Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, are amending our regulations, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), on the import of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) taken by U.S. hunters in sport hunts from M'Clintock Channel, Nunavut Territory, Canada. We have reviewed new information submitted by the Department of Environment Canada (Canadian Wildlife Service) which indicates that this population is severely depleted and current harvest quotas are unsustainable. We find that the M'Clintock Channel population no longer meets the import requirements of the MMPA and are amending our regulations to reflect that bears sport hunted in this population after the 1999/2000 Canadian hunting season will no longer be eligible for import under the 1997 finding which approved this population for multiple harvest seasons. Due to the dramatic change in population status, we are using this emergency interim rule to make the changes to our regulations effective immediately. In addition, we are updating our regulations to reflect the new territory of Nunavut and to notify the public on the lifting by Canada of the harvest moratorium in the Viscount Melville Sound polar bear population. We invite your comments on this interim rule.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 18 RIN 1018-AH72 AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Emergency interim rule with request for comments. SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, are amending our regulations, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), on the import of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) taken by U.S. hunters in sport hunts from M'Clintock Channel, Nunavut Territory, Canada. We have reviewed new information submitted by the Department of Environment Canada (Canadian Wildlife Service) which indicates that this population is severely depleted and current harvest quotas are unsustainable. We find that the M'Clintock Channel population no longer meets the import requirements of the MMPA and are amending our regulations to reflect that bears sport hunted in this population after the 1999/2000 Canadian hunting season will no longer be eligible for import under the 1997 finding which approved this population for multiple harvest seasons. Due to the dramatic change in population status, we are using this emergency interim rule to make the changes to our regulations effective immediately. In addition, we are updating our regulations to reflect the new territory of Nunavut and to notify the public on the lifting by Canada of the harvest moratorium in the Viscount Melville Sound polar bear population. ( printed page 1902) We invite your comments on this interim rule. DATES: This rule is effective on January 10, 2001. We w…
Citation: 66 FR 1901
