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CFR Citation: 50 CFR Part 17

RIN ID: RIN 1018-AJ03

NOTICE: Part II

DOCUMENT ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUBJECT CATEGORY: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Eastern Distinct Population Segment of the Gray Wolf From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

DATES: We must receive comments by November 18, 2004 in order to ensure their consideration in our final decision. We must receive requests for public hearings by September 7, 2004.

DOCUMENT SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) proposes to remove the Eastern Distinct Population Segment (EDPS) of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife established under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We propose this action because available data indicate that this DPS no longer meets the definitions of threatened or endangered under the Act. The gray wolf population is stable or increasing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and exceeds its numerical recovery criteria. Completed State wolf management plans will provide adequate protection and management to the species in these three States if the gray wolf is delisted in the EDPS. The proposed rule, if finalized, would remove this DPS from the protections of the Act by ending its threatened classification. This proposed rule would also remove the currently designated critical habitat for the gray wolf in Minnesota and Michigan and remove the current special regulations for gray wolves in Minnesota and other Midwestern States. This proposal, if finalized, would not change the status or special regulations currently in place for the Western or Southwestern DPSs of the gray wolf or for the red wolf (C. rufus).

SUMMARY: Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service,

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

This rule begins with discussions on the biology, ecology, taxonomy, and historical range of the gray wolf. We then describe previous Federal listing actions taken for this DPS of gray wolves. Next, we discuss the purpose and relevant definitions of the Act and conclude this introductory section with a discussion of the conservation and recovery of the EDPS of the gray wolf.

We then analyze the current status of the EDPS relative to the criteria set out in section 4(c)(1) of the Act to determine whether it still warrants listing under the Act. This analysis takes into account the effects of current and future likely actions that may positively or negatively affect the EDPS if it were delisted.

A. Biology and Ecology of Gray Wolves

Gray wolves are the largest wild members of the Canidae, or dog family, with adults ranging from 18 to 80 kilograms (kg) (40 to 175 pounds (lb)) depending upon sex and subspecies (Mech 1974). The average weight of male wolves in Wisconsin is 35 kg (77 lb) and ranges from 26 to 46 kg (57 to 102 lb), while females average 28 kg (62 lb) and range from 21 to 34 kg (46 to 75 lb) (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI DNR) 1999a). Wolves' fur color is frequently a grizzled gray, but it can vary from pure white to coal black. Wolves may appear similar to coyotes (Canis latrans) and some domestic dog breeds (such as the German shepherd or Siberian husky) (C. familiaris). Wolves' longer legs, larger feet, wider head and snout, and straight tail distinguish them from both coyotes and dogs.

Wolves primarily are predators of medium and large mammals. Wild prey species in North America include whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (O. hemionus), moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus elaphus), woodland caribou (Rangifer caribou) and barren ground caribou (R. arcticus), bison (Bison bison), muskox (Ovibos moschatus), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) and Dall sheep (O. dalli), mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), beaver (Castor canadensis), and snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), with small mammals, birds, and large invertebrates sometimes being taken (Mech 1974, Stebler 1944, WI DNR 1999a). In the EDPS, during the last 22 years, wolves have also killed domestic animals including horses (Equus caballus), cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries), goats (Capra hircus), llamas (Lama glama), pigs (Sus scrofa), geese (Anser sp.), ducks (Anas sp.), turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), chickens (Gallus sp.), pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), dogs, and cats (Felis catus) (Paul 2001, Wydeven et al. 2001a).

Wolves are social animals, normally living in packs of 2 to 12 wolves, although 2 packs in Yellowstone National Park (NP) had 22 and 27 members in 2000; Yellowstone NP's Druid Peak pack increased to 37 members in 2001 (USFWS et al. 2001, 2002). Winter 200102 pack size in Michigan's Upper Peninsula averaged 4.3 wolves (Potvin et al. submitted). Packs are primarily family groups consisting of a breeding pair, their pups from the current year, offspring from the previous year, and occasionally an unrelated wolf. Packs typically occupy, [[Page 43665]]
and defend from other packs and individual wolves, a territory of 50 to 550 square kilometers (km²) (20 to 214 square miles (mi²)). In the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains, territories tend to be larger, usually from 520 to 1,040 km² (200 to 400 mi²), and in Wood Buffalo NP in Canada, territories of up to 2,700 km² (1,042 mi²) have been recorded (Carbyn, Canadian Wildlife Service, in litt. 2000). Normally, only the top ranking (``alpha'') male and female in each pack breed and produce pups. Litters are born from early April into May; they range from 1 to 11 pups, but generally include 4 to 6 pups (Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MI DNR) 1997; USFWS 1992a; USFWS et al. 2001). Normally a pack has a single litter annually, but the production of 2 or 3 litters in one year has been documented in Yellowstone NP (USFWS et al. 2002). Yearling wolves frequently disperse from their natal packs, although some remain with their natal pack. Yearlings may range over large areas as lone animals after leaving their natal pack or they may locate suitable unoccupied habitat and a member of the opposite sex and begin their own pack. Dispersal distances of 800 km (500 mi) have been documented (Fritts 1983; James Hammill, MI DNR, in litt. 2001). Individual wolves have more recently traveled from central Wisconsin to eastcentral Indiana (655 km (407 mi)) and northern Illinois (unknown distance), from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to northern Missouri (965 km (600 mi)), and from the MinnesotaWisconsinMichigan population to eastcentral Nebraska (unknown distance).

The gray wolf historically occurred across most of North America, Europe, and Asia. In North America, gray wolves formerly occurred from the northern reaches of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland to the central mountains and the high interior plateau of southern Mexico. The only areas of the conterminous United States that apparently lacked gray wolf populations since the last ice age are parts of California and portions of the eastern and southeastern United States (an area occupied by the red wolf). In addition, wolves were generally absent from the deserts and mountaintop areas of the western United States (Young and Goldman 1944, Hall 1981, Mech 1974, Nowak 2000). (Refer to the Taxonomy of Gray Wolves in the Eastern United States section below for additional discussion.)

European settlers in North America and their cultures often had superstitions and fears of wolves and a unified desire to eliminate them (Boitani 1995). Their attitudes, coupled with perceived and real conflicts between wolves and human activities along the frontier, led to widespread persecution of wolves. Poisons, trapping, and shooting spurred by Federal, State, and local government bounties extirpated this once widespread species from more than 95 percent of its range in the 48 conterminous States. At the time the Act was passed, only several hundred wolves occurred in northeastern Minnesota and on Isle Royale, Michigan, and a few scattered wolves may have occurred in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Montana, and the American Southwest.

