Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Mexican Wolf Draft Recovery Plan, First Revision, 29918-29920 [2017-13762]
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29918
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Notices
(by phone at 601–321–1127 or by email
at daniel_drennen@fws.gov).
• Pygmy madtom: Tennessee
Ecological Services Field Office, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 446 Neal Street,
Cookeville, TN 38501; fax 931–528–
7075. For information on these species,
contact Warren Stiles at the ES Field
Office (by phone at 931–525–4977 or by
email at warren_stiles@fws.gov).
Clams
• Cumberland bean and Ring pink:
Kentucky Ecological Services Field
Office (see contact information above).
For information on these species,
contact Leroy Koch at the ES Field
Office (by phone at 502–695–0468 ext.
106 or by email at leroy_koch@fws.gov.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
Snails
• Anthony’s riversnail: Tennessee
Ecological Services Field Office (see
contact information above). For
information on these species, contact
Stephanie Chance at the ES Field Office
(by phone at 931–528–6481 ext. 211 or
by email at stephanie_chance@fws.gov).
Plants
• Arabis perstellata (Braun’s rockcress): Kentucky Ecological Services
Field Office. For information on these
species, contact Dr. Michael Floyd (see
contact information above).
• Chamaesyce deltoidea spp.
deltoidea (Deltoid spurge), Galactia
smallii (Small’s milkpea), and Polygala
smallii (Tiny polygala): South Florida
Ecological Services Field Office, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th
Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960; fax 772–
562–4288. For information on these
species, contact David Bender at the ES
Field Office (by phone at 772–469–4294
or by email at david_bender@fws.gov).
• Clematis morefieldii (Morefield’s
leatherflower), Conradina verticillata
(Cumberland rosemary), and Pityopsis
ruthii (Ruth’s golden aster): Tennessee
Ecological Services Field Office (see
contact information above). For
information on these species, contact
Geoff Call at the ES Field Office (by
phone at 931–525–4983 or by email at
geoff_call@fws.gov).
• Lyonia truncata var. proctorii (no
common name), Vernonia proctorii (no
common name), and Adiantum vivesii
(no common name): Caribbean
Ecological Services Field Office. For
information on these species, contact
Jose Cruz-Burgos (see contact
information above).
• Sarracenia rubra ssp. alabamensis
(Alabama canebrake pitcher plant):
Mississippi Ecological Services Field
Office (see contact information above).
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17:32 Jun 29, 2017
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For information on these species,
contact Scott Wiggers at the ES Field
Office (by phone at 228–475–0765 or by
email at marion_wiggers@fws.gov).
• Schwalbea americana (American
chaffseed): South Carolina Ecological
Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 176 Croghan Spur
Road, Suite 200, Charleston, SC 29412;
fax 843–727–4218. For information on
these species, contact April Punsalan at
the ES Field Office (by phone at 843–
727–4707 ext. 218 or by email at april_
punsalan@fws.gov).
We request any new information
concerning the status of any of these 23
species. See ‘‘What Information Do We
Consider In Our Review?’’ heading for
specific criteria. Information submitted
should be supported by documentation
such as maps, bibliographic references,
methods used to gather and analyze the
data, and/or copies of any pertinent
publications, reports, or letters by
knowledgeable sources.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that the
entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Authority
We publish this document under the
authority of the Endangered Species Act
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: April 18, 2017.
Mike Oetker,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2017–13758 Filed 6–29–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2017–0036;
FXES11130200000–178–FF02ENEH00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; Mexican Wolf Draft
Recovery Plan, First Revision
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our Mexican Wolf (Canis
SUMMARY:
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lupus baileyi) Draft Recovery Plan, First
Revision (draft recovery plan). The
Mexican wolf is listed as endangered
under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (Act), and is currently
found in Arizona and New Mexico, in
the United States, and in Chihuahua,
Mexico. The draft recovery plan
includes specific recovery criteria to be
met to enable us to remove this species
from the List of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife. The first Mexican
wolf recovery plan was completed in
1982. We request review and comment
on the revised plan from local, State,
and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the
public, in both the United States and
Mexico. We will also accept any new
information on the Mexican wolf’s
status throughout its range to assist in
finalizing the recovery plan.
