Fish and Wildlife Service September 2, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are issuing a final rule to comply with a court order that removed regulatory protections under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for the bald eagles nesting in the Sonoran Desert area of central Arizona. On July 9, 2007, we published a final rule to remove bald eagles in the lower 48 States from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) due to recovery. However, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, by order dated March 6, 2008, enjoined the Service from removing the bald eagles nesting in the Sonoran Desert area of central Arizona from the threatened species list under the Act pending the Service's status review and 12-month finding on a petition to classify the bald eagles nesting in the Sonoran Desert area of central Arizona as a distinct population segment (DPS), list this DPS as endangered, and designate critical habitat. On May 1, 2008, to conform to the court's order, we published a final rule listing the potential Sonoran Desert bald eagle DPS as threatened under the Act. On February 25, 2010, the Service published its 12-month finding determining that the bald eagles nesting in the Sonoran Desert area of central Arizona did not qualify as a DPS and were, therefore, not a listable entity under the Act. On September 30, 2010, as a result of the Service's completed status review and publication of the 12-month finding, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona lifted the injunction. We are issuing this final rule to amend the regulations for the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife by removing the bald eagles nesting in the Sonoran Desert area of central Arizona from the list. This action amends the CFR to reflect the September 30, 2010, court order.