to or deleting species from the List of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife. A species shall be listed or reclassified on the 
basis of the best scientific or commercial data available after 
conducting a review of the species' status with regard to the five 
following evaluation factors: (A) The present or threatened 
destruction, modification or curtailment of its habitat or range; (B) 
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes; (C) disease or predation; (D) the inadequacy of 
existing regulatory mechanisms; and, (E) other natural or manmade 
factors affecting its continued existence.
    This final rule is based on an assessment of the five listing 
criteria within the Act. The assessment considered the present 
biological status of the three kangaroo species in mainland Australia. 
The five factors, as they apply to eastern gray kangaroo (Macropus 
giganteus), western gray kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), and red 
kangaroo (Macropus rufus) are as follows:

A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment 
of Its Habitat or Range

    Extensive kangaroo habitats have been lost or seriously degraded 
where urbanization and several forms of intensive agriculture have 
occurred. The eastern gray kangaroo has lost important habitats to 
development and agriculture in eastern Queensland, New South Wales 
(NSWNPWS 1991a) and throughout Victoria. The species, however, is 
considered abundant and widespread over large areas of eastern 
Australia where annual rainfall exceeds 250 mm but has little seasonal 
trend or where summer rains exceed winter rains (ANPWS 1991b). That 
publication summarizes habitats for the eastern gray kangaroo as 
including semi-arid mallee scrub, woodland, and forest. The densities 
of eastern gray kangaroos are frequently low in the more arid portion 
of their potential range, where they may be confined to narrow belts of 
woodland bordering watercourses, and are sometimes high elsewhere. The 
1991 density of gray kangaroos, for example, was estimated at about 1 
per sq km in arid extreme northwestern New South Wales and averaged 
more than 10 per sq km on about 125,000 sq km of habitat in mesic 
northcentral New South Wales (NSWNPWS 1991b). Caughley, et al. (1987) 
listed densities for eastern gray kangaroos that were greater than 20 
kangaroos per sq km on some transects in extreme southcentral 
Queensland as determined from 1980-1982 aerial surveys. The western 
border of the range of the species has apparently moved westward since 
European settlement because of the establishment of numerous semi-
permanent watering points for stock. Pastoral development is considered 
to have generally favored the eastern gray kangaroo (NSWNPWS 1991a). 
The action plan for the conservation of Australasian Marsupials and 
Monotremes (Kennedy 1992) listed an increased geographic range since 
European settlement for eastern gray kangaroos.
    The red kangaroo is considered abundant over much of inland 
Australia in areas receiving less than 500 mm annual rainfall (ANPWS 
1991). The species occurs in mulga and mallee scrub, shrubland, 
woodland, grassland, and desert. The species seems to prefer open 
plains with scattered trees or shrubs. The 1991 density of red 
kangaroos was estimated at less than 3 per sq km in central NSW but at 
more than 14 per sq km on about 125,000 sq km of habitat in arid 
extreme northwestern NSW (NSWNPWS 1991a). Caughley, et al. (1987) 
listed densities greater than 20 per sq km for the red kangaroo on some 
transects determined from 1980-1982 aerial surveys. Red kangaroos occur 
in almost a continuous distribution but at varying densities over all 
the pastoral areas and a large portion of the interior of South 
Australia. The red kangaroo favors the open but better watered country 
inside the 2000 km dingo-proof fence in lands used primarily for sheep 
grazing. Red kangaroo densities are much lower outside the fence 
(SANPWS 1991). The habitat changes associated with sheep grazing such 
as closely spaced stock water, the production of shrubland with 
ephemeral grasses, and the exclusion of the dingo are considered 
favorable for the red kangaroo. The action plan for the conservation of 
Australasian Marsupials and Monotremes (Kennedy 1992) listed an 
increased geographic range since European settlement for the red 
kangaroo.
    The western gray kangaroo occurs across the south of the continent 
from Western Australia to extreme southcentral Queensland but generally 
not east of the great divide. This distribution generally corresponds 
to the area where winter rainfall predominates. Caughley, et al. (1987) 
listed densities greater than 10 per sq km for transects in a 
relatively small [[Page 12896]] area of southwestern New South Wales as 
determined from 1980-1982 aerial surveys. The increase of watering 
points to aid the pastoral industry has been beneficial to the western 
gray kangaroo but intensive agriculture has adversely impacted some 
habitats. Arnold (1990), for example, indicated that the sizes of some 
populations of western gray kangaroos have declined significantly where 
habitat fragmentation to favor intensive agriculture has occurred in 
southwestern Western Australia. Arnold (1990) further believes losses 
to kangaroo populations will continue in these areas as the remnant 
native vegetation continues to be degraded. The western gray kangaroo 
occurs widely through the southern agricultural area of South Australia 
and extends into the central pastoral areas. This macropod is 
considered to be basically a dweller of scrublands and woodlands that 
grazes at the edges of adjacent grasslands. That portion of the gray 
kangaroo's range in the pastoral zone of South Australia has been 
favored by management actions beneficial to sheep production. A portion 
of the gray kangaroo's range in the southern agricultural zone has been 
degraded or destroyed by extensive habitat destruction caused by the 
clearing of native vegetation for agricultural and industrial purposes 
and for urban and suburban developments (SANPWS 1991). The action plan 
for the conservation of Australasian Marsupials and Monotremes (Kennedy 
1992) listed no change to a decline of less than 10 percent in the 
geographic range of the western kangaroo since European settlement.
    The three species of kangaroos occur over a vast region of 
Australia. Census lines representative of about 2.25 million sq km of 
habitat are routinely surveyed by air to estimate kangaroo numbers. 
Kangaroos are abundant in major portions of this habitat. As indicated 
below, an extensive series of parks and reserves totaling over 400,000 
sq km has been and is being established that will contribute directly 
to the conservation of macropods throughout their natural range. 
Current kangaroo populations could exceed those present before European 
man arrived on the continent. This seems possible because kangaroos 
have a reproductive capability efficiently attuned to the boom-or-bust 
nature of the usual precipitation-range forage cycle on arid lands and 
because kangaroos have been an impressive and inadvertent beneficiary 
of the sheep management system that included the clearing of woodlands, 
production of watering points, and the control of predators. Kangaroos 
that inhabit vast areas of Australia in impressive numbers cannot be 
considered threatened because of habitat and range conditions even 
though much native range is severely degraded. Kangaroos do well when 
habitats are in adequate condition due to sufficient rainfall and more 
poorly when droughts occur. This cyclic or fluctuating pattern in 
response to the vegetative condition of rangelands is a normal 
periodicity in the arid land system and does not in itself comprise a 
threat to the species.
B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or 
Educational Purposes