DATES: Comment submission: To ensure
consideration, we must receive written
comments on or before August 29, 2017.
However, we will accept information
about any species at any time.
Public meetings: We will hold
information meetings to provide the
public with information on the draft
recovery plan. Written comments on the
draft recovery plan may be submitted at
these meetings (oral comments will not
be recorded). The dates and times of
these information meetings are as
follows:
1. July 18, 2017 (6:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m.): Flagstaff, Arizona.
2. July 19, 2017 (6:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m.): Pinetop, Arizona.
3. July 20, 2017 (6:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m.): Truth or Consequences, New
Mexico.
4. July 22, 2017 (2:00 p.m. to 5:00
p.m.): Albuquerque, New Mexico.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: If
you wish to review the draft recovery
plan and related documents, you may
obtain copies by any of the following
methods:
Electronically: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov and enter FWS–
R2–ES–2017–0036.
U.S. mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, New Mexico Ecological
Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road
NE., Albuquerque, NM 87113; or
Telephone: (505) 346–2525.
Comment submission: If you wish to
comment on the draft recovery plan,
you may submit your comments in
writing by either of the following
methods:
Electronically: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov and enter FWS–
R2–ES–2017–0036.
Hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or
hand-delivery to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: FWS–R4–ES–2017–
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Notices
0036, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls
Church, VA 22041–3803.
Public meetings: The locations of the
information meetings discussed above
in DATES are as follows:
1. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona
University, Prochnow Auditorium,
South Knowles Drive, Flagstaff, AZ
86001.
2. Pinetop: Hon-Dah Resort, Casino
Banquet Hall, 777 AZ–260, Pinetop, AZ
85935.
3. Truth or Consequences: Ralph
Edwards Auditorium, Civic Center, 400
West Fourth, Truth or Consequences,
NM 87901.
4. Albuquerque: Crowne Plaza
Albuquerque, 1901 University
Boulevard NE., Albuquerque, NM
87102.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sherry Barrett, Mexican Wolf Recovery
Coordinator, 505–346–2525.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
Background
A primary goal of our endangered
species program and the Act (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) is endangered or
threatened animals and plants
recovering to the point where they are
again secure, self-sustaining ecosystems
members. Recovery means improving
listed species’ status to the point at
which listing is no longer appropriate
under the criteria set out in the Act,
section 4(a)(1). The Act requires
developing recovery plans for listed
species, unless such a plan would not
promote a particular species’
conservation.
The Service has revised its approach
to recovery planning; the revised
process is called Recovery Planning and
Implementation (RPI) (USFWS 09/21/
2016). RPI is intended to reduce the
time needed to develop and implement
recovery plans, increase recovery plan
relevancy over a longer timeframe, and
add flexibility to recovery plans so they
can be adjusted to new information or
circumstances. Under RPI, a recovery
plan will include statutorily required
elements (measurable criteria, sitespecific management actions, and
estimates of time and costs), along with
a concise introduction and our strategy
for how we plan to achieve species
recovery. The RPI recovery plan is
supported by a separate Species Status
Assessment (SSA), or in some cases, a
species Biological Report, which
provides the background information
and threat assessment, which are key to
recovery plan development. The
essential component to flexible
implementation under RPI is producing
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17:32 Jun 29, 2017
Jkt 241001
a separate working document called the
Recovery Implementation Strategy
(implementation strategy). The
implementation strategy steps down
from the more general description of
actions described in the recovery plan to
detail the near-term, specific activities
needed to implement the recovery plan.
The implementation strategy will be
adaptable by being able to incorporate
new information without having to
concurrently revise the recovery plan,
unless changes to statutory elements are
required. The Mexican wolf
implementation strategy document will
be developed with partners at a later
date. The Mexican Wolf Draft Recovery
Plan, First Revision, represents one of
the first products developed using RPI.
