[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17760-17761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7794]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R7-ES-2010-N055; 70120-1113-0000-C4]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Spectacled Eider
(Somateria fischeri): Initiation of 5-Year Status Review
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of initiation of 5-year status review and request for
information.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
initiation of a 5-year status review for the spectacled eider
(Somateria fischeri), a bird species listed as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We conduct 5-year
reviews to ensure that our classification of each species as threatened
or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and
Plants is accurate. We request any new information on this species that
may have a bearing on its classification as threatened. Based on the
results of this 5-year review, we will make a finding on whether this
species is properly classified under the Act.
DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct our 5-year review, we are
requesting that you submit your information no later than June 7, 2010.
However, we accept new information about any listed species at any
time.
ADDRESSES: For instructions on how to submit information for our 5-year
review, see ``Request for New Information.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Laing, Endangered Species
Biologist, at the address under ``Contacts''or by phone at (907) 786-
3459.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
We originally listed the spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri) as
threatened under the Act on May 10, 1993 (58 FR 27474). For the
description, taxonomy, distribution, status, breeding biology and
habitat, and a summary of factors affecting the species, please see the
final listing rule. A recovery plan was completed on August 12, 1996.
On February 6, 2001 (66 FR 9146), we designated critical habitat for
the species.
Three breeding populations have been identified: In Arctic Russia
(AR) on the Siberian coast, and in Alaska on the coastal zone of the
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) and on the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP).
Molting occurs at sea in nearshore waters. The wintering area is in
polynyas (openings in sea ice) in the central Bering Sea south of St.
Lawrence Island.
The spectacled eider breeding population on the YKD declined by 94-
98 percent between the early 1970s and the 1993 listing date, from
47,700-70,000 nesting pairs to 1,700-3,000 pairs. There were thought to
be 3,000 pairs on the ACP in the 1970s. Although there was no standard
survey of the ACP population in the early 1990s, there was evidence of
an 80 percent decline in breeding birds at Prudhoe Bay between 1981 and
1991. The size of the AR breeding population was unknown at listing.
The causes of these declines were unknown; potential contributory
factors include harvest, ingestion of spent lead shot, and predation.
Recovery actions in the recovery plan focus on ameliorating these
threats, and on monitoring populations.
Since 1993, the YKD population has varied, but apparently increased
in the last decade, with 4,991 (Standard Error 641) nesting pairs
estimated in 2008. The ACP population survey provides an index of
individual birds on breeding grounds rather than nests. The estimate in
2008 was 6,207 (Standard Error 592) birds; no trend is evident since
the survey began in 1993. Aerial surveys in Arctic Russia during the
period 1993-1995 provided an index of 146,245 birds.
II. Initiation of 5-Year Status Review
A. Why Do We Conduct a 5-Year Review?
Under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), we maintain a List of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (List) in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.11 (for animals) and 17.12 (for
plants). An informational copy of the List, which covers all listed
species, is also available on our Internet site at http://endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html#Species. Section 4(c)(2)(A) of the Act
requires us to review the status of each listed species at least once
every 5 years. Then, based on such review, under section 4(c)(2)(B), we
determine whether any species should be removed from the List
(delisted), reclassified from endangered to threatened, or reclassified
from threatened to endangered. Any change in Federal classification
requires a separate rulemaking process.
Our regulations in 50 CFR 424.21 require that we publish a notice
in the Federal Register announcing the species we are reviewing. This
notice announces our active 5-year status review of the threatened
spectacled eider.
B. What Information Do We Consider in Our Review?
We consider the best scientific and commercial data available at
the time we conduct our review. This includes new information that has
become available since our current listing determination or most recent
status review of the species, such as new information regarding:
A. Species biology, including but not limited to population trends,
distribution, abundance, demographics, and genetics;
B. Habitat conditions, including but not limited to amount,
distribution, and suitability;
C. Conservation measures that have been implemented that benefit
the species;
D. Threat status and trends (see five factors under heading ``How
Do We Determine Whether a Species is Endangered or Threatened?''); and
E. Other new information, data, or corrections, including but not
limited to taxonomic or nomenclatural changes,
[[Page 17761]]
identification of erroneous information contained in the List, and
improved analytical methods.
C. How Do We Determine Whether a Species is Endangered or Threatened?
Section 4(a)(1) of the Act requires that we determine whether a
species is endangered or threatened based on one or more of the five
following 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; or
E. Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued
existence.
Under section 4(b)(1) of the Act, we are required to base our
assessment of these factors solely on the best scientific and
commercial data available.
D. What Could Happen as a Result of Our Review?
For each species we review, if we find new information indicating a
change in classification may be warranted, we may propose a new rule
that could do one of the following:
A. Reclassify the species from threatened to endangered (uplist);
B. Reclassify the species from endangered to threatened (downlist);
or
C. Remove the species from the List (delist).
If we determine that a change in classification is not warranted, then
the species remains on the List under its current status.
We must support any delisting by the best scientific and commercial
data available, and only consider delisting if such data substantiate
that the species is neither endangered nor threatened for one or more
of the following reasons:
A. The species is considered extinct;
B. The species is considered to be recovered; and/or
C. The original data available when the species was listed, or the
interpretation of such data, were in error (50 CFR 424.11(d)).
E. Request for New Information
To ensure that a 5-year review is complete and based on the best
available scientific and commercial information, we request new
information from the public, governmental agencies, Tribes, the
scientific community, environmental entities, industry, and any other
interested parties concerning the status of the species.
See ``What Information Do We Consider in Our Review?'' for specific
criteria. If you submit information, support it with 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.
Submit your comments and materials to office listed under
``Contacts.''
F. Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your 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. Comments and materials received will be available for
public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the
offices where we receive comments.
III. Contacts
Submit your comments and information on this species, as well as
any request for information, by any one of the following methods. You
may also view information and comments we receive in response to this
notice, as well as other documentation in our files, at the following
locations by appointment, during normal business hours.
E-mail: [email protected]; Use ``spectacled eider'' as the
message subject line.
Fax: Attn: Karen Laing, (907) 786-3848.
U.S. mail: Karen Laing, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS-361,
1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503.
In-Person drop-off or Document review/pickup: You may drop off
comments and information, review/obtain documents, or view received
comments during regular business hours at the above address.
IV. Definitions
(A) Species includes any species or subspecies of fish, wildlife,
or plant, and any distinct population segment of any species of
vertebrate, which interbreeds when mature; (B) Endangered means any
species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant
portion of its range; and
(C) Threatened means any species that is likely to become an
endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a
significant portion of its range.
V. Authority
We publish this notice under the authority of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 30, 2010.
Gary Edwards,
Acting Regional Director, Region 7, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-7794 Filed 4-6-10; 8:45 am]
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