    The intent of kangaroo conservation in Australia is to maintain 
viable populations of the three species of kangaroos over their 
existing range and minimize any deleterious effects that high densities 
of these species could have on agricultural and pastoral products. 
Management is an art in the arid-zone ecosystems that comprise much of 
interior Australia where lands normally cycle in productivity in 
response to a variable rainfall. Viable kangaroo populations need to be 
maintained when range productivity and carrying capacities are low, but 
kangaroos can represent an additional range resource when populations 
and range productivities are increased. The ANCA and the Parks and 
Wildlife Services of the individual states regularly monitor population 
trends of red and gray kangaroos. The species are protected on National 
Parks and Reserves that total about 5 percent of the continental land 
area (over 400,000 sq km). Some of these lands represent important 
kangaroo habitats. The species can be legally killed, but not 
commercially utilized, by permitted actions in many urban, suburban, 
and agricultural areas for damage mitigation reasons. A major 
commercial harvest of kangaroos occurs in large designated areas of 
Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia. 
The magnitude and characteristics of this commercial harvest are 
regulated by the ANCA as a wildlife management strategy. The total 
commercial harvest is conducted within the framework of a harvest quota 
system. The commercial quota is the maximum number of kangaroos of a 
designated species that may enter domestic or international commerce 
during a specific year after having been taken in accordance with 
approved State management plans.
    The assessment of this factor did not evaluate whether the 
commercial utilization of kangaroos violates their protected status as 
provided by Australian legislation or the legitimacy of the commercial 
kangaroo industry. Those are Australian domestic issues. The Service 
assumed that kangaroo products are a legitimate product of the land if 
kangaroos are managed as a sustainable resource, and if Australian 
society approves of the harvest. The Service's evaluation in particular 
focused on whether the commercial enterprise threatened the existence 
of kangaroos, whether the Commonwealth and State governments adequately 
manage the kangaroo resource, and how harvest management responds to 
changes in kangaroo populations, especially during droughts.
    Kangaroo population levels are estimated from large-scale aerial 
and/or ground surveys. These population estimates reflect the effects 
of all forms of mortality acting on kangaroos. Commercial harvest 
quotas are determined from estimates of the living population and are 
intended to regulate the harvest which is the principle human-caused 
form of mortality. The commercial harvesting of kangaroos is directly 
controlled through the licensing of shooters and their operations.
    The population surveys are accomplished during winter (June-
August), annually in South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland 
and triennially in Western Australia. The raw data from surveys 
represent index values that can be compared to develop trends, or they 
can be expanded by the use of suitable correction factors to provide 
estimates of kangaroo populations. Correction factors strive to account 
for differences in the behavior of kangaroo species regarding their 
sightability and the ability to view kangaroos in different habitats. 
Research is ongoing to further enhance the quality of surveys and 
correction factors. In Western Australia, where aerial surveys are only 
accomplished at 3-year intervals, population status in the intervening 
years is assessed from monthly reports of the commercial harvest, the 
intermittent aerial surveys and ground surveys and patrols by 
appropriate staff (WADCLM 1991a and 1991b).
    Harvest quotas are determined on the basis of population 
information, estimates of habitat quality, and the perceived or 
estimated requirements for damage mitigation. Conservation interests 
are considered to drive the establishment of harvest quotas because 
quotas are usually fixed as conservative proportions of the estimated 
populations. Individual States could temporarily set quotas at high 
rates if their stated management goal was to [[Page 12897]] reduce 
statewide or localized kangaroo populations to more sustainable levels.
    Tables 1-9 provide population estimates and data about the 
commercial harvest of kangaroos in Western Australia, South Australia, 
New South Wales, and Queensland. Population estimates, except for South 
Australia, usually include the mean and the standard error, which is a 
measure of the variance around the mean. Population estimates and data 
about the commercial harvest of red and western gray kangaroos from the 
Commercial utilization areas (CUAs) of Western Australia, from 1987-
1993, are listed in Tables 1 and 2. Population data within the CUAs are 
only collected at 3-year intervals in Western Australia so status and 
trend data are weaker than in the other three states. Red kangaroo 
populations were apparently similar in 1987 and 1990 and significantly 
reduced in 1993, and populations of western gray kangaroos seemed 
increased in 1990 and significantly reduced in 1993. Australian 
authorities believe the reduced estimates of kangaroo populations in 
1993 could be sampling anomalies, but this will remain unknown until 
additional population surveys have been conducted. Harvest quotas for 
red and western gray kangaroos in 1994 are each about 15 percent of the 
mean populations estimated in 1993. Because the commercial kill is 
consistently less than the commercial quota, it is expected that the 
1994 harvest will be less than 15 percent of the estimated 1993 
populations in Western Australia.

  Table 1.--Population Estimates and Data About the Commercial Harvest of Red Kangaroos From Western Australia  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Population estimate                                Percent  
                                                    (mean +/-SE) (total     Commercial   Commercial    males in 
                                                        survey area)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987............................................  2,335,900<plus-minus>17                                       
                                                                    7,500      200,000      150,462         58.4
1988............................................                       NA      230,000      216,834         56.8
1989............................................                       NA      290,000      186,042         58.0
1990............................................  2,365,500<plus-minus>16                                       
                                                                    5,600      290,000      224,423         58.6
1991............................................                       NA      290,000      186,749         55.2
1992............................................                       NA      350,000      107,605         50.1
1993............................................  1,362,700<plus-minus>90                                       
                                                                     ,200      350,000      139,833         47.8
1994............................................                       NA      220,000           NA           NA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   Table 2.--Population Estimates and Data About the Commercial Harvest of Western Gray Kangaroos From Western  
                                                    Australia                                                   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Population estimate                                Percent  
                                                    (mean +/-SE) (total     Commercial   Commercial    males in 
                                                        survey area)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987............................................  691,000<plus-minus>167,                                       
                                                                      500       45,000       40,092         55.1
1988............................................                       NA       45,000       29,061         55.2
1989............................................                       NA       45,000       28,355         53.0
1990............................................  1,069,100<plus-minus>14                                       
                                                                    5,600       45,000       36,868         56.8
1991............................................                       NA       45,000       38,043         58.4
1992............................................                       NA       65,000       46,694         57.1
1993............................................  433,500<plus-minus>170,                                       
                                                                      900       65,000       47,070           NA
1994............................................                       NA       60,000           NA           NA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Population estimates and data about the commercial harvest of red 
and western gray kangaroos from the commercial utilization area of 
South Australia, from 1987-1993, are listed in Table 3 and 4. Estimates 
of red kangaroo populations may not differ significantly at least from 
1988-1993, and populations of the western gray kangaroo may be greater 
in 1992 and 1993 than in some of the earlier years. The 1993 commercial 
harvest of red kangaroos totaled 15 percent and that of western gray 
kangaroos totaled about 9 percent of the estimated 1993 populations, 
and the 1994 harvest quota totaled 19 percent and 14 percent, 
respectively, of the 1993 population estimates.

    Table 3.--Population Estimates and Data for the Commercial Harvest of Red Kangaroos From South Australia    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                       Percent  
                                                    Population estimate     Commercial   Commercial    males in 
                                                       (mean +/- SE)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987............................................               \1\963,000      180,000      100,507        \2\NA
1988............................................                1,491,900      146,000      118,232           NA
1989............................................                1,428,500      260,400      124,173           NA
1990............................................                1,950,000      276,300      172,793           NA
1991............................................                1,669,100      408,600      213,628           NA
1992............................................                1,647,400      317,700      219,338           NA
1993............................................                1,483,700      290,400      227,056           55
1994............................................                       NA      286,500           NA          NA 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Population estimates that ANCA has received from South Australia do not include standard errors.             
\2\Information is unavailable about the sex ratios of kangaroos killed in South Australia, except for 1993.     


                                                                                                                
[[Page 12898]]
     Table 4.--Population Estimates and Data for the Commerical Harvest of Western Gray Kangaroos From South    
                                                    Australia                                                   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Commercial                 Percent  
                                                    Population estimate      harvest     Commercial    males in 
                                                       (mean +/- SE)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987............................................               \1\208,000       30,900       14,849        \2\NA
1988............................................                  222,600       31,700       13,778           NA
1989............................................                  253,200       33,000       11,546           NA
1990............................................                  193,900       36,850       18,593           NA
1991............................................                  272,600       31,700       14,533           NA
1992............................................                  358,100       35,500       18,999           NA
1993............................................                  380,800       48,600       32,798           67
1994............................................                       NA       55,600           NA          NA 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Population estimates that ANCA has received from South Australia do not include standard errors.             
\2\Information is unavailable about the sex ratio of kangaroos killed in South Australia, except for 1993.      

  Population estimates and data about the commercial harvest of red, 
western gray, and eastern gray kangaroos from the commercial 
utilization areas of New South Wales, from 1987-1993, are listed in 
Tables 5 to 7. Populations of red kangaroos apparently increased to 
1991 and have diminished since that time, possibly in response to 
locally severe drought conditions. The commercial kill in 1993 was 
about 13 percent of the 1993 population and the 1994 harvest quota is 
about 18 percent of the 1993 population estimate. The pattern of 
population change of western gray kangaroos also suggests a population 
increase to 1991 and a decrease since that time. The 1993 commercial 
kill was about 10 percent of the population estimated in 1993 and the 
1994 commercial quota was set at about 21 percent of the 1993 
population estimate. Populations of the eastern gray kangaroo on the 
Western Plains also increased to 1991 and have apparently diminished 
since that year. The 1993 commercial harvest totaled about 12 percent 
of the 1993 population estimate. The 1994 harvest quota has been set at 
27 percent of the 1993 population estimate.