In addition to the recovery plan and
implementation strategy, we have
completed a biological report describing
the Mexican wolf’s current status. The
biological report supports the recovery
plan by providing the background, lifehistory, and threat assessment
information. The biological report was
independently peer-reviewed by
scientists outside of the Service and is
available at https://www.regulations.gov
in Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2017–0036,
and also at our Web site: https://
www.fws.gov/southwest/es/
mexicanwolf/. As with the
implementation strategy, we will
regularly update the biological report as
new species status information becomes
available, without having to
concurrently review the recovery plan.
Species History
The Mexican wolf was originally
listed as an endangered subspecies on
April 28, 1976 (41 FR 17736), but was
subsumed into the listing for the gray
wolf in the coterminous United States
and Mexico in 1978 (43 FR 9607, March
9, 1978). The Mexican wolf is currently
listed as an endangered subspecies
throughout its range without critical
habitat (80 FR 2488, January 16, 2015).
The Mexican wolf is also listed as
´
endangered by the Secretarıa de Medio
Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, or
Federal Ministry of the Environment
and Natural Resource (SEMARNAT
2010) in Mexico. Mexican wolves in
Arizona and New Mexico are protected
under State wildlife statutes as the gray
wolf. In Arizona, the gray wolf is on the
Arizona Game and Fish Department’s
list of ‘‘Species of Greatest Conservation
Need.’’ In New Mexico, the gray wolf is
listed as endangered.
In the United States, current Mexican
wolf range includes portions of Arizona
and New Mexico in an area designated
as the Mexican Wolf Experimental
Population Area (MWEPA) under the
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29919
Act, section 10(j) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service 2016). The Service began
releasing Mexican wolves from captivity
into the MWEPA in 1998, marking the
first Mexican wolf reintroduction since
their extirpation in the late 1970s. As of
2016, there is a single population of at
least 113 Mexican wolves in the
MWEPA (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
2017). In Mexico, the current Mexican
wolf range includes the northern
portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental
´
in the state of Chihuahua (Lopez
´
Gonzalez 2017, pers. comm.). After
Mexican wolves were extirpated from
Mexico in the late 1970s to early 1980s,
Mexico began reintroducing the
subspecies from captivity back into the
wild in 2011. In Mexico, as of April
2017, approximately 28 wolves inhabit
the northern portion of the Sierra Madre
Occidental Mountains in the state of
Chihuahua (Garcia Chavez et al. 2017).
In addition to the wild populations, a
Mexican wolf captive population is
managed under the Mexican Wolf
Species Survival Plan (SSP),
administered by the Association of Zoos
and Aquariums. The SSP is a binational
captive-breeding program with the
primary purpose of producing Mexican
wolves for reintroduction in the United
States and Mexico and conducting
public education and research. The
captive population is the sole source of
Mexican wolves available to reestablish
the species in the wild and is, therefore,
an essential component of the Mexican
wolf recovery effort.
The Mexican wolf is at risk of
extinction in the wild primarily because
of gunshot-related mortality, inbreeding,
loss of heterozygosity, loss of adaptive
potential, small population size, and the
cumulative effects of the
aforementioned threats (80 FR 2488,
January 16, 2015). As a result of
predator control and eradication efforts
in the 20th century, the number of
Mexican wolves declined rapidly (Mech
and Boitani 2003), but with the capture
of the last remaining Mexican wolves in
the wild in Mexico, and subsequent
addition of several wolves already in
captivity, the United States and Mexico
established a binational captivebreeding program with seven unrelated
‘‘founders.’’ As a result of this small
number of founders, Mexican wolves
face the aforementioned genetic
challenges (U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service 2014).
