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Environmental Law

: ESA Blawg

3 more status reviews for FWS on the fisher, wolverine, and sacramento splittail

By Keith Rizzardi

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75 Fed. Reg. 20547 / Vol. 75, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 20, 2010 / Proposed Rules
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2010-0013 / MO 92210-0-0008-B2
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of Status Review for Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus)
For more info, visit the link above...

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75 Fed. Reg. 19591 / Vol. 75, No. 72 / Thursday, April 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–2008–0029; MO 92210–0–008
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of Status Review of the North American Wolverine in the Contiguous United States
For more info, visit the link above...

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75 Fed. Reg. 19925 / Vol. 75, No. 73 / Friday, April 16, 2010 / Proposed Rules
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–2010–0017 / MO 92210–0–0008
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List a Distinct Population Segment of the Fisher in Its United States Northern Rocky Mountain Range as Endangered or Threatened with Critical Habitat
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of petition finding and initiation of status review.

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list a distinct population segment (DPS) of the fisher (Martes pennanti) in its Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) range, including portions of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, as endangered or threatened and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Based on our review, we find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing a DPS of fisher in the NRMs of the United States may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a review of the status of the species to determine if listing the fisher in the NRMs of the United States is warranted. To ensure that this status review is complete, we are requesting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding this species or DPS. Based on the status review, we will issue a 12–month finding on the petition, which will address whether the petitioned action is warranted, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act. We will make a determination on critical habitat for this species if and when we initiate a listing action.

Fishers are opportunistic predators primarily of snowshoe hares, squirrels, mice, and birds. Carrion and plant material (e.g., berries) also are consumed. The fisher is one of the few predators that kills porcupines, and porcupine remains have been found more often in the gastrointestinal tract and scat of fisher than any other predator. As dietary generalists, fishers tend to forage in areas where prey is both abundant and vulnerable to capture. On March 6, 2009, FWS received a petition dated February 24, 2009, from the Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Bitterroot, and Friends of the Clearwater (petitioners) requesting that the fisher in the United States Northern Rocky Mountains be considered a Distinct Population Segment and listed as endangered or threatened, and critical habitat be designated under the Act. Photo from Department of Interior, See also, ESA blawg discussions of related caselaw.

EXCERPT RE: FACTOR A (HABITAT) THREATS: In summary, based on our evaluation of the information presented in the petition and in our files, we determine that the petition presents substantial information indicating that listing the fisher in the NRMs may be warranted. This is due to the present and potential future modification and destruction of habitat from commercial timber harvest and commercial wood production by methods that may prevent succession to the mature forest stages preferred by fishers. This is also due to the transition of some commercial timber lands to residential and commercial development in areas of western Montana. Based on our evaluation of information in our files and the petition, we determine that the petition does not present substantial information indicating that listing the fisher in the NRMs may be warranted due to climate change. However, we will evaluate the effects of climate change on the fisher when we conduct our status review.

EXCERPT RE: FACTOR B (COMMERCIAL) THREATS: listing the fisher in the NRMs may be warranted due to overutilization for commercial or recreational purposes, specifically legal furbearer trapping and the loss of fishers in traps set for other species. Incidental trapping is difficult to control and small increases in mortality due to trapping could lead to population instability and extirpation.

Full post as published by ESA Blawg on April 21, 2010 (boomark / email).