    Table 5.--Population Estimates and Data for the Commercial Harvest of Red Kangaroos From New South Wales    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Commercial                 Percent  
                                                    Population estimate      harvest     Commercial    males in 
                                                        (mean +/-SE)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1987...........................................  2,777,000<plus-minus>18                                       
                                                                    9,400      313,000      270,467        \1\NA
1988............................................  3,440,000<plus-minus>21                                       
                                                                    7,000      354,000      218,086           NA
1989............................................  4,101,000<plus-minus>32                                       
                                                                    3,200      487,000      297,029           NA
1990............................................  4,499,000<plus-minus>25                                       
                                                                    4,200      626,000      377,155           NA
1991............................................  4,755,000<plus-minus>28                                       
                                                                    9,500      706,000      495,986           NA
1992............................................  3,384,900<plus-minus>29                                       
                                                                    9,300      956,000      412,189           NA
1993............................................  2,759,800<plus-minus>18                                       
                                                                    1,700      598,800      359,820           NA
1994............................................                       NA      483,850           NA          NA 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\NSW does not calculate percent males on a regular basis, as they have found that it varies greatly due to    
  shooter preference--averaging 70% but varying from 50-90%.                                                    


   Table 6.--Population Estimates and Data for the Commerical Harvest of Western Gray Kangaroos From New South  
                                                      Wales                                                     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Commercial                 Percent  
                                                    Population estimate      harvest     Commercial    males in 
                                                        (mean +/-SE)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987............................................  741,500<plus-minus>61,9                                       
                                                                       08       75,000       62,926        \1\NA
1988............................................  616,000<plus-minus>48,5                                       
                                                                       46      105,000       72,786           NA
1989............................................  940,000<plus-minus>78,9                                       
                                                                       52       95,000       67,253           NA
1990............................................  1,296,000<plus-minus>93                                       
                                                                     ,632      152,000       83,708           NA
1991............................................  1,391,700<plus-minus>11                                       
                                                                    8,624      220,000      106,629           NA
1992............................................  1,320,000<plus-minus>10                                       
                                                                    8,966      327,700      117,994           NA
1993............................................  1,250,000<plus-minus>78                                       
                                                                     ,423      307,800      129,378           NA
1994............................................                       NA      268,050           NA          NA 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\NSW does not calculate percent males on a regular basis, as they have found that it varies greatly due to    
  shooter preference--averaging 70% but varying from 50-90%.                                                    


   Table 7.--Population Estimates and Data for the Commercial Harvest of Eastern Gray Kangaroos From New South  
                                                      Wales                                                     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Commercial                 Percent  
                                                    Population estimate      harvest     Commercial    males in 
                                                       (mean +/- SE)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987............................................  1,906,500<plus-minus>15                                       
                                                                    9,192      189,000      140,061        \1\NA
[[Page 12899]]
                                                                                                                
1988............................................  1,442,000<plus-minus>11                                       
                                                                    3,654      271,000      130,335           NA
1989............................................  2,007,000<plus-minus>16                                       
                                                                    8,548      222,000      136,073           NA
1990............................................  2,755,000<plus-minus>19                                       
                                                                    8,968      394,000      170,766           NA
1991............................................  2,957,000<plus-minus>25                                       
                                                                    2,076      584,000      253,791           NA
1992............................................  2,683,000<plus-minus>22                                       
                                                                    1,434      790,300      264,447           NA
1993............................................  2,440,000<plus-minus>15                                       
                                                                    3,077      757,000      284,344           NA
1994............................................                       NA      657,200           NA           NA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\NSW does not calculate percent males on a regular basis, as they have found that it varies greatly due to    
  shooter preference--averaging 70% but varying from 50-90%.                                                    

  Population estimates and data about the commercial harvest of red 
and eastern gray kangaroos from the commercial utilization areas of 
Queensland, from 1987-1993, are listed in Tables 8 and 9. Recent 
population trends are unclear in the data of Table 8 and 9 because two 
different techniques have been used to estimate populations. 
Queensland, from 1984-1992, annually surveyed over 500,000 sq km of 
habitat in the pastoral zone by fixed-wing (FW) aircraft and, since 
1991, has surveyed selected 0.5 by 0.5 degree blocks by helicopters 
(Hel). Surveys from FW aircraft seem to consistently produce low 
estimates of kangaroo populations in woodland habitats, such as the 
190,000 sq km of mulga woodlands in southcentral Queensland. Presumably 
the ``Caughley correction factors'' developed in the sparsely vegetated 
zones of western New South Wales are not adequate multipliers for 
estimating kangaroo populations in the woodland habitats of 
southcentral Queensland. Data in Table 8 suggest that the population of 
red kangaroos may have diminished since 1991, presumably because of 
locally severe drought conditions, and that 1993 populations of eastern 
gray kangaroos may also be diminished from 1991 levels. The commercial 
kill of red kangaroos in 1993 was about 20 percent of the 1993 
population estimate and the commercial quota for 1994 is about 20 
percent of the 1993 population estimate. The 1993 commercial kill of 
eastern gray kangaroos was about 12 percent of the 1993 population 
estimate and the 1994 commercial quota has been set at about 15 percent 
of the 1993 population estimate (Table 9).

       Table 8.--Population Estimates and Data for the Commercial Harvest of Red Kangaroos From Queensland      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Commercial                 Percent  
                                                    Population estimate      harvest     Commercial    males in 
                                                       (mean +/- SE)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987 (FW).......................................  \1\1,476,800<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >102,100      375,000      365,138           75
1988 (FW).......................................  \1\1,758,100<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >145,100      320,000      359,985           77
1989 (FW).......................................  \1\1,538,500<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >121,700      480,000      473,985           66
1990 (FW).......................................  \1\1,817,300<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >176,000      480,000      476,636         67.5
1991 (FW).......................................  \1\1,136,400<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >146,300      480,000      471,643        \2\NA
1991 (Hel)......................................             \3\4,630,000  ...........  ...........  ...........
1992 (FW).......................................  \1\1,328,800<plus-minus                                       
                                                                  >94,468      600,000      570,885         61.5
1992 (Hel)......................................  \4\3,070,000<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >910,000  ...........  ...........  ...........
1993 (Hel)......................................  \5\2,960,000<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >950,000      600,000      595,488         55.5
1994 (Hel)......................................  .......................      600,000  ...........  ...........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Fixed Wing estimates have been corrected using Caughley Correction Factors for Habitat but have not been     
  corrected for temperature.                                                                                    
\2\ANCA does not have this data for 1991.                                                                       
\3\Estimate received from the 1992 Quota application.                                                           
\4\Estimate received from the 1993 Quota application.                                                           
\5\Estimate received from the 1994 Quota application.                                                           


  Table 9.--Population Estimates and Data for the Commercial Harvest of Eastern Gray Kangaroos From Queensland  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Commercial                 Percent  
                                                    Population estimate      harvest     Commercial    males in 
                                                       (mean +/- SE)          quota         kill         kill   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987 (FW).......................................  \1\3,341,200<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >176,700    1,300,000    1,231,889           79
1988 (FW).......................................  \1\2,916,700<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >192,600    1,300,000    1,292,196           79
1989 (FW).......................................  \1\2,598,500<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >172,300    1,500,000    1,143,314           66
1990 (FW).......................................  \1\2,278,300<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >232,000    1,500,000    1,097,890         62.5
1991 (FW).......................................  \1\1,736,900<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >155,600    1,300,000    1,017,086        \2\NA
1991 (Hel)......................................            \3\10,280,000  ...........  ...........  ...........
1992 (FW).......................................  \1\2,782,400<plus-minus                                       
                                                                 >184,700    1,500,000      919,234         62.5
1992 (Hel)......................................  \4\10,310,000<plus-minu                                       
                                                               s3,260,000  ...........  ...........  ...........
1993 (Hel)......................................  \5\8,360,000<plus-minus                                       
                                                               >2,670,000    1,500,000      989,578         58.1
[[Page 12900]]
                                                                                                                