Recovery Plan Strategy
The overall strategy for recovering the
Mexican wolf focuses on improving the
two populations’ resilience (i.e.,
population size) and genetic
representation, one in the MWEPA in
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Notices
the United States, and one in the
northern portion of the Sierra Madre
Occidental in Mexico, across an
adequate ecological and geographic
range of representation within each
population. The strategy involves
carefully managing the captive-breeding
program, releasing Mexican wolves from
the captive-breeding program into the
wild, and translocating Mexican wolves
from the MWEPA to Mexico, to ensure
two genetically and demographically
viable populations are extant in the wild
for redundancy. In order to achieve the
genetic criteria for downlisting and
delisting the Mexican wolf in this Plan,
the states of New Mexico and Arizona,
and the Mexican government, will
determine the timing, location and
circumstances of releases of wolves into
the wild within their respective states,
and Mexico, from the captive
population, with the Service providing
collaborative logistical support and
facilitation of those recovery actions.
Under this strategy, Mexican wolves
will be managed to achieve an average
population size, with an upper
population size management boundary
applied to the MWEPA that would
allow all forms of management to ensure
that population growth does not
continue unchecked. The population in
Mexico will not be managed with an
upper boundary. Another key
component of the strategy includes
working with Federal, State, Tribal, and
local partners, and the public, to
improve Mexican wolf tolerance on the
landscape.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
Request for Public Comments
The Act, section 4(f), requires us to
provide public notice and an
opportunity for public review and
comment during recovery plan
development. Our policy is to also
request peer review of recovery plans
(59 FR 34270, July 1, 1994). We will
summarize and respond to the issues
the public and peer reviewers raise and
make our responses available to the
public. Substantive comments may or
may not result in changes to the
recovery plan; comments regarding
recovery plan implementation will be
forwarded as appropriate to Federal or
other entities so that they can be taken
into account during the course of
implementing recovery actions.
Pursuant to a court order, this recovery
plan must be finalized by November 30,
2017.
We invite written comments on the
draft recovery plan. In particular, we are
interested in comments on the recovery
strategy, recovery criteria, recovery
actions, and the cost estimates
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17:32 Jun 29, 2017
Jkt 241001
associated with implementing the
recommended recovery actions.
We make reference throughout the
draft recovery plan to locations where
more detailed information can be found.
Information on the Mexican wolf’s lifehistory needs, threats, current status and
future projections, survey guidelines,
and conservation efforts to date are
detailed in a variety of separate
documents, including the biological
report the Service developed. These
documents can be found at https://
www.regulations.gov in Docket No.
FWS–R2–ES–2017–0036 and also at our
Web site: https://www.fws.gov/
southwest/es/mexicanwolf/.
Before we approve our final recovery
plan, we will consider all comments we
receive by the date specified in DATES.
You may submit your comments and
materials concerning the draft recovery
plan by one of the methods listed in
ADDRESSES. We request that you send
comments only by the methods
described in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
If you submit information via https://
www.regulations.gov, your entire
submission—including any personal
identifying information—will be posted
on the Web site. If your submission is
made via a hardcopy that includes
personal identifying information, you
may request at the top of your document
that we withhold this information from
public review. However, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
We will post all hardcopy submissions
on https://www.regulations.gov.
Comments and materials we receive
will be available, by appointment, for
public inspection during normal
business hours at our office (see
ADDRESSES).
References Cited
A complete list of all references cited
herein is available at https://
www.regulations.gov in Docket No.
FWS–R2–ES–2017–0036, on our Web
site (https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/
mexicanwolf/), or upon request from the
New Mexico Ecological Services Field
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Authority
We developed our draft recovery plan
under the authority of the Act, section
4(f), 16 U.S.C. 1533(f). We publish this
notice under section 4(f) Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
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Dated: June 20, 2017.
Benjamin N. Tuggle,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2017–13762 Filed 6–29–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–23374;
PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S.
Department of the Interior, National
Park Service, Hubbell Trading Post
National Historic Site, Ganado, AZ
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The U.S. Department of the
Interior, National Park Service, Hubbell
Trading Post National Historic Site, has
completed an inventory of human
remains, in consultation with the
appropriate Indian Tribes or Native
Hawaiian organizations, and has
determined that there is no cultural
affiliation between the human remains
and any present-day Indian Tribes or
Native Hawaiian organizations.
