81 FR 78560 - Co-Management of Subsistence Use of Polar Bears by Alaska Natives; Conservation of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 216 (November 8, 2016)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is authorized to issue regulations to facilitate the implementation of the sustainable harvest management obligations under the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska- Chukotka Polar Bear Population (U.S.-Russia Agreement). To that end, the Service is soliciting public comment on the development of a regulatory program and local management structures for carrying out the responsibilities under the U.S.-Russia Agreement and title V of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended. The Service is also interested in entering into a cooperative agreement with an Alaska Native Organization for the purposes of involving subsistence users in conservation and management of polar bears in Alaska, including the creation of effective two-way communication pathways; collecting and exchanging local observations on polar bears for the development of sound management practices for polar bears in Alaska; managing and monitoring the harvest of polar bears for subsistence use; and developing a polar bear co-management structure.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 8, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 78560-78564]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26881]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 18

[Docket No. FWS-R7-ES-2016-0056; FF07CAMM00-FX-F R133707PB000]
RIN 1018-BA66


Co-Management of Subsistence Use of Polar Bears by Alaska 
Natives; Conservation of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; solicitation of 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is authorized to 
issue regulations to facilitate the implementation of the sustainable 
harvest management obligations under the Agreement between the 
Government of the United States of America and the Government of the 
Russian Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-
Chukotka Polar Bear Population (U.S.-Russia Agreement). To that end, 
the Service is soliciting public comment on the development of a 
regulatory program and local management structures for carrying out the 
responsibilities under the U.S.-Russia Agreement and title V of the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended. The Service is also 
interested in entering into a cooperative agreement with an Alaska 
Native Organization for the purposes of involving subsistence users in 
conservation and management of polar bears in Alaska, including the 
creation of effective two-way communication pathways; collecting and 
exchanging local observations on polar bears for the development of 
sound management practices for polar bears in Alaska; managing and 
monitoring the harvest of polar bears for subsistence use; and 
developing a polar bear co-management structure.

DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked by the end of the 
day on January 9, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comment submission: You may submit comments by one of the 
following methods:
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
ATTN: FWS-R7-ES-2016-0056, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, 
MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 22041-3803.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-R7-
ES-2016-0056.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hilary Cooley, Polar Bear Project 
Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management 
Office, 1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99503; by telephone 
(907) 786-3800; or by facsimile (907) 786-3816. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: One of the purposes of this advance notice 
of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) is to solicit public comments on 
developing and administering a co-management framework to manage the 
subsistence use of polar bears in Alaska. This effort would include 
implementation of the sustainable harvest management obligations of the 
Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and 
the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conservation and 
Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population (U.S.-Russia 
Agreement) as implemented under title V of the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.). Activities 
under a cooperative agreement could include the following: 
collaborating to collect information on the distribution, abundance, 
and health of polar bears; managing human and polar bear conflicts; 
assessing and protecting important habitats; and monitoring and 
managing subsistence harvest. We are also soliciting preliminary ideas 
about the content of regulations to facilitate implementation of 
harvest regulations for polar bears in the Alaska-Chukotka population 
in accordance with our obligations under the U.S.-Russia Agreement.

Background

    As previously mentioned, the U.S.-Russia Agreement is implemented 
in the United States through title V of the MMPA. Congress passed the 
MMPA in 1972 to prevent marine mammal species and population stocks 
from declining beyond the point at which they ceased to be significant 
functioning elements in the ecosystems of which they are a part. The 
MMPA prohibits, with certain exceptions and exemptions, the take of 
marine mammals. Prior to enactment of title V of the MMPA and 
ratification of the U.S.-Russia Agreement, section 101(b) of the MMPA 
governed the take of polar bears from the Alaska-Chukotka population, 
providing a general exemption for the taking of all marine mammals by 
any Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo who lives in Alaska and who dwells on the 
coast of the North Pacific Ocean or the Arctic Ocean if such taking is 
for subsistence purposes or for the purpose of creating and selling 
authentic native articles of handicraft and clothing, provided that the 
taking is not accomplished in a wasteful manner. Under MMPA section 
101(b), if the Secretary determines any species or stock of marine 
mammal subject to taking by Indians, Aleuts, or Eskimos is depleted, 
the taking may be regulated.
    The MMPA also recognizes the intrinsic role that marine mammals 
have played and continue to play in the subsistence, cultural, and 
economic lives of Alaska Natives. The Service, in turn, recognizes the 
important role that Alaska Natives can play in the conservation of 
marine mammals such as the polar bear. Amendments to the MMPA in 1994 
acknowledged this role by authorizing the Service to enter into 
cooperative agreements with Alaska Natives for the conservation and co-
management of subsistence use of marine mammals (16 U.S.C. 1388).
    Upon enactment of title V of the MMPA and ratification of the U.S.-
Russia Agreement in 2007, the MMPA's Alaskan Native exemption under 
section 101(b) no longer applied with respect to take from the Alaska-
Chukotka population of polar bears (16 U.S.C. 1423g). The U.S.-Russia 
Agreement and title V of the MMPA continues to allow consumptive use of 
polar bears for subsistence purposes or the creation of authentic 
native handicrafts and clothing by Alaskan natives, but subjects that 
use to a number of restrictions, including those adopted by the U.S.-
Russia Polar Bear Commission (Commission), the bilateral authority 
established under the U.S.-Russia Agreement.