Researchers have learned a great deal about gray wolf biology, especially about the species' adaptability and its use of nonwilderness habitats. Public appreciation of the role of predators in our ecosystems has increased. Surveys indicate that approximately 60 percent of persons in the eastern and western United States have positive attitudes towards wolves and their restoration (Williams et al. 2002). Most importantly, within the last decade the prospects for gray wolf recovery in several areas of their historical range in the United States have greatly increased. In the EDPS, wolves have dramatically increased their numbers and occupied range.

The gray wolf is one of two North American wolf species currently protected by the Act. The other species is the red wolf (Canis rufus), which is listed as endangered throughout its historical range in the southeastern United States and extending west into central Texas. The red wolf is the subject of a separate recovery program. This final rule does not affect the current listing status or protection of the red wolf.

Gray wolf populations in the United States are protected under the Act by separate listings covering the EDPS, the Western DPS, and the Southwestern DPS (50 CFR 17.11(h)), regulations establishing three non essential experimental populations (50 CFR 17.84(i) and (k)), and by special regulations for parts of the Western and Eastern DPSs (50 CFR 17.40(d), (n), and (o)). Regulations for the Western and Southwestern DPSs would not be removed or changed if this proposal is finalized.

It is important to note that the protections of the gray wolf under the Act does not extend to gray wolfdog hybrids regardless of the geographic location of the capture of their pure wolf ancestors. As noted in the final reclassification rule (68 FR 15804, April 1, 2003), gray wolfdog hybrids have no value to gray wolf recovery programs and can introduce dog genes into wild wolf populations.
B. Taxonomy of Gray Wolves in the Northeastern United States

Both versions (USFWS 1978 and 1992a) of the Recovery Plan for the Eastern Timber Wolf (Recovery Plan) were developed to recover the gray wolf subspecies Canis lupus lycaon, commonly known as the eastern timber wolf. Canis lupus lycaon was believed to be the gray wolf subspecies that historically occurred throughout the northeastern quarter of the United States east of the Great Plains (Young and Goldman 1944, Hall 1981, Mech 1974). Since the publication of those recovery plans, various studies on the subspecific taxonomy of the gray wolf have been conducted with conflicting results (Nowak 1995, 2002, 2003; Wayne et al. 1995; Wilson et al. 2000).

Wilson et al. (2000) questioned the identity of the Canis species in southeastern Canada, an area with an extant wolf population adjacent to the northeastern United States. The alternative view of southeastern Canada wolf taxonomy as advanced by Wilson et al. (2000) appears to be gaining wider acceptance among taxonomists. That view is that the wolf currently occurring in Algonquin Provincial Park and southern Quebec Province, and possibly the ancestral wolf of southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States, is a smaller form of wolf, similar to or indistinguishable from the red wolf. Others argue that ecologically, the ancestral wolf in northern New England and northern New York where moose and woodland caribou were the predominant ungulate prey (Hall 1981), and throughout New York State where elk were indigenous (Hall 1981), was likely to be a largebodied gray wolf, rather than a smaller, deereating wolf, such as the red wolf (Daniel Harrison, University of Maine, pers. comm.).

We acknowledge that our understanding of wolf taxonomy at both the species and the subspecies levels is likely to continue changing as new studies are completed and the results of additional genetic and morphometric analyses are published. Analyses of the canids recently found in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada point to a northsouth (and to a lesser extent, westeast) gradient consisting of western gray wolf, eastern wolf, and coyote. The western gray wolf historically occupied much of the western United States and much of Canada. According to recent genetic analyses (Wilson et al. 2000), the eastern
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wolf, now referred to by some investigators as Canis lycaon, currently occupies southeastern Canada and may have historically occupied the northeastern United States and portions of the Great Lakes area as well (Fascione et al. 2001). The Service believes that it is equally likely there was a contact zone between the two forms of wolves along this broad boundary between the northern extent of whitetailed deer range and the southern extent of caribou and moose range.

Currently, molecular genetic and morphological data suggest several plausible identities for the large canid that historically occupied the Northeast. Nowak's (1995) morphological data support the contention that Canis lupus lycaon, a subspecies of the gray wolf, occupied part of the Northeast, including southern New England. A recent molecular genetics study (Wilson et al. 2000) disputes that this species is a gray wolf, and suggests it is a form of red wolf and both forms should be referred to as C. lycaon. Nowak's (2002) more recent analysis places the boundary between the gray wolf and red wolf in central New York and northern Vermont, with C. l. lycaon to the north and west of this line and the red wolf subspecies, C. rufus floridanus, to the east and south. Furthermore, Nowak (2002, 2003) now suggests that C. l. lycaon may be a subspecies of hybrid origin resulting from matings of C. lupus and C. rufus.

The historical range of the gray wolf and the taxonomy of the wolf in the conterminous United States is the subject of substantial scientific debate. As pointed out in the April 2003 final
reclassification (68 FR 15804) and by Brewster and Fritts (1995), wolf systematics is a continually evolving science. During the 1800s and through the mid1900s, which Brewster and Fritts (1995) refer to as the ``descriptive era,'' wolf taxonomies were based on physical attributes such as color, weight, and size. During the ``multivariate analysis era'' (1950s to present), alternative wolf taxonomies were based on statistical analyses of multiple morphometric data, particularly cranial measurements. Lastly, recent advances in molecular taxonomy (1970s to present) have made it possible to compare phylogenic relatedness between closely related species and subspecies and to characterize their differences. Proponents of each alternative wolf taxonomy offer a different view of the range of wolf species and subspecies in North America.

The coyote is the dominant canid in the northeastern United States at present, although wolf genetic material is also present in these animals (Wilson et al. 2004). It is extremely difficult to determine the genetic identity of the wolf (or wolves) that occurred in the Northeast before European settlement. The ranges of specific forms of wolf may have changed over time or intermingled along contact zones, and scientific consensus on one ancestral form of wolf for the Northeast may not be possible. We, however, encourage additional research on the identity of the historical wolf of the northeast region, the taxonomy and phylogeny of contemporary wolves in southeastern Canada, and new information on the occurrence of wolves in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Due to the extreme uncertainty over wolf taxonomy, at this time we are adopting no final position on the identity of the wolf (or wolves) that historically existed in the northeastern United States. As announced in the final reclassification rule (68 FR 15804, April 1, 2003), we are treating gray wolves in the northeastern United States as part of the EDPS.