Representatives of any Indian Tribe or
Native Hawaiian organization not
identified in this notice that wish to
request transfer of control of these
human remains should submit a written
request to Hubbell Trading Post
National Historic Site. If no additional
requestors come forward, transfer of
control of the human remains to the
Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations stated in this notice may
proceed.
DATES: Representatives of any Indian
Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization
not identified in this notice that wish to
request transfer of control of these
human remains should submit a written
request with information in support of
the request to Hubbell Trading Post
National Historic Site at the address in
this notice by July 31, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Lloyd Masayumptewa,
Superintendent, Hubbell Trading Post
National Historic Site, 1⁄2 Mile West of
Highway 191 & 264, Ganado, AZ 86505,
telephone (928) 755–3475, email lloyd_
masayumptewa@nps.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
here given in accordance with the
Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C.
3003, of the completion of an inventory
of human remains under the control of
the U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, Hubbell Trading
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\30JNN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29918-29920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13762]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0036; FXES11130200000-178-FF02ENEH00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Mexican Wolf Draft
Recovery Plan, First Revision
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) Draft Recovery
Plan, First Revision (draft recovery plan). The Mexican wolf is listed
as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act), and is currently found in Arizona and New Mexico, in the United
States, and in Chihuahua, Mexico. The draft recovery plan includes
specific recovery criteria to be met to enable us to remove this
species from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The first
Mexican wolf recovery plan was completed in 1982. We request review and
comment on the revised plan from local, State, and Federal agencies;
Tribes; and the public, in both the United States and Mexico. We will
also accept any new information on the Mexican wolf's status throughout
its range to assist in finalizing the recovery plan.
DATES: Comment submission: To ensure consideration, we must receive
written comments on or before August 29, 2017. However, we will accept
information about any species at any time.
Public meetings: We will hold information meetings to provide the
public with information on the draft recovery plan. Written comments on
the draft recovery plan may be submitted at these meetings (oral
comments will not be recorded). The dates and times of these
information meetings are as follows:
1. July 18, 2017 (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.): Flagstaff, Arizona.
2. July 19, 2017 (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.): Pinetop, Arizona.
3. July 20, 2017 (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.): Truth or Consequences,
New Mexico.
4. July 22, 2017 (2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.): Albuquerque, New Mexico.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: If you wish to review the draft
recovery plan and related documents, you may obtain copies by any of
the following methods:
Electronically: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter FWS-R2-
ES-2017-0036.
U.S. mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Ecological
Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road NE., Albuquerque, NM 87113; or
Telephone: (505) 346-2525.
Comment submission: If you wish to comment on the draft recovery
plan, you may submit your comments in writing by either of the
following methods:
Electronically: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter FWS-R2-
ES-2017-0036.
Hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: FWS-R4-ES-2017-
[[Page 29919]]
0036, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike,
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
Public meetings: The locations of the information meetings
discussed above in DATES are as follows:
1. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University, Prochnow Auditorium,
South Knowles Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86001.
2. Pinetop: Hon-Dah Resort, Casino Banquet Hall, 777 AZ-260,
Pinetop, AZ 85935.
3. Truth or Consequences: Ralph Edwards Auditorium, Civic Center,
400 West Fourth, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901.
4. Albuquerque: Crowne Plaza Albuquerque, 1901 University Boulevard
NE., Albuquerque, NM 87102.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherry Barrett, Mexican Wolf Recovery
Coordinator, 505-346-2525.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
A primary goal of our endangered species program and the Act (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is endangered or threatened animals and plants
recovering to the point where they are again secure, self-sustaining
ecosystems members. Recovery means improving listed species' status to
the point at which listing is no longer appropriate under the criteria
set out in the Act, section 4(a)(1). The Act requires developing
recovery plans for listed species, unless such a plan would not promote
a particular species' conservation.
