[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 13, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77466-77467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31969]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 223
[Docket No. 101126590-1705-02]
RIN 0648-XZ59
Endangered and Threatened Species; Proposed Threatened Status for
Subspecies of the Ringed Seal
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; 6-month extension of the deadline for a final
listing determination.
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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, announce a 6-month extension of the deadline for a
final determination regarding the December 10, 2010, proposed rule to
list four subspecies of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) as threatened
species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). We
are taking this action because there is substantial disagreement
regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the available data relevant to
the proposed listing rule. An additional 6 months will allow us to
solicit additional data, evaluate and assess special independent peer
review of the aspects of the status review report over which there is
substantial disagreement, and better inform our final determination on
the proposed listing rule.
DATES: We intend to reopen the public comment period to accept comment
on the special independent peer review report when it becomes
available. We will soon announce the dates of the new public comment
period in the Federal Register. The final determination on this listing
action will be made no later than June 10, 2012.
ADDRESSES: The proposed rule, status review report, and other materials
relating to this proposal can be found on the Alaska Region Web site
at: http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamara Olson, NMFS Alaska Region,
(907) 271-5006; Kaja Brix, NMFS Alaska Region, (907) 586-7235; or Marta
Nammack, Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, MD (301) 427-
8469.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On March 28, 2008, we initiated status reviews of ringed, bearded
(Erignathus barbatus), and spotted seals (Phoca largha) under the ESA
(73 FR 16617). On May 28, 2008, we received a petition from the Center
for Biological Diversity to list these three species of seals as
threatened or endangered under the ESA, primarily due to concerns about
threats to their habitat from climate warming and loss of sea ice. The
Petitioner also requested that critical habitat be designated for these
species concurrent with listing under the ESA. In response to the
petition, we published a 90-day finding that the petition presented
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the
petitioned action may be warranted (73 FR 51615; September 4, 2008).
Accordingly, we proceeded with the status reviews of ringed, bearded,
and spotted seals and solicited information pertaining to them.
Following completion of a status review report and 12-month finding
for spotted seals in October 2009 (74 FR 53683, October 20, 2009; see
also, 75 FR 65239; October 22, 2010), we established Biological Review
Teams (BRT) to prepare status review reports for ringed and bearded
seals. The status review report of the ringed seal is a peer-reviewed
compilation of the best scientific and commercial data available
concerning the status of the species, including the past, present, and
future threats to this species. After the status
[[Page 77467]]
review report was completed by the BRT (Kelly et al., 2010), on
December 10, 2010, we made a 12-month finding and proposed to list the
Arctic (Phoca hispida hispida), Baltic (Phoca hispida botnica), Okhotsk
(Phoca hispida ochotensis), and Ladoga (Phoca hispida ladogensis)
subspecies of ringed seals as threatened (75 FR 77476). We published
our 12-month finding for bearded seals as a separate notification
concurrently with this finding (75 FR 77496; December 10, 2010).
The proposed rule announced a 60-day comment period to close on
February 8, 2011. On February 8, 2011, we extended the comment period
45 days to March 25, 2011 (76 FR 6754). Three public hearings were held
in Alaska in Anchorage, Barrow, and Nome (76 FR 9733, February 22,
2011; 76 FR 14882, March 18, 2011).
In accordance with our July 1, 1994, Interagency Cooperative Policy
on Peer Review (59 FR 34270), we requested the expert opinion of four
independent scientists with expertise in seal biology and/or Arctic sea
ice and climate change regarding the pertinent scientific data and
assumptions concerning the biological and ecological information used
in the proposed rule. The purpose of the review was to ensure that the
best biological and commercial information was used in the decision-
making process, including input of appropriate experts and specialists.
We received comments from three of these reviewers.
Two of the reviewers questioned the magnitude and immediacy of the
threats posed to Arctic ringed seals by the projected changes in sea
ice habitat, in particular on-ice snow cover. Public comments raised
similar concerns, including from the State of Alaska; certain Tribal
governments, Alaska Native organizations, and organizations
representing the Inuit in Canada; Canada's Department of Fisheries and
Oceans; and Greenland's Department of Fisheries, Hunting, and
Agriculture. We have considered these comments, and we find that for
Arctic ringed seals substantial disagreement exists concerning the
sufficiency or accuracy of the analysis of model projections of future
sea ice habitat, in particular on-ice snow cover, and related impacts.
This disagreement extends to the magnitude and immediacy of the threats
posed to this population by the projected habitat changes.
Extension of Final Listing Determination
The ESA, section 4(b)(6), requires that we take one of three
actions within 1 year of a proposed listing: (1) Finalize the proposed
listing; (2) withdraw the proposed listing; or (3) extend the final
determination by not more than 6 months, if there is substantial
disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the available
data relevant to the determination, for the purposes of soliciting
additional data.
In consideration of the disagreement related to the model
projections and analysis of future sea ice habitat, in particular snow
cover, for Arctic ringed seals, we are extending the timeline for the
final determination by an additional 6 months (until June 10, 2012) to
resolve the disagreement. We believe that the solicitation of
additional data through special independent peer review of this aspect
of the status review report will better inform our final determination
on the proposed listing rule and will address the disagreement. We are
therefore conducting this additional review in accordance with our
Policy on Peer Review, and we will provide an opportunity for the
public to comment on the peer review report. The additional 6 months
will allow time for us to evaluate and assess the special independent
peer review comments and make the peer review report available for
comment. We do not anticipate that this additional time will
appreciably impact any of the four subspecies of the ringed seal we
proposed to list as threatened.
The reopening of the public comment period will be announced in the
Federal Register when the availability of the peer review report
compiling the special independent review comments is known. At that
time, instructions for obtaining a copy of the peer review report will
also be announced.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
Dated: December 6, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-31969 Filed 12-12-11; 8:45 am]
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