C. Historical Range of the Gray Wolf

Until the molecular genetics studies of the last few years, the range of the gray wolf before European settlement was generally believed to include most of North America. The only areas that were believed to have lacked gray wolf populations are southern and interior Greenland, the coastal regions of Mexico, all of Central America south of Mexico, coastal and other parts of California, the extremely arid deserts and the mountaintops of the western United States, and parts of the eastern and southeastern United States (Young and Goldman 1944, Hall 1981, Mech 1974, Nowak 1995). (Some authorities, however, question the reported historical absence of gray wolves from parts of California (Carbyn in litt. 2000, Mech, U.S. Geological Survey, in litt. 2000)). Authors are inconsistent on their views of the precise boundary of historical gray wolf range in the eastern and southeastern United States. Some use Georgia's southeastern corner as the southern extent of gray wolf range (Young and Goldman 1944, Mech 1974); others believe gray wolves did not occur at all in the southeastern U.S. (Hall 1981) or only to a limited extent, primarily at relatively high elevations (Nowak 1995). The southeastern and midAtlantic States have generally been recognized as being within the historical range of the red wolf; the extent of overlap between the ranges of these competing canids is unknown. Recent morphological work (Nowak 2002, 2003) supports extending the historical range of the red wolf into southern New England or even further north. This suggests that the historical range of the gray wolf in the eastern United States may have been more limited than previously believed, although the ranges of the wolf species may have expanded and contracted after the last ice age.

The results of recent molecular genetic (Wilson et al. 2000) and morphometric studies (Nowak 1995, 2002) may help explain some of the past difficulties in determining the southern boundary of the gray wolf's range in the eastern United States. Unless additional data demonstrate that gray wolves did not historically occur in the northeastern U.S., we have defined the historical range of the gray wolf as including those areas north of the Ohio River, the southern borders of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and southern Missouri; and west from central Texas and Oklahoma (68 FR 15804). This boundary is a reasonable compromise of several published accounts, being somewhat south of that shown by Nowak (2002) and north of the range boundary shown by Young and Goldman (1944) and Mech (1974). The historical range boundary we used to establish the southern boundary of the EDPS in 50 CFR 17.11(h) most closely approximates that shown in Hall (1981).

While the historical range and taxonomy of the wolf in the northeastern United States continues to be debated, the fact that wolves were indigenous to that region is well established in historical accounts and bounty records. As early as 1645, the Massachusetts Court complained of ``the great losse and damage'' suffered by the colony because wolves killed settlers' cattle (Cronon 1983). Cronon (1983) reports that such complaints persisted in newly settled areas throughout the colonial period. Young and Goldman (1944) recount the early years of wolf bounties offered on Long Island, New York, where in 1663 it was agreed that settlers be provided bushels of Indian corn in exchange for wolf heads. In 1794, Samuel Williams recorded in The Natural and Civil History of Vermont that, ``One of the most common and noxious of all our animals, is the Wolf.'' A review of wolf bounty records in Maine revealed documentation for well over 100 bounties paid, primarily during the 1800s (R. Joseph, USFWS, in litt. 2000). In the Proceedings of the Portland Society of Natural History (1930), it is reported that wolves were numerous in the Portland, Maine, region, and existed at least until 1740 in
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the immediate vicinity of the present city.

From the first reward offered by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, wolf bounties became a common means of addressing livestock losses to wolf predation in colonial America. By the early eighteenth and into the nineteenth centuries, bounties on the wolf were common throughout the United States. Wolf populations in the northeastern United States were strongly affected as colonial settlement progressed and activities such as forest clearing, hunting, and trapping reduced the wolf's natural habitat and prey (ungulates and beaver). Remaining wolf populations were largely eliminated by the bounties, and by 1900, the wolf was considered extirpated from the northeastern United States (Nowak 2002). Hamilton (1943) noted that where the wolf formerly ranged widely throughout the eastern States, persistent hunting, trapping, and poisoning resulted in its extermination in Pennsylvania, New York, and New England well before the close of the nineteenth century. D. Previous Federal Action

On April 1, 2003, we published a final rule (68 FR 15804) that reclassified and delisted gray wolves, as appropriate, across their range in the 48 conterminous United States and Mexico. In that final rule (on page 15806), we included a detailed summary of the previous Federal actions completed prior to publication of that final rule.

The first part of the April 1, 2003, final rule delisted gray wolves in parts or all of 16 southern States because that area is outside the historical range of the species. The second part of the final rule separated the remainder of the 32 States and Mexico into three gray wolf DPSs, and it gave each DPS a separate listing under the Act as threatened or endangered (see Figure 1 below). Additionally, new special regulations under section 4(d) of the Act were established for portions of the Western and Eastern Gray Wolf DPSs.

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP21JY04.005

On March 1, 2000, we received a petition from Mr. Lawrence Krak of Gilman, Wisconsin, and on June 28, 2000, we received a petition from the Minnesota Conservation Federation. Mr. Krak's petition requested the delisting of gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The Minnesota Conservation Federation requested the delisting of gray wolves in a Western Great Lakes DPS. Because the data reviews resulting from the processing of these petitions would be a subset of the review begun by our July 13, 2000, proposal (65 FR 43450) to revise the current listing of the gray wolf across most of the conterminous United States, we did not initiate separate reviews in response to those two petitions. This proposed rule constitutes both our 90day finding that the petitioned actions may be warranted and our 12month finding that the actions are warranted.

On April 1, 2003, we also received a petition from Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, RESTORE: The North Woods, and The Wildlands Project requesting that we list a DPS of wolves in the northeastern United States. As explained in the April 1, 2003, reclassification rule (68 FR 15804) and our September 12, 2003, response to the petitioners, the absence of a wolf population in the Northeast precluded us from designating that entity as a separate DPS. Instead, the EDPS includes New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and New York; any gray wolves that may exist in or disperse into these States continue to be protected as threatened under the Act until a final delisting of the EDPS is published.
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E. Purpose and Definitions of the Act

The primary purpose of the Act is to prevent the endangerment and extinction of animal and plant species. The Act requires the Service to identify species that meet the Act's definitions of endangered or threatened, to add those species that meet either of these definitions to the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (50 CFR 17.11 and 17.12, respectively), and to plan and implement conservation actions to improve their status to the point at which they no longer need the protections of the Act. When that protection is no longer needed, we take steps to remove (delist) the species from the Federal lists. If a species is listed as endangered, we may first reclassify it to threatened status as an intermediate step, if the species has met the downlisting criteria outlined in its recovery plan before its eventual delisting; reclassification before delisting, however, is not required.

Section 3 of the Act provides the following definitions that are relevant to this rule:

Endangered speciesany species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range;

Threatened speciesany species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range; and

Speciesincludes any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature. (For further information on DPSs, see our February 7, 1996, DPS policy (61 FR 4722) or the April 1, 2003, final gray wolf reclassification rule (68 FR 15804)).