The Service has revised its approach to recovery planning; the
revised process is called Recovery Planning and Implementation (RPI)
(USFWS 09/21/2016). RPI is intended to reduce the time needed to
develop and implement recovery plans, increase recovery plan relevancy
over a longer timeframe, and add flexibility to recovery plans so they
can be adjusted to new information or circumstances. Under RPI, a
recovery plan will include statutorily required elements (measurable
criteria, site-specific management actions, and estimates of time and
costs), along with a concise introduction and our strategy for how we
plan to achieve species recovery. The RPI recovery plan is supported by
a separate Species Status Assessment (SSA), or in some cases, a species
Biological Report, which provides the background information and threat
assessment, which are key to recovery plan development. The essential
component to flexible implementation under RPI is producing a separate
working document called the Recovery Implementation Strategy
(implementation strategy). The implementation strategy steps down from
the more general description of actions described in the recovery plan
to detail the near-term, specific activities needed to implement the
recovery plan. The implementation strategy will be adaptable by being
able to incorporate new information without having to concurrently
revise the recovery plan, unless changes to statutory elements are
required. The Mexican wolf implementation strategy document will be
developed with partners at a later date. The Mexican Wolf Draft
Recovery Plan, First Revision, represents one of the first products
developed using RPI.
In addition to the recovery plan and implementation strategy, we
have completed a biological report describing the Mexican wolf's
current status. The biological report supports the recovery plan by
providing the background, life-history, and threat assessment
information. The biological report was independently peer-reviewed by
scientists outside of the Service and is available at https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0036, and also at our
Web site: https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/. As with the
implementation strategy, we will regularly update the biological report
as new species status information becomes available, without having to
concurrently review the recovery plan.
Species History
The Mexican wolf was originally listed as an endangered subspecies
on April 28, 1976 (41 FR 17736), but was subsumed into the listing for
the gray wolf in the coterminous United States and Mexico in 1978 (43
FR 9607, March 9, 1978). The Mexican wolf is currently listed as an
endangered subspecies throughout its range without critical habitat (80
FR 2488, January 16, 2015). The Mexican wolf is also listed as
endangered by the Secretar[iacute]a de Medio Ambiente y Recursos
Naturales, or Federal Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resource
(SEMARNAT 2010) in Mexico. Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico are
protected under State wildlife statutes as the gray wolf. In Arizona,
the gray wolf is on the Arizona Game and Fish Department's list of
``Species of Greatest Conservation Need.'' In New Mexico, the gray wolf
is listed as endangered.
In the United States, current Mexican wolf range includes portions
of Arizona and New Mexico in an area designated as the Mexican Wolf
Experimental Population Area (MWEPA) under the Act, section 10(j) (U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service 2016). The Service began releasing Mexican
wolves from captivity into the MWEPA in 1998, marking the first Mexican
wolf reintroduction since their extirpation in the late 1970s. As of
2016, there is a single population of at least 113 Mexican wolves in
the MWEPA (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2017). In Mexico, the current
Mexican wolf range includes the northern portion of the Sierra Madre
Occidental in the state of Chihuahua (L[oacute]pez Gonz[aacute]lez
2017, pers. comm.). After Mexican wolves were extirpated from Mexico in
the late 1970s to early 1980s, Mexico began reintroducing the
subspecies from captivity back into the wild in 2011. In Mexico, as of
April 2017, approximately 28 wolves inhabit the northern portion of the
Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains in the state of Chihuahua (Garcia
Chavez et al. 2017).
In addition to the wild populations, a Mexican wolf captive
population is managed under the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan
(SSP), administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The SSP
is a binational captive-breeding program with the primary purpose of
producing Mexican wolves for reintroduction in the United States and
Mexico and conducting public education and research. The captive
population is the sole source of Mexican wolves available to
reestablish the species in the wild and is, therefore, an essential
component of the Mexican wolf recovery effort.
