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Fish and Wildlife sets local public hearings
on controversial caribou issues |
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June 12, 2014 |
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced
three proposed rules and findings on the
sometimes controversial issue of the southern
Selkirk Mountain woodland caribou. Public
hearings are now scheduled in both Sandpoint and
in Bonners Ferry, where anyone can attend to
learn more about the Fish and Wildlife Service
findings and determinations, and to make public
comment and input before the Service finalizes
its rules and findings.
About the Caribou
This particular population of woodland caribou,
which has as its range British Columbia, Canada,
northeastern Washington and Boundary County,
Idaho, is the southernmost population of
woodland caribou in the North American
continent. This local caribou population has
been listed as "Endangered" since 1984 under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Boundary County's southern Selkirk Mountain
woodland caribou are considered to be one local
group of the larger, Southern Mountain Caribou,
which consists of 15 separate local caribou
populations. In 1995, the population of the
entire larger group of Southern Mountain Caribou
was estimated to be 2,554 individuals. By 2002
the population had fallen to an estimated 1,900.
The 2013 population estimate for the entire
larger group of Southern Mountain Caribou is now
1,657 individual caribou.
It was estimated that the population of our
local southern Selkirk Mountain woodland caribou
was 27 individual caribou in 2012.
The FWS Findings
In its current announcement, the Fish and
Wildlife Service addressed three issues:
1. In responding to a petition from the Pacific
Legal Foundation, representing Bonner County,
Idaho and the Idaho State Snowmobile
Association, to delist the southern Selkirk
Mountain population of woodland caribou from its
current "endangered" designation, Fish and
Wildlife stated, "After review of the best
available scientific and commercial information,
we find that delisting the species is not
warranted."
2. Fish and Wildlife proposes to define the
larger Southern Mountain Caribou group as a "distinct
population segment" (DPS), and to designate the
listing for this larger caribou group as
"Threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
Our southern Selkirk Mountain caribou would be
considered a local part of this larger
population.
3. Fish and Wildlife determined that the
already-designated critical habitat for our
southern Selkirk Mountain caribou applies to
this new proposed designation of Southern
Mountain Caribou DPS.
Information Sessions and Hearings
Scheduled
The public informational sessions and hearings
on these issues are scheduled for June 25 in
Sandpoint, and June 26 in Bonners Ferry. Both
meetings will start with an informal discussion
and information-sharing session from 2:00 pm
until 5:00 pm, where people can ask questions
and receive information. The official public
hearings begin at 6:00 p.m. and will go until
8:00 p.m. Members of the public can make
official comments at these public hearings.
Details on these two meetings:
SANDPOINT:
Wednesday, June 25, 2014, at the Bonner County
Headquarters meeting room, 1500 Highway 2,
Sandpoint, Idaho. Informational session 2:00
p.m. until 5:00 p.m., followed by public hearing
from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
BONNERS FERRY:
Thursday, June 26, 2014, at Bonners Ferry High
School, 6485 Tamarack Lane, Bonners Ferry.
Informational session 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.,
followed by public hearing from 6:00 p.m. until
8:00 p.m.
Comment can also be submitted at these meetings
in written form. Comments can also be submitted
to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
electronically, or by mail, or even hand
delivered (to their office in Virginia). For
instructions on submitting comments, go to:
http://www.fws.gov/idaho/home/NRMtnCaribouIExtendFINAL060914.pdf
Comments are accepted through Aug 6.
Past Controversies
In the past, controversy has emerged over the
designation of the critical habitat area for
these caribou. At one point several years ago,
the Fish and Wildlife service was considering an
area of 375,552 acres that included a huge swath
through Boundary County which included virtually
all of the Selkirks between Priest Lake and the
Kootenai Valley. However, in 2012 the final
designation of the caribou critical habitat was
determined to be a significantly smaller 30,010
acres, with only a small remote corner in
northwest Boundary County being part of that
designation. Most of this habitat area today is
in Pend Oreille County, Washington, with only
approximately 1/4 of the habitat lying within
Boundary County.
Caribou recovery efforts have also bumped up
against snowmobilers, with several court cases
addressing these issues occurring from 2005 -
2007. There is an injunction currently in effect
restricting snowmobiling within parts of the
existing woodland caribou recovery area.
Complete information of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife actions and detailed (extremely
detailed and thorough) information on their
three findings listed above can be found at the
Federal Register online at:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/05/08/2014-09601/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-12-month-finding-on-a-petition-to-delist-the-southern#h-12
Information on the upcoming informational
meetings and public hearings and the procedure
for submitting comments can be found at:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/06/10/2014-13426/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-12-month-finding-on-a-petition-to-delist-the-southern |
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