Understanding the Service's strategy for gray wolf recovery also requires an understanding of the meaning of ``recover'' and ``conserve'' under the Act. ``Conserve'' is defined in the Act itself (section 3(3)) whereas ``recovery'' is defined in the Act's implementing regulations at 50 CFR 402.02.

Conservedefined, in part as ``the use of all measures and procedures which are necessary to bring any endangered species or threatened species to the point at which the measures provided pursuant to this Act are no longer necessary.''

Recoveryimprovement in the status of listed species to the point at which listing is no longer appropriate under the criteria set out in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. Essentially, ``recover'' and ``conserve'' both mean to bring a species to the point at which it no longer needs the protections of the Act because the species is no longer threatened or endangered.

The Service will determine whether a species is endangered or threatened only after assessing its status throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A species does not have to be recovered throughout all of its historical range before it can be delisted; however, within its current range it must no longer be in danger of extinction or likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.
F. Recovery Planning and Recovery Criteria for the Eastern Timber Wolf

The Eastern Gray Wolf DPS was established on April 1, 2003 (68 FR 15804). It is important to note that a DPS is a listed entity under the Act, and is treated the same as a listed species or subspecies. It is listed, protected, subject to interagency consultation, and recovered just as any other threatened or endangered species or subspecies. A DPS will have its own recovery plan and its own recovery goals. As with a species or subspecies, we are not required to seek restoration of the animal throughout the entire geographic area of the DPS, but only to the point at which it no longer meets the definition of a threatened or endangered species.

Section 4(f) of the Act directs us to develop and implement recovery plans for listed entities: Species, subspecies, or DPS. In some cases, we appoint recovery teams of experts to assist in the writing of recovery plans and to provide advice to the Service on subsequent recovery efforts. Recovery plans contain criteria that trigger our consideration of the need to either reclassify (from endangered to threatened) a species due to improvements in its status or to delist the species due to its recovery under the Act. Reclassification and recovery criteria are based on factors that can be measured or otherwise objectively evaluated to document improvements in a species' status. Examples of the type of criteria typically used are numbers of individuals, numbers and distribution of subgroups or populations of the species, rates of productivity of individuals or populations, protection of habitat, and reduction or elimination of specific threats to the species and its habitat.

We initiated recovery programs for the originally listed gray wolf subspecies by appointing recovery teams and developing and implementing recovery plans. In addition to containing the criteria to assess a species' progress toward recovery, recovery plans describe and prioritize specific actions necessary to achieve the recovery criteria and objectives and identify appropriate parties to implement each action.

Once a species has met its delisting criteria and no longer meets the definition of endangered or threatened, it is considered to be recovered and should be delisted. The restoration of a species throughout its historical range, or even throughout the entire remaining suitable habitat, may not be necessary for a species to be delisted. Recovery plans generally do not require restoration of the species throughout its historical range to achieve recovery under the Act.

The 1978 Recovery Plan for the Eastern Timber Wolf (Recovery Plan) was approved on May 2, 1978, (USFWS 1978) and revised and approved on January 31, 1992 (USFWS 1992a). The 1978 Recovery Plan and its 1992 revision were intended to recover the eastern timber wolf, Canis lupus lycaon, thought at that time to be the gray wolf subspecies that historically inhabited the United States east of the Great Plains. Thus, this Recovery Plan covers a geographic triangle extending from Minnesota to Maine and into northeastern Florida, an area consistent with the geographic coverage of the EDPS (when corrected for the lack of historical gray wolf range in the southeastern United States). The Recovery Plan was based on the best available information on wolf taxonomy at the time of its original publication and subsequent revision. Since the publication of those recovery plans, various studies have produced conflicting results regarding the identity of the wolf that historically occupied the eastern States. Because this conflict is still unresolved, this recovery program has continued its original focus on recovering the gray wolf population that survived in, and has expanded outward from, northeastern Minnesota, regardless of its subspecific identity. (See the Taxonomy of Gray Wolves in the Northeastern United States section above).

G. Recovery of the Eastern Gray Wolf

The 1978 and the 1992 revised Recovery Plans each have two delisting criteria. The first delisting criterion states that the survival of the wolf in Minnesota must be assured. We, and the Eastern Timber Wolf Recovery Team (Rolf Peterson, Eastern Timber Wolf Recovery Team, in litt. 1997, 1998, 1999a, 1999b), believe that this first delisting criterion remains valid. It identifies a need for reasonable assurances that future State, tribal, and
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Federal wolf management practices and protection will maintain a viable recovered population of gray wolves within the borders of Minnesota for the foreseeable future. The Recovery Plan's subgoal for Minnesota is 1,251 to 1,400 wolves (USFWS 1992a).

The second delisting criterion in the Recovery Plan states that at least one viable wolf population should be reestablished within the historical range of the eastern timber wolf outside of Minnesota and Isle Royale, Michigan. The Recovery Plan provides two options for reestablishing this second viable wolf population. If it is located more than 100 miles from the Minnesota wolf population, the second population should consist of at least 200 wolves for at least 5 years (based upon latewinter population estimates) to be considered viable. Alternatively, if the second population is located within 100 miles of a selfsustaining wolf population (for example, the Minnesota wolf population), a reestablished second population having a minimum of 100 wolves for at least 5 years would be considered viable.

The Recovery Plan does not specify where in the eastern United States the second population should be reestablished. Therefore, the second population could be located anywhere within the triangular MinnesotaMaineFlorida area covered by the Recovery Plan, except on Isle Royale (Michigan) or within Minnesota. The 1978 Recovery Plan identified potential gray wolf restoration areas throughout the eastern United States, including northern Wisconsin and Michigan and extending as far south as the Great Smoky Mountains and adjacent areas in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. The revised 1992 Recovery Plan, however, dropped from consideration the more southern potential restoration areas, because recovery efforts for the red wolf were being initiated in those areas (USFWS 1978, 1992a). The recovery criteria do not suggest that either the restoration of the gray wolf throughout all or most of its historical range in the eastern United States are necessary to achieve recovery under the Act.

In 1998, the Eastern Timber Wolf Recovery Team clarified the delisting criterion for the second population (i.e., the wolves in northern Wisconsin and the adjacent Upper Peninsula of Michigan) (Rolf Peterson, Eastern Timber Wolf Recovery Team, in litt. 1998). It stated that the numerical delisting criterion for the WisconsinMichigan population will be achieved when 6 consecutive latewinter wolf surveys documented that the population equaled or exceeded 100 wolves (excluding Isle Royale wolves) for the 5 consecutive years between the 6 surveys (Rolf Peterson, in litt. 1998). The WisconsinMichigan wolf population was first known to have exceeded 100 wolves in the late winter 199394 survey and the numerical delisting criterion was satisfied in early 1999, based upon latewinter 199899 data (Beyer et al. 2001, Wydeven et al. 1999).