1994............................................  .......................    1,250,000  ...........  ...........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Fixed Wing estimates have been corrected using Caughley Correction Factors for Habitat but have not been     
  corrected for temperature. Caughley correction factors for gray kangaroos are known to give very conservative 
  estimates of total population numbers. They are maintained in the publicly published figures to enable        
  comparisons in population trends with the earlier published data for gray kangaroos until an agreed revised   
  set of correction factors is published for the species.                                                       
\2\ANCA does not have this data for 1991.                                                                       
\3\Estimate received from the 1992 Quota application.                                                           
\4\Estimate received from the 1993 Quota application.                                                           
\5\Estimate received from the 1994 Quota application.                                                           

  The total national commercial quota in 1992 for red and gray 
kangaroos in the commercial utilization areas was 4,942,000, which was 
about 19 percent of the estimated 1992 red and gray kangaroo population 
of 26.2 million (using the estimates developed for Queensland from 1992 
helicopter counts, for New South Wales and South Australia from 1992 FW 
surveys, and for Western Australia from 1990 FW surveys). The 1992 
commercial kill was 2,676,000, which was 54 percent of the commercial 
quota and about 10 percent of the presumed 1992 population estimate. 
The total national commercial quota in 1993 for red and gray kangaroos 
was 4,517,600 which was about 21 percent of the estimated 1993 red and 
gray kangaroo population of 21.4 million in the CUAs (data from 1993 
helicopter counts in Queensland, and 1993 FW counts in South Australia, 
New South Wales, and Western Australia). The 1993 commercial kill was 
2.8 million which was 62 percent of the 1993 commercial quota and 13 
percent of the 1993 population estimate. The 1994 national commercial 
quota is set at 3.88 million, which is about 18 percent of the 1993 
population estimate. An additional 153,000 red and gray kangaroos were 
reported killed during 1993 for damage mitigation purposes outside the 
commercial harvest quotas. This damage mitigation kill was an unknown 
small percent of the continental population of red and gray kangaroos 
(153,000 equals about 0.7 percent of the 1993 presumed population of 
red and gray kangaroos within the CUAs which comprise a fraction of the 
continental land area).
    Queensland has received criticism in past years for its harvest 
management system. That system has been substantially modified in 
recent years (QNPWS 1992). Queensland now establishes its kangaroo 
harvest quota in the following manner. Survey data from aerial and 
ground surveys are utilized to provide population estimates. A 
conservative possible harvest quota is formulated from this mid-winter 
survey information. This statewide potential quota for the state, by 
management areas, is reviewed by the Area Director, Regional Director, 
and the Manager-Wildlife Management, Queensland. The potential quota is 
then passed before the Macropod Management Committee (a State 
Ministerial committee) to receive public input from the rural 
community, pastoralists, graziers, shooters, dealers, the Department of 
Primary Industries, conservation groups, and politicians whose 
constituents are impacted by kangaroos. The committee advises on the 
acceptability of the proposed quota and may make recommendations about 
the quota. The proposed quota and the comments are passed to the 
Queensland Minister, who determines the final quota to be submitted to 
the Commonwealth for approval. Commonwealth approval may be gained 
after the proposal has been reviewed by ANCA and the Commonwealth 
Minister's Scientific Advisory Committee on Kangaroos.
    The CUA in South Australia occurs on about 282,000 sq km of 
pastoral landscape, which comprises about 28 percent of the State's 
land area. The harvest quota in South Australia is based on the winter 
aerial survey of the CUA and is developed for each of 10 kangaroo 
management zones within the CUA. The commercial quota is set as a best 
estimate of the maximum number of each species that may need to be 
killed to contain deleterious effects on stock, crops, or property 
without jeopardizing the viability of kangaroo populations (SANPWS 
1991). The proposed quota has to be approved by the appropriate South 
Australian Minister before its submission to the Commonwealth. The 
Commonwealth Minister subjects the proposed quota to review by ANCA and 
the Minister's Scientific Advisory Committee on Kangaroos before any 
implementation of the kangaroo management program can occur.
    The CUA covers the western two-thirds of New South Wales. The 
harvest quota in the State is based on population estimates from the 
most recent annual surveys, recent trends in population numbers and 
distribution, harvest monitoring data, information about nonharvest 
mortality and noncommercial harvest mortality, climatic conditions over 
at least the past year, current land use, the proportion of the 
population not subject to damage mitigation culling, and the demand for 
agricultural damage mitigation culling (NSWNPWS 1991a). The proposed 
quota is subject to peer review by the NSW Kangaroo Management Review 
Committee and must be approved by the appropriate New South Wales 
Minister before its submission to the Commonwealth. The quota must be 
approved by the Commonwealth Minister, after its review by ANCA and the 
Minister's Scientific Advisory Committee on Kangaroos, before the 
harvest program can be implemented.
    The CUA may total about one-half of Western Australia. Parks, 
reserves, and State forest lands occupied by and providing protective 
status to western gray and/or red kangaroos may total 100,000 sq km 
within this vast state. The harvest quota in Western Australia is 
conservatively established on the basis of current population trends, 
seasonal conditions, the review of previous annual harvests, the 
proportion of the habitat and population not subject to harvesting, 
current land use practices, and the significance of the take outside 
the commercial quota (WADCLM 1991a and 1991b). The proposed quota is 
subject to peer review by the Kangaroo Management Advisory Committee 
and must be approved by the appropriate Western Australian Minister 
before being forwarded to the Commonwealth Government. The Commonwealth 
Minister (after review by ANCA and the Minister's Scientific 
[[Page 12901]] Advisory Committee on Kangaroos) must approve the quota 
before the harvest program can be implemented.
    Individual states have the capability to monitor their kangaroo 
harvest. For example, Queensland has recently established a Macropod 
Management System that is a new and large computerized database 
containing information about shooters' records, dealers' records, 
location of kill, date of kill, sex and species of kill, etc. The 
capability to track harvest information helps managers assess whether 
populations are being overharvested. A computerized database in Western 
Australia, built on harvest data, allows for the analysis of total 
commercial take by management area, trends in the sex ratio of the 
commercial take, trends in the average weight of kangaroos in the 
commercial take, and trends in the commercial take per unit effort 
(WADCLM 1991a and 1991b). South Australia is collecting, but not yet 
utilizing in its kangaroo management program, monitoring data about 
catch per unit of effort, sex ratio of the kill, and average weight of 
carcass by sex for each species (SANPWS 1991). New South Wales obtains 
specific information from trappers, chillers, and faunal dealers to 
determine catch per unit effort, average carcass weight by sex per 
species, sex ratios of kill, and the distribution of the harvest. This 
information is available by management zone and on a statewide basis 
(NSWNPWS 1991a).
    The monitoring and assessment of population trends and harvest 
returns as specified in the approved kangaroo management programs are 
intended to ensure the conservation of the species.
    The State and Commonwealth governments have the capability to 
police and regulate the commercial take of kangaroos. State governments 
control illegal trade in kangaroos through regular and random field 
inspections of shooter and dealer operations and checks on the returns 
required from them. Law enforcement staff may also respond to public 
reports of illegal activities. The primary focus in law enforcement 
activities at the State or Territory level is to detect illegal trade 
long before material may be proposed for export. This is feasible 
because of the relatively small number of people involved in the 
commercial kangaroo industry and the difficulties involved in obtaining 
and dealing in large quantities of kangaroo meat or skins in a 
secretive manner. There is also little incentive to become involved in 
illegal activities when quotas are not being reached (on average only 
about 70 percent of the total quotas have been taken in recent years) 
(ANPWS in litt.).
    The Commonwealth capability to control illegal trade rests 
primarily with Customs officers and the Australian Federal Police. 
Checks on permitted exports of kangaroo products by Customs officers 
usually are restricted to the inspection of paperwork associated with 
the export. Customs officers will conduct more detailed inspections and 
enforcement activities where intelligence indicates that illegal 
activities may be occurring (ANPWS in litt.). The Wildlife Protection 
Squad formed within the ANPWS in 1992 is intended to coordinate 
enquiries/investigations into allegations of illegal trade in wildlife.
    Annual surveys are useful indicators of the comparative health of 
kangaroo populations over time. Drought is the major natural event that 
influences the numbers of red and gray kangaroos throughout the CUAs. 
Annual surveys in New South Wales have been conducted for a sufficient 
time to indicate the influence of drought on populations. Combined 
populations of red and gray kangaroos in the CUAs of New South Wales 
from 1981-1993 (with numbers of animals commercially harvested listed 
in parentheses) are estimated as follows (population numbers are in 
millions of animals): 1981=7.05(0.49), 1982=9.40(0.66), 
1983=5.50(0.40), 1984=2.74(0.23), 1985=4.16(0.33), 1986=4.66(0.45), 
1987=5.43(0.47), 1988=5.50(0.42), 1989=7.05(0.50), 1990=8.55(0.63), 
1991=9.10(0.86), 1992=7.39(0.79), and 1993=6.45(0.77). The data, 
unfortunately, provide an imperfect comparison because both census 
procedures and evaluation areas changed somewhat during the evaluation 
period. The trend seems clear, however: a population buildup to 1982, a 
major population reduction measured in 1983 and 1984 in response to the 
severe drought in summer 1982-1984, a gradual population recovery to 
1991, with populations again declining in 1992 and 1993 as the sheep 
range of New South Wales was again impacted by a severe drought in 
1991-2. The commercial harvest (numerically identified in the 
parentheses, above) is managed as a product of current kangaroo 
populations, which seem ultimately to be driven by current or recent 
rainfall conditions. Similar trends may exist for the other states, as 
well, but the data bases are not as complete or as extensive as those 
of New South Wales. For example, the data base in Queensland reflects 
the original use of FW aircraft and more recent use of helicopters in 
aerial survey efforts, and aerial surveys have been conducted only at 
3-year intervals in Western Australia.
    Nevertheless, population information for 1981, 1984, and 1987 
(Fletcher, M. et al., 1990) clearly indicates that kangaroo populations 
subject to harvesting can recover from significant droughts such as 
occurred in Eastern Australia in 1982-1984.
    The major problem in the sheep range is too little herbage and too 
many herbivores. Efforts to implement a total grazing management policy 
call for the elimination of feral herbivores and introduced rabbits 
coupled with reductions in numbers of either sheep and kangaroos, or 
both.
    Skill is required to manage animal populations that tend to respond 
to fluctuating environmental conditions. For example, New South Wales 
managed its kangaroo harvest during the drought by monitoring the 
progression of the drought and transferring harvest quotas from 
northern management zones where the drought was impacting habitats to 
more southerly management zones where drought effects were minimal and 
kangaroo populations were little affected. New South Wales did not 
reduce the notional quota for the second half of 1992 because the mid-
winter 1992 surveys indicated that kangaroo populations remained high. 
However, New South Wales did hold back and did not allocate 15 percent 
of the potential harvest quota in case extensive habitat deterioration 
occurred after the mid-winter surveys were accomplished.
    The Service finds that State and Commonwealth governments manage 
kangaroo populations sufficiently well to ensure that red and gray 
kangaroo populations are not being overutilized in mainland Australia 
at this time.

