Importation of Polar Bear Trophies From Canada: Addition of Populations to the List of Areas Approved for Import

This rule announces proposed findings on the import of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) taken in sport hunts in the areas formerly known as Parry Channel-Baffin Bay and Queen Elizabeth Islands, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service summarizes the new research data used by Canada to redefine these areas into five populations: Queen Elizabeth Islands, Norwegian Bay, Kane Basin, Lancaster Sound, and Baffin Bay, and provides a summary of the Nunavut Land Claim and the new Flexible Quota Option. The Service proposes to find that Lancaster Sound and Norwegian Bay meet the requirements of the MMPA and to add them to the list of approved populations in the regulations. Further, the Service proposes to defer the decision on the remaining three populations, Queen Elizabeth Islands, Baffin Bay, and Kane Basin.