The Recovery Plan has no goals or criteria for the gray wolf population on 546 km\2\ (210 mi\2\) Isle Royale, Michigan. The wolf population of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, is not considered to be an important factor in the recovery or longterm survival of wolves in the EDPS. This population is small, varying from 12 to 29 animals over the last 20 years, and is almost completely isolated from other wolf populations (Peterson et al. 1998, pers. comm. 1999, Peterson and Vucetich 2004). For these reasons, the Eastern Plan does not include these wolves in its recovery criteria and recommends only the continuation of research and complete protection for these wolves (USFWS 1992a). Unless stated otherwise in this proposal, subsequent discussions of Michigan wolves do not refer to wolves on Isle Royale. Minnesota

During the pre1965 period of wolf bounties and legal public trapping, wolves persisted in the more remote northeastern areas of Minnesota, but were eliminated from the rest of the State. Estimated numbers of Minnesota wolves before their listing under the Act in 1974 include 450 to 700 in 195053 (Fuller et al. 1992, Stenlund 1955), 350 to 700 in 1963 (Cahalane 1964), 750 in 1970 (Leirfallom 1970), 736 to 950 in 197172 (Fuller et al. 1992), and 500 to 1,000 in 1973 (Mech and Rausch 1975). Although these estimates were based upon different methodologies and are not directly comparable, each estimates pre listing abundance of wolves in Minnesota at 1,000 or less. This was the only significant population in the United States outside Alaska during those timeperiods.

After the wolf was listed as endangered under the Act, population estimates in Minnesota indicated increasing numbers in the State (see Table 1 below). L. David Mech estimated the population to be 1,000 to 1,200 in 1976 (USFWS 1978); Berg and Kuehn (1982) estimated that there were 1,235 wolves in 138 packs in the winter of 197879. In 198889, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) repeated the 197879 survey and also used a second method to estimate wolf numbers in the State. The resulting independent estimates were 1,500 and 1,750 wolves in at least 233 packs (Fuller et al. 1992).
Table 1.Gray Wolf Population in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan From 1976 Through 2004 [Note that there are several years between the first three Minnesota surveys.] Year Minnesota Wisconsin Michigan 1976.......................................... 1,0001,200..................... .............. .............. 197879....................................... 1,235........................... .............. .............. 198889....................................... 1,5001,750..................... .............. .............. 199394....................................... ................................ 57 57 199495....................................... ................................ 83 80 199596....................................... ................................ 99 116 199697....................................... ................................ 148 112 199798....................................... 2,445........................... 178 140 199899....................................... ................................ 205 174 19992000..................................... ................................ 248 216 200001....................................... ................................ 257 249 200102....................................... ................................ 327 278 200203....................................... ................................ 335 321 200304....................................... Pending*........................ 373 360 *Minnesota DNR conducted another survey of the State's wolf population and range during the winter of 200304. A preliminary population estimate may be available for review by midJuly 2004. [[Page 43670]]

During the winter of 199798, a statewide wolf population and distribution survey was repeated by MN DNR, using methods similar to those of the two previous surveys. Field staff of Federal, State, Tribal, and county land management agencies and wood products companies were queried to identify occupied wolf range in Minnesota. Data from five concurrent radio telemetry studies tracking 36 packs, representative of the entire Minnesota wolf range, were used to determine average pack size and territory area. Those figures were then used to calculate a statewide estimate of pack numbers and the overall wolf population in the occupied range, with single (nonpack) wolves factored into the estimate (Berg and Benson 1999).

The 199798 survey concluded that approximately 2,445 wolves existed in about 385 packs in Minnesota during that winter period. This figure indicates the continued growth of the Minnesota wolf population at an average rate of about 3.7 percent annually. The Minnesota wolf population has shown approximately this average annual rate of increase since 1970 (Berg and Benson 1999, Fuller et al. 1992). No rigorous survey of the Minnesota wolf population has been conducted since the winter of 199798, but biologists generally accept that the population has increased (Mech 1998, Paul 2001).

As wolves increased in abundance in Minnesota, they also expanded their distribution. During 194853, the major wolf range was estimated to be about 31,080 km ² (11,954 mi ²) (Stenlund 1955). A 1970 questionnaire survey resulted in an estimated wolf range of 38,400 km ² (14,769 mi ²) (calculated by Fuller et al. 1992 from Leirfallom 1970). Fuller et al. (1992), using data from Berg and Kuehn (1982), estimated that Minnesota primary wolf range included 36,500 km ² (14,038 mi ²) during winter 197879. By 198283, pairs or breeding packs of wolves were estimated to occupy an area of 57,050 km ² (22,000 mi ²) in northern Minnesota (Mech et al. 1988). That study also identified an additional 40,500 km ² (15,577 mi ²) of peripheral range, where habitat appeared suitable but no wolves or only lone wolves existed. The 198889 study produced an estimate of 60,200 km ² (23,165 mi ²) as the contiguous wolf range at that time in Minnesota (Fuller et al. 1992), an increase of 65 percent over the primary range calculated for 1978 79. The 199798 study concluded that the contiguous wolf range had expanded to 88,325 km ² (33,971 mi ²), a 47 percent increase in 9 years (Berg and Benson 1999). Thewolf population in Minnesota had recovered to the point that its contiguous range covered approximately 40 percent of the State during 199798.

Minnesota DNR conducted another survey of the State's wolf population and range during the winter of 200304 using methodology similar to that used in 198889 and 199798 (John Erb, MN DNR, pers. comm. 2003). A preliminary population estimate may be available for review by midJuly 2004. The final results of that survey will be posted on our web site (http://midwest/fws.gov/wolf) as soon as they are available. Those results will be used in our final decision on this proposal.

Wisconsin

Wolves were considered to have been extirpated from Wisconsin by 1960. No formal attempts were made to monitor the State's wolf population from 1960 until 1979. From 1960 through 1975, individual wolves and an occasional wolf pair were reported. There is no documentation, however, of any wolf reproduction occurring in Wisconsin, and the wolves that were reported may have been dispersing animals from Minnesota.

Wolf population monitoring by the WI DNR began in 1979 and estimated a statewide population of 25 wolves at that time. This population remained relatively stable for several years, then declined slightly to approximately 15 to 19 wolves in the mid1980s. In the late 1980s, the Wisconsin wolf population began an increase that has continued into 2004.