C. Disease or Predation

    There is no evidence that kangaroos at this time are threatened by 
disease or predation. Predation by dingos may have been an important 
limiting factor before the arrival of Europeans. Dingo predation has 
been severely curtailed to enhance sheep husbandry, and kangaroos have 
incidentally benefitted from this action. Mortality of red and gray 
kangaroos, believed caused by an unidentified post-flood agent, was 
observed in southwestern Queensland following the April 1990 floods. 
The impact was short-term (ANPWS 1990), however, as regenerating 
vegetation stimulated increases in subsequent kangaroo populations. 
[[Page 12902]] 

D. The Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms

    Red and gray kangaroos have protected status in all parts of their 
respective distributional ranges throughout Australia under relevant 
State or Territory legislation. The responsibility for wildlife 
conservation rests with individual State or Territorial governments 
through their faunal conservation authorities (ANPWS 1991). The 
decision to provide for a commercial harvesting industry is determined 
by State or Territory government policy and legislation. The 
Commonwealth has no power in law to influence how States and 
Territories manage red and gray kangaroos except for those populations 
subject to export or international agreements. The Commonwealth would 
be powerless, for example, to directly intervene should any individual 
State or Territory, with no export program, develop or operate an 
intrastate program that was counter to the Commonwealth views of 
conservation and management. The ANCA, however, is aware of the level 
of protection provided in mainland States and Territories that do not 
seek to export kangaroo products, and the Commonwealth is satisfied 
that management in those mainland States and Territories (Victoria, 
Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory) is in significant 
agreement with Commonwealth standards of conservation and management 
(ANPWS in litt.).
    The management of kangaroos in New South Wales, Queensland, South 
Australia, and Western Australia is based on legal protection and 
regulations controlling the harvest of kangaroos. Each of these four 
States has a kangaroo management program that includes provisions for 
the establishment of harvest quotas and for the reduction of harvests, 
if necessary, and each State has the responsibility to implement the 
provisions of its individual kangaroo management programs. The largest 
populations of red and gray kangaroos occur in the four States, and the 
Commonwealth Government does have a mechanism to enhance the protection 
of those populations. That mechanism exists through the Wildlife 
Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act of 1982 (WP(REI)A). 
The WP(REI)A consolidated wildlife controls into a single act so the 
Commonwealth could more effectively implement the objectives of CITES. 
Commercial trade is permitted only if it has been conclusively 
established that the native species will not become threatened because 
of the inadequate control of exports or through the import of some non-
native species. The Commonwealth Minister for the Arts, Sport, the 
Environment and Territories can approve or disapprove of proposed 
management programs for individual species after having been advised of 
their merit by the ANCA and the Minister's Scientific Advisory 
Committee on Kangaroos. State governments in Western Australia, South 
Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland have each developed kangaroo 
management plans that have been approved by the Commonwealth so that an 
export trade in kangaroo products is allowed from each of those States. 
The kangaroo management plan for each State has a monitoring provision 
for both population trends and harvest returns to ensure that 
conservation of the species is the foremost objective.
    An approved kangaroo management program indicates that kangaroo 
products for export must be from kangaroos taken in a specified and 
approved manner. An approved kangaroo management program must contain 
sufficient biological information so it can be evaluated. There also 
needs to be ample proof that the biological information has been 
considered in developing the program, and discussions must have 
occurred between the State and Commonwealth governments so the 
management programs attain acceptable standards. The management program 
must ensure that taking in the wild will not be detrimental to the 
survival of the species, will be carried out at minimal risk to the 
continuing role of that species in the ecosystem, will occur in a 
humane manner, and that adequate periodic monitoring and assessment of 
the effects of the taking of specimens will occur to ensure the long-
term survival of the species.
    The kangaroo management programs are generally based on multiple-
use tenets and are designed to ensure the continued survival of 
kangaroos throughout their range. The programs assume that kangaroos 
are successful native herbivores whose numbers frequently need to be 
controlled. The programs are based on population monitoring and use a 
licensing system to control the legal harvesting of animals. The 
individual States have the responsibility to ensure that the harvesting 
of kangaroos does not significantly affect the distribution and 
abundance of the species.
    The general objectives of the kangaroo management programs are to 
(1) maintain viable populations of kangaroos throughout their natural 
range, (2) minimize the effects of kangaroos on pastoral and 
agricultural development, (3) maintain populations of kangaroos at 
levels that will not produce long-term adverse impacts to habitat, and 
(4) manage the species as a renewable resource. Implementation to 
achieve objectives includes enabling legislation and an administering 
organization with sufficient funding to accomplish appropriate 
research, management, and monitoring activities.
    The New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service controls 
the harvest of kangaroos through the National Parks and Wildlife Act 
1974. All kangaroos entering commercial trade must be legally taken in 
accordance with this Act, and it is an offense to kill kangaroos or 
have them in possession without an appropriate license. Landholders 
have to approach the NSWNPWS for a permit to kill kangaroos on their 
property, and tags are issued if the killing is found to be warranted. 
Shooters, commercial dealers, and tannery operators are each licensed 
so controls exist at several levels of the commercial harvest. The 
total allowable commercial harvest occurs within the framework of the 
commercial quota. The development of the quota has been described in a 
general manner under factor B above.
    The legislation protecting and conserving nature in Queensland is 
the Faunal Conservation Act 1974, which has been replaced by the Nature 
Conservation Act 1992. The new Queensland Act has been implemented for 
kangaroos, replacing the existing legislation. The Nature Conservation 
Act 1992 creates classes of protected areas; designates classes of 
wildlife; and provides for development of conservation plans to 
protect, use, and manage protected areas, critical habitats, and 
classes of wildlife. The Queensland kangaroo management program 
describes how the activities of shooters and dealers are regulated, how 
the size and/or composition of the population is to be monitored, the 
harvest regulations and checks to prevent illegal harvest or over-
harvest, and other measures to ensure the conservation of the species. 
The approval of Queensland's kangaroo management program by the 
Commonwealth Government indicates an assurance that commercialism will 
not threaten the survival of kangaroo populations throughout their 
range.
    Kangaroos and all native fauna in South Australia are protected 
under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. A permit is required to 
take any animal for damage mitigation purposes and any kangaroo that 
enters the commercial [[Page 12903]] trade must be tagged with a 
species-specific tag. Quotas are developed after the direct monitoring 
of populations on an annual basis, and individual properties may be 
monitored through ground surveys and property inspections before 
receiving a quota. Quotas are released in stages so management can 
respond to changes in climatic conditions. Kangaroo shooters are 
licensed to shoot on individual properties.
    The Department of Conservation and Land Management has the 
responsibility for the conservation and protection of all flora and 
fauna under the Western Australia Conservation and Land Management Act 
of 1984. The Department has authority under the Wildlife Conservation 
Act 1950 and associated regulations to control the killing of red and 
gray kangaroos. Landowners and their agents may take kangaroos non-
commercially for damage mitigation purposes in open-season areas. 
Kangaroos can only be taken under a damage license specifically issued 
to particular properties in non-open-season areas. The harvest is 
monitored by using species-specific tags and by monitoring monthly 
reports from licensed shooters and dealers. Population trends are 
monitored on a triennial basis because of the State's vast area and 
because kangaroo densities are frequently low.
    Critics of the kangaroo management program in Australia cite the 
incongruity of legislation granting a measure of protection to the 
species and the presence of a commercial industry that is responsible 
for the harvest of several million kangaroos per year. Critics also 
state that few studies substantiate claims that kangaroos are major 
depredators of range and agricultural crops, so that arguments that 
kangaroos are harvested to reduce damage especially to range products 
are specious, especially when sheep numbers remain too high for fragile 
ranges. The Service believes that any perceived incongruity in domestic 
laws needs to be resolved domestically and is not a reason for an ESA 
listing decision. It is additionally not necessary for the Service to 
address the argument that the commercial killing of kangaroos is solely 
for damage mitigation purposes to make a decision on a listing status. 
Kangaroos incidentally prosper at this time because of land management 
accomplished for other purposes. Active kangaroo management essentially 
only regulates kind and level of take so that overutilization does not 
occur and so that sustainable populations are maintained throughout 
their range. Regulatory mechanisms in place are adequate to perform 
this function.