The Mexican wolf is at risk of extinction in the wild primarily
because of gunshot-related mortality, inbreeding, loss of
heterozygosity, loss of adaptive potential, small population size, and
the cumulative effects of the aforementioned threats (80 FR 2488,
January 16, 2015). As a result of predator control and eradication
efforts in the 20th century, the number of Mexican wolves declined
rapidly (Mech and Boitani 2003), but with the capture of the last
remaining Mexican wolves in the wild in Mexico, and subsequent addition
of several wolves already in captivity, the United States and Mexico
established a binational captive-breeding program with seven unrelated
``founders.'' As a result of this small number of founders, Mexican
wolves face the aforementioned genetic challenges (U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service 2014).
Recovery Plan Strategy
The overall strategy for recovering the Mexican wolf focuses on
improving the two populations' resilience (i.e., population size) and
genetic representation, one in the MWEPA in
[[Page 29920]]
the United States, and one in the northern portion of the Sierra Madre
Occidental in Mexico, across an adequate ecological and geographic
range of representation within each population. The strategy involves
carefully managing the captive-breeding program, releasing Mexican
wolves from the captive-breeding program into the wild, and
translocating Mexican wolves from the MWEPA to Mexico, to ensure two
genetically and demographically viable populations are extant in the
wild for redundancy. In order to achieve the genetic criteria for
downlisting and delisting the Mexican wolf in this Plan, the states of
New Mexico and Arizona, and the Mexican government, will determine the
timing, location and circumstances of releases of wolves into the wild
within their respective states, and Mexico, from the captive
population, with the Service providing collaborative logistical support
and facilitation of those recovery actions.
Under this strategy, Mexican wolves will be managed to achieve an
average population size, with an upper population size management
boundary applied to the MWEPA that would allow all forms of management
to ensure that population growth does not continue unchecked. The
population in Mexico will not be managed with an upper boundary.
Another key component of the strategy includes working with Federal,
State, Tribal, and local partners, and the public, to improve Mexican
wolf tolerance on the landscape.
Request for Public Comments
The Act, section 4(f), requires us to provide public notice and an
opportunity for public review and comment during recovery plan
development. Our policy is to also request peer review of recovery
plans (59 FR 34270, July 1, 1994). We will summarize and respond to the
issues the public and peer reviewers raise and make our responses
available to the public. Substantive comments may or may not result in
changes to the recovery plan; comments regarding recovery plan
implementation will be forwarded as appropriate to Federal or other
entities so that they can be taken into account during the course of
implementing recovery actions. Pursuant to a court order, this recovery
plan must be finalized by November 30, 2017.
We invite written comments on the draft recovery plan. In
particular, we are interested in comments on the recovery strategy,
recovery criteria, recovery actions, and the cost estimates associated
with implementing the recommended recovery actions.
We make reference throughout the draft recovery plan to locations
where more detailed information can be found. Information on the
Mexican wolf's life-history needs, threats, current status and future
projections, survey guidelines, and conservation efforts to date are
detailed in a variety of separate documents, including the biological
report the Service developed. These documents can be found at https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0036 and also at our
Web site: https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/.
Before we approve our final recovery plan, we will consider all
comments we receive by the date specified in DATES. You may submit your
comments and materials concerning the draft recovery plan by one of the
methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you send comments only by
the methods described in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will
be posted on the Web site. If your submission is made via a hardcopy
that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the
top of your document that we withhold this information from public
review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We
will post all hardcopy submissions on https://www.regulations.gov.
Comments and materials we receive will be available, by
appointment, for public inspection during normal business hours at our
office (see ADDRESSES).
References Cited
A complete list of all references cited herein is available at
https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2017-0036, on our
Web site (https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/), or upon
request from the New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority
We developed our draft recovery plan under the authority of the
Act, section 4(f), 16 U.S.C. 1533(f). We publish this notice under
section 4(f) Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.).
Dated: June 20, 2017.
Benjamin N. Tuggle,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-13762 Filed 6-29-17; 8:45 am]
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