Wisconsin DNR intensively surveys its wolf population annually using a combination of aerial, ground, and satellite radio telemetry, complemented by snow tracking and wolf sign surveys (Wydeven et al. 1995, 2003). Wolves are trapped from May through September and fitted with radio collars, with a goal of having at least one radiocollared wolf in about half of the wolf packs in Wisconsin. Aerial locations are obtained from each functioning radio collar about once per week, and pack territories are estimated from the movements of the individuals who exhibit localized patterns. From December through March, the pilots make special efforts to visually locate and count the individual wolves in each radiotracked pack. Snow tracking is used to supplement the aerial sightingbased counts and to provide pack size estimates for packs lacking a radiocollared wolf. Tracking is done by assigning survey blocks to trackers who then drive snowcovered roads in their blocks and follow all wolf tracks they encounter. Snowmobiles are used to locate wolf tracks in more remote areas with low road density. The results of the aerial and ground surveys are carefully compared to properly separate packs and to avoid overcounting (Wydeven et al. 2003). The number of wolves in each pack is estimated based on the aerial and ground observations made of the individual wolves in each pack over the winter.

During the winter of 200203, 43 of Wisconsin's 94 wolf packs (46 percent) had members carrying active radio transmitters much of the season. Thirtynine of the 66 monitored wolves were located 20 or more times during the midSeptember to midApril period, providing excellent information on home range boundaries and pack territory size (Wydeven et al. 2003). Minimum wolf population estimates (latewinter counts) for 1994 through 2003 increased from 57 to 335 animals, comprising 14 to 94 packs respectively (Wydeven et al. 2003) (see Table 1 above). An estimated 373 to 410 wolves in 109 packs, including 12 wolves on Native American reservations, were in the State in 2004, representing an 11 percent increase from 2003 (WI DNR 2004).

Because the monitoring methods focus on wolf packs, it is believed that lone wolves are undercounted in Wisconsin, and, as a result, these population estimates are probably slight underestimates of the actual wolf population within the State during the latewinter period. Also, these estimates are made at the low point of the annual wolf population cyclelatewinter surveys produce an estimate of the wolf population at a time when most winter mortality has already occurred, but the birth of pups has yet to take place. The wolf population increases dramatically when pups are born, then decreases rapidly due to pup mortality, and with a subsequent slower decline as other mortality factors continue throughout the year. Thus, Wisconsin wolf population estimates are conservative in two respects: they undercount lone wolves and the count is made at the annual low point of the population. However, the recovery criteria established in 1992 are consistent with existing methodology, establishing numerical criteria based on late winter surveys.

In 1995, wolves were first documented in Jackson County, Wisconsin, an area well to the south of the northern Wisconsin area occupied by other Wisconsin wolf packs. The number of wolves in this central Wisconsin area has dramatically expanded since that time. During the winter of 200304, there were approximately 57 wolves in 16 to 17 [[Page 43671]]

packs in central Wisconsin (Wydeven pers. comm. 2004).

During the winter of 200203, 7 wolves occurred on Native American reservations in Wisconsin (Wydeven et al. 2003), and this increased to 12 wolves in the winter of 200304 (WI DNR 2004). These animals were on the Bad River (10) and Lac Courte Oreilles Reservations (2) (Wydeven in litt. 2004). There also is evidence of individual wolves on the Lac du Flambeau and Menominee Reservations, with a high likelihood of wolf packs developing on these reservations in the near future (Wydeven pers. comm. 2002). Additionally, the Red Cliff and StockbridgeMunsee Reservations and scattered Potawatomi and HoChunk lands will likely support wolves in the near future (Wydeven in litt. 2003).

In 2002, wolf numbers in Wisconsin alone surpassed the goal for a second population, as identified in the Recovery Plan (i.e., 100 wolves within 100 miles for a minimum of 5 consecutive years, as measured in 6 consecutive latewinter counts). The Wisconsin wolf population continues to increase, although the slower rates of increase seen in the 2001 and 2003 surveys (3.6 and 2.4 percent, respectively, above the previous year) may be the first indications that the State's wolf population growth and geographic expansion are beginning to level off. The much higher rates of growth seen in 2000 and 2002 (20.9 and 27.2 percent, respectively), however, indicate that it is too soon to conclude that wolf numbers in Wisconsin have reached a plateau. Over the last 10 years, the Wisconsin wolf population grew at an annualized rate of 24 percent.

Michigan

Michigan wolves were extirpated as a reproducing population long before they were listed as endangered in 1974. Prior to 1991, and excluding Isle Royale, the last known breeding population of wild Michigan wolves occurred in the mid1950s. As wolves began to reoccupy northern Wisconsin, the MI DNR began noting single wolves at various locations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In the late 1980s, a wolf pair was verified in the central Upper Peninsula, and it produced pups in 1991. Since that time, wolf packs have spread throughout the Upper Peninsula, with immigration occurring from both Wisconsin on the west and Ontario on the east. They now are found in every county of the Upper Peninsula.

The MI DNR annually monitors the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula by intensive latewinter tracking surveys that focus on each pack. The Upper Peninsula is divided into seven monitoring zones, and specific surveyors are assigned to each zone. Pack locations are derived from previous surveys, citizen reports, and ground and aerial tracking of radiocollared wolves. During the winter of 200203 at least 68 wolf packs were resident in the Upper Peninsula. Approximately 30 to 35 percent of these packs had members with active radiotracking collars (Dean Beyer, MI DNR, pers. comm. 2004). Care is taken to avoid doublecounting packs and individual wolves, and a variety of evidence is used to distinguish adjacent packs and accurately count their members (Beyer et al. 2003). Surveys along the border of adjacent monitoring zones are coordinated to avoid doublecounting of wolves and packs occupying those border areas. In areas with a high density of wolves, ground surveys by four to six surveyors with concurrent aerial tracking are used to accurately identify adjacent packs and count their members (Potvin et al. submitted).

From 1994 through 2003, annual surveys have documented minimum latewinter estimates of wolves occurring in the Upper Peninsula as increasing from 57 wolves in 1994 to 321 in 2003 (see Table 1 above). Over the last 10 years the annualized rate of increase has been 27 percent (MI DNR 1997, 1999a, 2001, 2003). In 2004, the late winter population was at least 360 wolves, up 12 percent from last year (MI DNR 2004b). The Michigan Upper Peninsula wolf population by itself has surpassed the recovery goal for a second population of 100 wolves within 100 miles for a minimum of 5 consecutive years (6 latewinter estimates), as specified in the Recovery Plan.