E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting Its Continued Existence

    Kangaroo populations fluctuate in response to environmental and 
climatic conditions. Appropriate wildlife management agencies routinely 
evaluate kangaroo populations over a wide area and monitor current 
harvest statistics to track population trends. This activity is 
intended to provide a sufficient understanding so that harvest 
activities, can be slowed or terminated if that becomes necessary. This 
may be appropriate, especially during drought, when kangaroo 
populations may become reduced and are most vulnerable to population 
control activities.
    There is great concern among critics that management programs both 
for individual States and the Commonwealth are insensitive to the 
plight of kangaroos during environmental stress periods as during the 
1982-1984 drought. The perceived insensitivity at that time was an 
apparent inability or unwillingness to reduce the commercial harvest of 
kangaroos in what critics considered a timely manner during an 
environmental stress period. The critics argue that demands from the 
pastoral industry and the commercial kangaroo industry superseded 
important kangaroo management decisions. The present concern with 
insensitivity occurred because some important kangaroo habitats 
experienced droughts during 1992 at a time when a record macropod 
harvest quota of 5.2 million animals (including 4,942,000 red and gray 
kangaroos) was established. The Commonwealth indicates (ANPWS in litt.) 
that the determination of quotas during a dry period as during a normal 
period is on the basis of estimated kangaroo populations.
    Droughts are quite variable in their duration and distribution and 
kangaroo populations do not automatically decline in response to dry 
seasonal conditions. The 1983 harvest quotas were set at high levels 
because kangaroo populations measured during the June-August 1982 
winter period were still high. The actual harvest during 1983 was 
considerably less than the actual quota and the quotas in 1984 and 1985 
were maintained below 2 million animals as populations recovered.
    Kangaroo populations have risen across Australia since that time 
and quotas have correspondingly increased. For example, the 1991 mid-
winter kangaroo population in New South Wales was estimated at 9.1 
million and the 1992 harvest quota in NSW was fixed at 2.1 million (23 
percent of the 1991 population estimate). The mid-winter 1992 kangaroo 
population in NSW (obtained while the 1992 drought was still ongoing) 
was estimated at 8.04 million and a 1993 harvest quota of 1.66 million 
(21 percent of the 1992 population estimate) was established. The 1992 
mid-winter survey indicated that statewide the populations of red 
kangaroos were diminished by about 40 percent (a statistically 
significant reduction, P< 0.05) and gray kangaroo populations were 
diminished about 8 percent (a statistically non-significant reduction). 
The 1992 mid-winter survey also indicated that kangaroo populations in 
central and southern management zones were little-changed from 1991 
levels. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, in mid-year, 
consequently switched some harvest quotas from northern to more 
southerly harvest management zones. The NSWNPWS also determined in mid-
year that 15 percent of the 1992 harvest quota would be held back and 
not allocated during 1992. The NSW commercial kangaroo harvest during 
1992, when a portion of the state was involved in a drought event, 
totalled about 800,000 kangaroos during a year when the potential 
harvest quota totalled 2.1 million. The kangaroo harvest strategy was 
thus to actively adapt and modify management plans as a dry season 
developed into a drought.
    States have additional regulatory mechanisms to reduce actual 
harvest to levels below the commercial quota. Licenses to take animals 
may be amended to restrict the numbers taken in a particular area, to 
limit harvesting to certain species, or to cease hunting altogether. 
Thus, management may progressively restrict and then cease all 
harvesting of kangaroos in response to declining populations. Following 
the 1982-83 drought in New South Wales, a moratorium on harvesting was 
applied to some of the worst affected areas to enable populations to 
recover. Should a severe drought occur during the 1990's, States can be 
expected to respond in an appropriate manner to changes in the kangaroo 
populations. The ultimate assurance that conservation of the species 
will be given primary consideration is the approval and review of 
ongoing operations of State management programs by the Commonwealth 
Government (ANPWS in litt.).
    Control over the methods used to kill kangaroos rests with State 
and Territory management personnel and is determined by relevant State 
and Territory legislation. Thus, new harvest 
[[Page 12904]] technologies that could threaten kangaroo populations 
can not be introduced without governmental approval.
Summary of Findings

