80 FR 39796 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Management Plan for Moose, Wolves, and Vegetation, Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 132 (July 10, 2015)

The National Park Service (NPS) announces that we are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a plan to determine how to manage the Isle Royale moose population in light of the dynamic changes occurring on the island, in particular the declining wolf population.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 132 (Friday, July 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39796-39797]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16851]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-MWR-CUVA-17694; PPMWMWROW2/PMP00UP05.YP0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Management Plan for Moose, Wolves, and Vegetation, Isle Royale National 
Park, Michigan

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces that we are 
preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a plan to 
determine how to manage the Isle Royale moose population in light of 
the dynamic changes occurring on the island, in particular the 
declining wolf population.

DATES: The public comment period will begin on the date this Notice of 
Intent is published in the Federal Register. The comment period will 
close 30 days after the last scheduled public meeting and all comments 
must be postmarked or transmitted by this date.

ADDRESSES: Information, including a copy of the public scoping 
brochure, will be available for public review online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ISRO. Limited copies of the brochure will also be 
available at Isle Royale National Park, 800 East Lakeshore Drive, 
Houghton, Michigan and by request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Phyllis Green, or Chief 
of Natural Resources Paul Brown, Isle Royale National Park, Wolf-Moose-
Vegetation Management Plan, 800 East Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, 
Michigan 49931-1896, or by telephone at (906) 482-0984.

[[Page 39797]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Isle Royale is an island archipelago in the 
northwestern portion of Lake Superior. Organisms that live on islands 
have dynamic populations and are subject to immigration and extinction 
events. Local extirpation is natural and expected, as is establishment 
and re-establishment of new populations.
    Wolves were first documented on Isle Royale through identification 
of tracks in 1949-50 and by 1957 the island supported an estimated 25 
wolves. The first systematic research on Isle Royale wolves was 
conducted in the 1950s and has continued largely unabated. The research 
on the ``Wolves of Isle Royale'' is now world-renowned. Like many 
mainland wolf populations, the island population has fluctuated widely 
over this time, though on Isle Royale they have always been protected 
and never hunted or subjected to control efforts. Population variation 
on the island is related to inherent dynamic wolf ecology, island 
biogeography, and presence of disease in the wolf population. Wolves on 
Isle Royale have recently declined and the primary cause is thought to 
be genetic inbreeding leading to low productivity. With currently less 
than 10 individual wolves on the island, scientists differ on what will 
happen to the population in the short-term (25 years). Many believe 
that their persistence is doubtful unless new wolves emigrate or are 
introduced to the island.
    The moose population on Isle Royale (which arrived on the island in 
the early 1900s) has fluctuated dramatically (500 to several thousand) 
over the past century. Moose have important effects on island 
vegetation including forest cover and wolves are the only moose 
predator on the island.
    The park lies within a temperate-boreal forest transition zone 
where temperate tree species are at or near their northern range limits 
and boreal trees are near their southern range limits. Recent trends 
suggest the beginning of a shift from boreal to temperate vegetation. 
The relatively short-lived boreal paper birch and aspen, which 
established widely on lands disturbed by European settlement 
activities, are reaching the end of their natural lifespans and rapid 
successional changes in favor of more shade-tolerant tree species are 
underway. Successional trends on the island indicate that recent 
conditions favored temperate hardwood species, which expanded and 
replaced boreal trees. Since moose favor some boreal tree species such 
as balsam fir for food, this succession may alter the available moose 
forage in the future.
    The wolf-moose-vegetation food web is tightly coupled. Since the 
wolf population at Isle Royale is very low and local extirpation of 
wolves is possible in the near future (e.g. only one gender remains on 
the island; the pack has been non-reproductive for three to five years; 
or there are no remaining wolves), the moose population is likely to 
continue to increase, resulting in impacts to vegetation and forest 
cover from moose herbivory.
    A plan is needed to address environmental impacts that could occur 
to the moose population and vegetation from the potential extirpation 
of wolves. The purpose of the plan is to provide direction for managing 
the Isle Royale moose and wolf populations for at least the next 20 
years in light of the dynamic changes occurring on the island.
    In this context, we must determine allowable types of change. 
Specifically, we need to decide whether to intervene with a declined or 
extirpated wolf population in order to perpetuate the role wolves play 
with regard to the moose population through predation and spatial 
distribution (wolf management actions); whether to directly intervene 
with an increased moose population (moose management actions); and 
whether to intervene to manage vegetation to mitigate impacts from 
moose herbivory as temperate species replace the historical boreal 
forest (vegetation management actions). For each of these decisions, we 
must determine the type and extent of intervention appropriate in a 
designated wilderness given a changing climate. While specific 
alternatives have not yet been developed, options available include: 
(1) not actively managing moose, wolves, or vegetation; (2) managing 
moose abundance and distribution; (3) managing wolf abundance by 
supplementing the current wolf population or introducing wolves 
following extirpation; and (4) managing vegetation through the use of 
fire, direct restoration, or other tools.
    Interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are encouraged 
to provide written comments regarding the scope of issues to be 
addressed in the EIS, alternative approaches to managing wolves, moose, 
or vegetation on Isle Royale, and other concerns regarding this 
conservation planning and environmental impact analysis process. Within 
the comment period, we intend to hold public scoping meetings on the 
EIS in the vicinity of the park, including Houghton, Michigan. Specific 
dates, times and locations of the public scoping meetings will be made 
available via a press release to local media, a public scoping brochure 
to be mailed or emailed to interested parties and on the NPS's 
Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ISRO. The NPS will provide additional 
opportunities for the public to offer written comments upon publication 
and release of the draft plan/EIS.
    If you wish to comment during the public comment period, you may 
use any one of several methods. The preferred method for submitting 
comments is at the PEPC Web site address given above. You may also mail 
or hand-deliver your comments to the Superintendent or the Chief of 
Natural Resources at the address given above. Written comments will 
also be accepted during scheduled public meetings. Comments will not be 
accepted by fax, email, or any other way than those specified above. 
Bulk comments in any format (hard copy or electronic) submitted on 
behalf of others will not be accepted. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: February 13, 2015.
Patricia S. Trap,
Acting Regional Director, Midwest Region.

    This document was received at the Office of the Federal Register 
on Monday, July 06, 2015.

[FR Doc. 2015-16851 Filed 7-9-15; 8:45 am]
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