In 200304, no wolf packs were known to be primarily using tribal owned lands in Michigan (Beyer pers comm. 2004). Native American tribes in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan own small, scattered blocks of land. As such, no one tribal property would likely support a wolf pack. However, as wolves occur in all counties in the Upper Peninsula and range widely, tribal land is likely utilized periodically by wolves.

As mentioned previously, the wolf population of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, is not considered to be an important factor in the recovery or longterm survival of wolves in the EDPS. This small and isolated wolf population is not expected to make a significant numerical contribution to gray wolf recovery, although longterm research on this wolf population has added a great deal to our knowledge of the species.

Although there have been reports of wolf sightings in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, including a winter 1997 report of 2 large canids believed to be wolves on the ice west of the Mackinaw Bridge, there is no evidence that there are resident wolves in the Lower Peninsula. Recognizing, however, the likelihood that small numbers of gray wolves will eventually move into the Lower Peninsula, MI DNR has begun a revision of its Wolf Management Plan to incorporate provisions for wolf management there.

When the wolf population estimates of Wisconsin and Michigan are combined, the total population has exceeded the second population recovery goal of 200 wolves for 5 consecutive years for a
geographically isolated wolf population. The twoState wolf population, excluding Isle Royale wolves, has exceeded 200 wolves since latewinter 199596.

Northeastern United States

Wolves were extirpated from the northeastern United States by 1900. Few credible observations of wolves were reported in the Northeast during most of the 20th century. There has been a small number of remains or salvages of either wolves or wolflike canids in the northeastern United States since 1993. Observations of ``wolves'' cannot be verified without physical evidence, because wolves may be confused with other canids such as large eastern coyotes, wolfdog hybrids, and large domestic and feral dogs. As mentioned earlier and in the final reclassification rule (68 FR 15804), gray wolfdog hybrids are not provided protection of the Act, regardless of the geographic location of the capture of their pure wolf ancestors. Therefore, only recent wolf or wolflike canid remains in the northeastern United States and adjacent Quebec are summarized here.

Recent reports and analyses confirmed the presence of four wolf like canids in the northeastern United States and one in Canada just north of the United States border. Three of these wolves (including the Canadian wolf) were determined to be gray wolves, whereas the other two have been found to be hybrids of various lineages. Of the three gray wolflike canids, two showed genetic linkages with wolves in Canada's Algonquin Provincial Park area. However, there is no evidence of the presence of a selfsustaining wolf population in the northeastern United States.

In 1993, a 63pound female canid was killed in northwestern Maine. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife concluded that this animal
[[Page 43672]]
was of captive origin because it reportedly visited a campsite the day before its death. The Service, however, found no evidence that this animal was captive held and determined it to be a gray wolf (consistent with DNA from an Algonquin Provincial Park area wolf). The animal was tested for distemper vaccine and evidence of vaccination was not found. Additionally, it had calloused foot pads typical of a wild animal.

In 1996, an 86pound male canid was killed in Aurora, Maine. The Service conducted a genetic evaluation to establish species identity, which was inconclusive. Canadian geneticist Dr. Brad White (in litt. 1999) states that, based on his analysis, the animal appeared 75 percent southeastern Canadian wolf (lycaon type) and 25 percent coyote. The animal tested negative for routine vaccinations, exhibited worn foot pads, had beaver remains in its stomach, and otherwise appeared to be of wild origin. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife initially referred to this canid as a ``probable wolf,'' but subsequently described it as a coyote (K. Elowe, in litt. August 2003). In 1997, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife placed infrared cameras at carcasses and conducted howling surveys in this area. No further evidence of other large canids was obtained. We concluded that this animal was a hybrid between a coyote and southeastern Canadian wolf.

In 1997, a 72pound canid was shot in Glover, Vermont. Samples were sent to three labs for genetic analyses: The Service's lab in Ashland, Oregon; the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA); and the Wildlife Forensic DNA Lab at MacMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Thus far, results from UCLA indicate that the canid's mitochondrial DNA match that of a wolf (Canis lupus lycaon); however, because this analysis only identifies maternal ancestry, it does not rule out the possibility that the animal may have been sired by a coyote or domestic dog. In contrast, the Service's Ashland lab typed the animal using mitochondrial DNA as coyote, whereas the nuclear DNA suggests coyote/ Alaskan malamute dog. The Service concluded that the animal was likely of hybrid origin.

In 2001, a male animal reported to be 85 pounds was killed in Day (near Edinburg), Saratoga County, New York. The skin, carcass, and skull were examined by Dr. Robert Chambers (formerly of the College of Environmental Science and Forestry and authority on New York coyotes), who reported that the animal's head was atypical in shape for either a coyote or a wolf. Dr. Chambers also noted that its teeth were not typical for a wild canid and more consistent with that of a domestic dog. The Service's Ashland forensic lab, however, recently completed mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA analyses on this animal and determined that it was a gray wolf. No evidence was found to indicate that the animal was of captive origin.

In 2002, a 64pound male, wolflike canid was trapped and killed north of the United States border near SanteMargueritedeLingwick in southern Quebec Province, Canada. Mitochondrial DNA samples were consistent with Canis l. lycaon/C. latrans and the microsatellite genotype showed 95 percent ancestry with Eastern wolves from Algonquin Provincial Park (Villemure and Jolicoeur submitted 2003). The authors describe this animal as the first confirmed occurrence of a wolf, C. Lupus, [in Canada] south of the St. Lawrence River in over 100 years.

For the past decade, the Service, the State of Maine, the National Wildlife Federation, and several other private organizations have conducted surveys and responded to sightings of large canids in an attempt to document the presence of wolves or wolflike canids in the northeastern United States. These efforts have not documented the occurrence of wolves or wolflike canids in addition to those discussed above, nor have they found evidence that a population of wolves is breeding in the northeastern United States.

While the northeastern United States may contain a large area of historical range not currently occupied by breeding wolves, recovery of the EDPS is not contingent on a secure population of wolves being established in this area. It is appropriate to delist the EDPS even if a substantial amount of the historical range remains unoccupied if the population in its current range is recovered. For this reason, we believe that gray wolf recovery in the eastern United States has been achieved by restoring the species to its core areas within the EDPS, consisting of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Although we believe that additional wolf restoration is not necessary within the eastern United States before delisting the EDPS, delisting will not preclude States and Tribes from undertaking additional wolf restoration programs.