    The Service finds that extensive kangaroo habitats remain in 
mainland Australia, that management for pastoral industries may favor 
kangaroo production, and that an extensive series of National Parks and 
Reserves have been established (some of which are important to 
kangaroos). The Service also finds that adequate kangaroo management 
plans have been developed and implemented. The application of these 
management plans has demonstrated their effectiveness in both drought 
and non-drought conditions. Kangaroo populations are systematically and 
periodically assessed, and population data, environmental conditions, 
and public consultation inputs are weighed in the development of 
harvest quotas. The harvest operation is found to be a licensed action 
that occurs on individual properties at the request and permission of 
landholders. Authorities within the States and the Commonwealth 
government have the responsibilities and capabilities to monitor the 
harvest so that overutilization will not threaten the substantial 
kangaroo populations existing within individual States. Disease and/or 
predation do not threaten these kangaroos species. The management of 
kangaroos in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western 
Australia is based on legal protection and regulations controlling the 
kangaroo harvest. The Commonwealth has the capability to approve, 
disapprove or require modification of kangaroo management programs from 
those States wishing to export kangaroo products so a consistency in 
planning and implementing management actions occurs within mainland 
Australia. The States have the responsibility to regulate all aspects 
of the kangaroo harvest, to provide adequate law enforcement, to 
conduct appropriate management and research, to monitor populations 
especially during drought events, and the States have the ability to 
modify harvests if environmental or other variables unexpectedly impact 
kangaroo populations. It is the present sufficiency in kangaroo 
management in mainland Australia that causes the Service to find that 
the action to delist the three species of kangaroos is warranted.
    The Service's regulations at 50 CFR 424.11(d) allow a species to be 
delisted by reason of extinction, recovery, or because the original 
listing data were in error. The Service, with this action, delists 
these three species of kangaroos on the basis of their successful 
recovery because the best scientific and commercial information 
available indicates the species are now not likely to become an 
endangered species in the foreseeable future throughout all or a 
significant part of its range.
    The Service, with this notice, also dismisses on procedural 
grounds, the December 20, 1989, petition filed by Greenpeace USA. The 
Service has no mechanism to reimpose an import ban on these non-
endangered, non-threatened species from mainland Australia.

The Monitoring of Recovered Kangaroo Species

    Requirements of the Act for the monitoring of recovered species 
also apply to foreign species. Those requirements include the 
implementation of a monitoring program to ensure that the species 
continues to fare well after delisting occurs. The Service is primarily 
dependent on input from the Commonwealth Government in the monitoring 
of these recovered species.
    Monitoring plans frequently address population parameters, the 
distribution and well-being of the species, the condition of important 
habitats for the species, and any new threats identified as relevant to 
the species. The monitoring plan for the three kangaroos requires that 
the Commonwealth Government provide an annual report to the Service for 
each of 5 years. The first annual report is due March 1996. The 
monitoring plan is listed below. All information provided by the 
Commonwealth Government will be available for public review. The 
Service, on January 27, 1994, received a monitoring report which 
indicated results of the 1993 population surveys, and received 
additional monitoring information on May 30, 1994. The following 
presentation lists the monitoring question posed to the Commonwealth 
Government and the 1994 information on each monitoring question.
    1. Provide the most current population estimates for each species 
within each harvest State using best technologies currently available, 
and describe the current harvest quotas established for the calendar 
year following those population estimates.
    The 1993 population data for the three species, the commercial kill 
that was reported in 1993, and the planned harvest quota for 1994 are 
listed for each species in each state in Tables 1-9. There were no 
changes in the procedures used to monitor kangaroo numbers in New South 
Wales and South Australia in 1993. Nine monitoring blocks were 
identified for ongoing annual helicopter surveys in Queensland. The 
blocks will form the basis for future population trend analyses. The 
1993 aerial survey in Western Australia followed in a general manner 
the standard survey methodology used in the 1987 and 1990 surveys. 
About 18 percent fewer degree blocks were surveyed in Western Australia 
in 1993 compared to 1990. Some consideration is being given to 
developing a systematic survey plan for conducting some type of annual 
survey in the commercial utilization area of Western Australia. 
Queensland continues to strive to standardize a systematic survey 
procedure utilizing helicopters.
    2. Provide details of commercial and non-commercial mortalities, 
using best technologies currently available. The summary for a calendar 
year is due in March of the subsequent year. The time lapse is to 
ensure that summaries will provide data for the entire calendar year.
    The extent of the commercial and non-commercial kill in 1993, is 
summarized in Table 10 (data about the non-commercial kill is not 
available for Western Australia).

          Table 10.--Commercial and Non-Commercial Kill in 1993         
------------------------------------------------------------------------
   State/province          Species              Type             Kill   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NSW................  Red kangaroos.....  Commercial........      359,820
                                         Non-commercial....       10,689
                     Eastern grays.....  Commercial........      284,344
                                         Non-commercial....       85,696
                     Western grays.....  Commercial........      129,378
                                         Non-commercial....        6,015
[[Page 12905]]
                                                                        
WA.................  Red kangaroos.....  Commercial........      139,833
                     Western grays.....  Commercial........       47,077
SA.................  Red kangaroos.....  Commercial........      227,056
                                         Non-commercial....        1,618
                     Western grays.....  Commercial........       32,798
                                         Non-commercial....        6,938
Qld................  Red kangaroos.....  Commercial........      595,488
                                         Non-commercial....        8,915
                     Eastern grays.....  Commercial........      989,578
                                         Non-commercial....       33,508
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  3. Describe any change in population or harvest estimation 
technologies, including, where appropriate, how the Commonwealth's 
Review Committee would deal with estimates using new technologies 
resulting in significantly higher standard errors. Such a discussion 
might include what sampling changes will be instituted to acceptably 
reduce the standard error, or what ``alpha'' level will be used to test 
for change in population or harvest, or how harvest quotas have been 
more conservatively set, or what programs would be instituted to relate 
estimates from new technologies to estimates using previous 
technologies.
    This point was not included in the proposed rule, and no 
information was requested or provided in 1994.
    4. Describe distribution of the species, using best technologies 
currently available. The intent of this provision is to note any 
significant change in the distribution of a species within a State with 
suggested explanations of causes of change.
    No perceived changes in the distribution of the three kangaroo 
species exist for New South Wales, Western Australia, or Queensland. 
The distribution of western gray kangaroos in South Australia may now 
extend northward to approximately 31 degrees of latitude south. 
Otherwise, there are no perceived changes in the distribution of the 
species.
    5. Describe the extent of lands set-aside for parks and reserves 
that provide protected and useful habitats for kangaroos.
    Minor extensions were made to Parks and Reserves in New South Wales 
during 1993. Queensland added 6,974 sq km to its National Park System 
in 1993 and these lands provide protective and useful habitats for 
kangaroos. Western Australia added 3,394 sq km to its system of Nature 
Reserves, National Parks and Conservation Parks. Additional arid and 
semi-arid lands have also been added to the Park system in South 
Australia and some of these lands are suitable but marginal kangaroo 
habitats.
    6. Describe changes in regulatory programs that impact the well-
being of the species.
    The basic regulatory programs remained unchanged in 1993 in New 
South Wales, Western Australia, and South Australia. The Nature 
Conservation Act 1992 has been implemented for kangaroos in Queensland, 
and replaces the Faunal Conservation Act 1974, National Parks and 
Wildlife Act 1975, and Native Plants Protection Act 1930. The 1992 Act 
provides for the protection of native wildlife and their habitats. A 
fundamental principle of the legislation requires that the use of 
protected wildlife must be ecologically sustainable. A draft ``Macropod 
Harvesting Conservation Plan 1994'' was released for public comment in 
December 1993. The new legislation provides for a comprehensive 
approach to the conservation of protected areas and wildlife and will 
enhance the conservation of all protected areas and species in 
Queensland.
    7. Describe new threats to the species.
    No new threats to the kangaroo species were identified during 1993.
    8. Describe progress towards the successful implementation of any 
Total Grazing Management Policy (TGMP) that strives to balance the 
forage demands of all herbivore consumers with available range 
resources to enhance the conservation of range ecosystems.
    In New South Wales, the concept of Total Grazing Management is 
being marketed through Landcare Groups, Rural Organizations, and a 
Commonwealth/State Rural Lands Reconstruction Program. The Department 
of Agriculture and the Department of Conservation and Land Management 
in Western Australia are cooperating on programs for rangeland 
conservation which emphasize the limitation of grazing pressures by 
commercial herbivores. In South Australia, the Pastoral Land 
Conservation and Management Act 1990 provides an attempt to enhance the 
conservation of range ecosystems. The major emphasis, at this time, is 
on the monitoring of vegetation conditions, modifying sheep and cattle 
stocking rates on the basis of current land condition, and the control 
of feral animals to enhance land condition. The Commonwealth 
Government, in association with State and Territory Governments has 
initiated the development of a National Rangelands Strategy, which 
among other things is intended to address the issue of managing total 
grazing pressure.
    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the responsibility to 
annually review the monitoring reports, to assess the continued 
recovery of the species, and to conduct any other reviews it believes 
may be warranted. The Service can additionally invoke emergency listing 
procedures at any time in response to a significant threat to the well 
being of any of the three species. Three alternatives exist after the 
5-year monitoring program has been concluded. They are: (1) If the 
species no longer meet the 5-factor test for recovery then they should 
be relisted using the emergency listing procedures; (2) if the species 
continue to fare well but threats are increasing, then the monitoring 
efforts should continue; and (3) if the species continue to fare well, 
threats are not increasing, and the 5-factor test is still met, then 
the monitoring effort can be discontinued.