Other Areas in the Eastern DPS

The increasing numbers of wolves in Minnesota and the accompanying expansion of their range westward and southwestward in the State have led to an increase in dispersing, mostly young wolves that have been documented in North and South Dakota in recent years. No surveys have been conducted to document the number of wolves present in North Dakota or South Dakota. The North Dakota Fish and Game Department (Phil Mastrangelo pers. comm. 2004), USDA Wildlife Services (John Paulson pers. comm. 2004), and the Service estimate the number of wolves in North Dakota to be 10 to 20 animals; in South Dakota, single wolves have been sighted, but no resident wolves have been documented.

An examination of skull morphology of North and South Dakota wolves indicates that of eight examined, seven likely had dispersed from Minnesota; the eighth probably came from Manitoba, Canada (Licht and Fritts 1994). Genetic analysis of an additional gray wolf killed in 2001 in extreme northwestern South Dakota indicates that it, too, originated from the MinnesotaWisconsinMichigan wolf population (Straughan and Fain 2002).

Additionally, wolves from the MinnesotaWisconsinMichigan population are traveling to other States in the EDPS. In October 2001, a wolf was killed in northcentral Missouri by a farmer who stated that he thought it was a coyote. The wolf's ear tag identified it as having originated from the western portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where it had been captured as a juvenile in July 1999. Another wolf was shot and killed in Marshall County, Illinois, in December 2002, and in that same month a wolf was mistaken for a coyote and shot near Spalding, Nebraska. A fourth Great Lakes wolf was found dead in Randolph County in eastcentral Indiana (about 12 miles from the Ohio border) in June 2003. That wolf originated in Jackson County, Wisconsin.

Wolf dispersal is expected to continue as wolves travel from the core recovery populations into areas where wolves are extremely sparse or absent. Unless they return to a core recovery population and join or start a pack there, they are unlikely to contribute to wolf recovery. Although it is possible for them to encounter another wolf, mate, and reproduce outside the core wolf areas, the lack of large expanses of unfragmented public land will make it difficult for wolf packs to persist in these areas.

Gray wolf recovery in the eastern United States has been achieved by restoring the species to its core recovery areas within the EDPS, consisting of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, to the point where it is not in danger of
[[Page 43673]]
extinction now or in the foreseeable future. We do not need to recover the wolf in other areas of the eastern United States to delist the EDPS. Once protection of the Act is removed, States and Tribes may undertake additional wolf recovery programs if they are interested. The Service does not intend to undertake any additional wolf recovery efforts within the States that are part of the EDPS, before or after delisting. We may, however, provide technical assistance to States and tribes who wish to develop wolf recovery plans beyond those that have already been undertaken.

H. Principles of Conservation Biology

Representation, resiliency, and redundancy are three principles of conservation biology that are generally recognized as being necessary to conserve the biodiversity of an area (Shaffer and Stein 2000). These principles apply when establishing goals for individual species' recovery under the Act.

The principle of representation is the need to preserve ``some of all available''every species, every habitat, and every biotic communityso biodiversity can be maintained. At the species level, it also calls for preserving the genetic diversity that remains within a species to maximize its ability to adapt to its environment.

Redundancy and resiliency both deal with preserving ``enough to last,'' but they address it at distinctly different levels. Redundancy addresses the need for a sufficient number of populations of a species, whereas resiliency deals with the necessary size and geographic range of individual populations necessary to ensure the species' persistence over time. Resiliency increases in relation to the geographic range of a population. Therefore, populations with a broad geographic range are more likely to persist in the face of environmental changes and other threats to their existence. The redundancy provided by multiple populations of a species provides additional assurances for its survival. For example, a threat to one population may not affect other populations. If that threat leads to the extirpation of a population, the species would still persist due to the occurrence of more than one population that was not affected by the same set of factors.

Due to the vast array of life forms that are potentially subject to the protections of the Act and the variety of physical, biological, and cultural factors acting on them, these three principles should be applied on a speciesbyspecies basis to determine the appropriate recovery goals. For example, addressing the need for redundancy and resiliency for nonmotile organisms, species of limited range (for example, island or insular species), or those species restricted to linear features of the environment (stream or shoreline species) should be expected to result in recovery goals that are quite different from goals developed for habitat generalist, widely distributed, and/or highly mobile species like the gray wolf.
I. Application of Conservation Biology Principles to the Eastern Gray Wolf DPS

In this proposed rule, we evaluate the current conditions and the conditions in the foreseeable future to determine whether the DPS still warrants listing under the Act. This includes an assessment of progress made to date toward the recovery of the Eastern Gray Wolf DPS. Because the wolf currently resides in only a portion of the DPS, we will determine if recovery has been achieved across a significant portion of the DPS to ensure longterm viability in the DPS. We use the principles of conservation biology discussed above and focus on the size, number, composition, distribution, and threats to wolves in the EDPS to answer the following key question: is the gray wolf in danger of extinction, or likely to become so in the foreseeable future, throughout all or a significant portion of its range within the EDPS?

The original Recovery Plan for the Eastern Timber Wolf and the 1992 revision of that plan (USFWS 1978, 1992a) included criteria to identify whether longterm population viability of gray wolves would be assured in the eastern United States. The 1978 Recovery Plan embodied conservation biology tenets in its recovery criteria that the 1992 revised recovery plan carried forward. The Eastern Timber Wolf Recovery Team (Eastern Team) reviewed these criteria in 1997 and found them to be adequate and sufficient to ensure longterm population viability (Peterson in litt. 1997).

The principles of representation, resiliency, and redundancy are fully incorporated into the recovery criteria developed by the Eastern Team. Maintenance of the Minnesota wolf population is vital because the remaining genetic diversity of gray wolves in the eastern United States was carried by the several hundred wolves that survived in the State into the early 1970s. The Eastern Team insisted that the remnant Minnesota wolf population be maintained and expanded to achieve wolf recovery in the eastern United States, and the successful growth of that remnant population has maximized the representation of that genetic diversity among gray wolves in the eastern United States. Furthermore, the Eastern Team specified that the Minnesota wolf population should increase to 1,2501,400 animals, which would increase the likelihood of maintaining its genetic diversity over the long term, and would provide the resiliency to reduce the adverse impacts of unpredictable chance demographic and environmental events. The Minnesota wolf population currently is estimated to be double that numerical goal.

The Eastern Team members recognized the need for redundancy, and specified that this need be accompl

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Direct all questions or requests for additional information to the Service using the Gray Wolf Phone Line 6127137337, facsimile6127135292, the general gray wolf electronic mail address_GRAYWOLFMAIL@FWS.GOV, or write to: Gray Wolf Questions, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, MN 551114056. Additional information is also available on our World Wide Web site at http://midwest.fws.gov/wolf. In the event that our internet connection is not functional, please contact the Service by the alternative methods mentioned above. Individuals who are hearingimpaired or speechimpaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 18008778337 for TTY assistance.