Effects of This Final Rule

    A special regulation was published in 1974 regarding the red, 
eastern gray, and western gray kangaroos that were listed as Threatened 
in 1974. The regulation made it unlawful to import these species, or 
their parts or products, into the United States for commercial purposes 
until the Australian States could assure the United States that they 
had effective management plans for the kangaroos, and that taking would 
not be detrimental to the survival of kangaroos. [[Page 12906]] As 
threatened species, individuals could be imported into the United 
States, with suitable permits, for scientific purposes, enhancement of 
propagation or survival of the species, educational purposes, 
zoological exhibition, or special purposes consistent with the purposes 
of the Act. On April 29, 1981, the Australian States met the conditions 
for satisfactory management, and a special regulation was published in 
the Federal Register (46 FR 3938) that made it lawful to import the 
three species of kangaroos for commercial purposes provided the 
products were tagged or otherwise identified as removed from the wild 
in accordance with the management plans of the Australian States. The 
Service published a final rule on August 1, 1983 (48 FR 34757) 
permitting the commercial importation of kangaroos to continue.
    The current action removes the mainland populations of these three 
kangaroo species from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. 
The effect of this delisting action will be negligible because the 
restrictions associated with the Threatened classification have already 
been largely relieved by the Special Rule at 50 CFR 17.40 (a). The 
eastern gray kangaroo (Macropus giganteus, all subspecies except 
tasmaniensis), the red kangaroo (M. rufus), and the western gray 
kangaroo (M. fuliginosus) are removed from the list of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife as codified in 50 CFR 17.11, with the publication 
of this final rule. Consequently, none of the restrictions, 
regulations, or prohibitions of the U.S. Endangered Species Act will 
apply to these three species in mainland Australia, as is presently the 
case.
    The subspecies M. g. tasmaniensis is retained on the list of 
endangered species in Sec. 17.11. No assessment of this subspecies or 
of kangaroo management in Tasmania was undertaken in this evaluation.
    The special rule in 50 CFR 17.40 (a)(1)(i)(B) which allowed the 
import of eastern gray, red, and western gray kangaroos, including 
parts and products of such wildlife which have been tagged or otherwise 
identified as removed from the wild, in accordance with the management 
plans of Australian States, into the United States without permits for 
individual shipments, otherwise required by 50 CFR part 17(a), is 
hereby rescinded. M. g. tasmaniensis is restricted to Tasmania, and 
Tasmania has not prepared a kangaroo management plan for this 
subspecies so the Commonwealth Government has not allowed any export of 
M. g. tasmaniensis or their parts and products. The rescinding of 
Sec. 17.40 (a) will therefore not be relevant to this non-traded but 
endangered subspecies.

National Environmental Policy Act

    The Service has determined that an Environmental Assessment, as 
defined under the authority of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, need not be prepared in connection with regulations adopted 
pursuant to section 4(a) of the Endangered Species Act, as amended. A 
notice outlining the Service's reasons for this determination was 
published in the Federal Register of October 25, 1983 (48 FR 49244).

References Cited

ANPWS. 1990. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service response 
to the report ``Review of kangaroo management March 1990.'' Aust. 
Nat. Parks Wildl. Serv., Canberra. 28pp.
ANPWS. 1991a. Australian National Parks Wildlife Service reply to 
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's concerns raised in its 
Federal Register notice (vol. 58, no. 113) with regard to the 
management plans of three harvested kangaroo species (Macropus 
rufus, M. fuliginosus and M. giganteus). Aust. Nat. Parks Wildl. 
Serv., Canberra, 13pp.
ANPWS. 1991b. Overview of background information for kangaroo 
management in Australia. Draft document. Wildl. Monitoring Unit, 
Aust. Nat. Parks Wildl. Serv., Canberra. 92pp.
Arnold, G. 1990. Can kangaroos survive in the wheatbelt? Western 
Australia Jour. of Agric. 31: 14-17.
Caughley, G., N. Shepherd, and J. Short. 1987. Kangaroos: their 
ecology and management in the sheep rangelands of Australia. 
Cambridge Univ. Press, Melbourne. xiv + 253pp.
Fletcher, M., C.J. Southwell, N.W. Sheppard, G. Caughley, D. Grice, 
G.C. Griggs, and L.A. Beard. 1990. Kangaroo Population Trends in the 
Australian Rangelands, 1980-87. Search 21 (1):28-29.
Kennedy, M. 1992. Australasian Marsupials and Monotremes: An action 
plan for their survival. IUCN/SSC Australasian Marsupial and 
Monotreme Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, vii + 103pp.
Nichols, J.D., S.R. Singer, and J.S. Smith. 1990. Review of kangaroo 
management, Australia, March 1990. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service., 
unpubl. report. v + 71pp + Appendices.
NSWNPWS. 1991a. The New South Wales kangaroo management programme. 
New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service., Sydney. 17pp.
NSWNPWS. 1991b. Proposed kangaroo quotas for 1992 for New South 
Wales. New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service., Sydney. 
24pp.
QNPWS. 1992. 1992-1994 management program for the commercially taken 
macropds in Queensland. Queensland National Parks and Wildlife 
Service., Brisbane. 13pp + Appendices.
SANPWS. 1991. The kangaroo conservation and management program in 
South Australia. Part A. Management of the large kangaroos. South 
Australia National Parks and Wildlife Service., Adelaide. 14pp + 13 
Figs.
WADCLM. 1991a. Management program for the western grey kangaroo in 
Western Australia 1992-1994. Western Australia Department 
Conservation and Land Management, Perth. 11pp + 2 Figs. + App. A.
WADCLM. 1991b. Management program for the red kangaroo in Western 
Australia 1992-1994. Western Australia Department Conservation and 
Land Management, Perth. 11pp + 2 Figs. + App A.

Author

    Dr. Henry L. Short, Office of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Washington, DC 20240 (703-358-1708).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

Regulation Promulgation

    Accordingly, part 17, subpart B of chapter I, title 50 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations, is amended as set forth below:

PART 17--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C. 
4201-4245; Pub. L. 99-625, 100 Stat. 3500; unless otherwise noted.

Sec. 17.11  [Amended]

    2. Section 17.11(h) is amended by removing the three entries for 
the ``Kangaroo, eastern gray'', ``Kangaroo, red'', and ``Kangaroo, 
western gray'' under the section ``Mammals'' from the List of 
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.


Sec. 17.40  [Amended]

    3. Section 17.40(a) is removed and reserved.

    Dated: February 24, 1995.
Mollie H. Beattie,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 95-5823 Filed 3-8-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P