[[Page 78561]]

    The 2007 amendments to the MMPA also identified the Alaska Nanuuq 
Commission (ANC), and any successor entity, as the Alaska Native entity 
that represents all villages in the State of Alaska that engage in the 
annual subsistence taking of polar bears from the Alaska-Chukotka 
population. The ANC was established in 1995 to represent the interests 
of subsistence users and polar bear hunters on issues relating to the 
subsistence harvest of polar bears in Alaska. The 2007 amendments to 
the MMPA allow for the Service to share authority for the management of 
the taking of polar bears from the Alaska-Chukotka population for 
subsistence purposes with the ANC, or a successor entity, provided 
certain criteria are met, including: Entering into a cooperative 
agreement with the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) under section 
119 for the conservation of bears; meaningfully monitoring compliance 
with title V and the U.S.-Russia Agreement by Alaska Native people; and 
administering a co-management program for polar bears in accordance 
with title V and the U.S.-Russia Agreement.
    In 2008, the Service listed polar bears as a threatened species 
worldwide under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) due to range-wide declines in sea ice. A 
threatened species is any species that is likely to become an 
endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a 
significant portion of its range. Critical habitat has also been 
designated for polar bears in the United States. In addition, under 
section 4(d) of the ESA, the Secretary has discretion to issue such 
regulations as she deems necessary and advisable to provide for the 
conservation of threatened species. The Service determined that a 
section 4(d) rule was appropriate for polar bears and issued one that 
adopts the existing conservation regulatory requirements under the MMPA 
and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES; 27 U.S.T. 1087) as the primary regulatory 
provisions for the polar bear. The Service has been working with a 
diverse team to develop a Conservation Management Plan for polar bears, 
and the final version is expected to be released by the end of the 
calendar year. Because polar bears are listed under the ESA, they are 
considered depleted under the MMPA.
    In addition to the national legislation just discussed, polar bear 
management in the United States is guided by multi- and bilateral 
agreements. In 1973 the Governments of Canada, Denmark (on behalf of 
Greenland), Norway, the Soviet Union, and the United States entered 
into the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (Range States 
Agreement). In entering into the Range States Agreement, the Parties 
acknowledged that additional protection was required for polar bears 
and that it was best achieved through coordinated measures. Parties to 
the Range States Agreement have committed to protect the ecosystems of 
which polar bears are a part and to manage polar bear populations in 
accordance with sound conservation practices based on the best 
available scientific data. Parties agreed that polar bears could be 
taken for scientific purposes, for conservation purposes, to prevent 
serious disturbance of the management of other living resources, by 
local people using traditional methods in the exercise of their 
traditional rights, or wherever polar bears have or might have been 
subject to taking by traditional means. Under the Range States 
Agreement, a Circumpolar Action Plan was adopted in 2015 that includes 
a number of management and research efforts to further the conservation 
of the species.
    In 1988, the Inuvialuit-Inupiat Polar Bear Management Agreement in 
the Southern Beaufort Sea was signed by the Inuvialuit Game Council and 
the North Slope Borough Fish and Game Committee (I-I Agreement). The I-
I Agreement noted that the Inupiat of the United States and the 
Inuvialuit of Canada have traditionally harvested a portion of polar 
bears from the same population in the southern Beaufort Sea and 
recognized that the maintenance of a sustained harvest for traditional 
users in perpetuity requires that the number of polar bears taken 
annually not exceed the productivity of the population. Objectives of 
the I-I Agreement include maintaining a healthy viable population of 
polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea and managing polar bears on a 
sustained-yield basis in accordance with all the best information 
available. The I-I Agreement provides protection to denning bears and 
family groups and establishes a process for determining an annual 
sustainable harvest.

Current Polar Bear Management

    In 2000, the Government of the United States and the Government of 
the Russian Federation signed the U.S.-Russia Agreement. The U.S.-
Russia Agreement pledges cooperation with the goal of ensuring the 
conservation of the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population (ACPBP), 
conservation of its habitat, and the regulation of its use for 
subsistence purposes by native people. It prohibits the taking of polar 
bears from this population inconsistent with the terms of the U.S.-
Russia Agreement or the Range States Agreement.
    The U.S.-Russia Agreement entered into force on September 23, 2007. 
The U.S.-Russia Agreement, among other things, provides legal 
protections for the ACPBP, found in the Chukchi-Northern Bering Sea. 
The U.S.-Russia Agreement is implemented in the United States through 
title V of the MMPA and builds upon those protections provided to polar 
bears through the 1973 Range States Agreement. The U.S.-Russia 
Agreement establishes a common legal, scientific, and administrative 
framework specifically for the conservation and management of the ACPBP 
shared between the United States and the Russian Federation. During the 
negotiation of the U.S.-Russia Agreement, it was recognized that 
continued availability of bears from the ACPBP for subsistence hunting 
in Alaska depended upon a coordinated management regime between the two 
countries. The negotiators, including those representing Alaskan 
Natives, determined that the best path forward was to replace the 
general subsistence take exemption contained in section 101(b) of the 
MMPA with the U.S.-Russia Agreement, which pledges coordinated 
management with the Russian Federation and provides for an equal role 
in management for government representatives and Native people in both 
Alaska and Russia.
    Importantly, article 8 of the U.S.-Russia Agreement establishes the 
Commission, which is tasked with coordinating measures for the 
conservation and study of the ACPBP. The Commission includes a U.S. 
section and a Russian section, with each national section comprising 
two members; for the United States, there is one representative of the 
Federal Government and one representative of the Alaska Native 
interest. Under the U.S.-Russia Agreement, each section has one vote, 
and all decisions of the Commission may be made only with the approval 
of both sections. Consequently, the U.S. Native representative has an 
integral role in Commission actions and must be knowledgeable of, or 
have expertise in, polar bears. To date, although not required under 
title V of the MMPA, the U.S. Native Commissioner has been associated 
with the ANC, the recognized co-management entity, and through that 
entity, the Commissioner received input to help form positions with the 
U.S. Federal Commissioner.
    As identified above, the Federal Government has responsibility for 
the management and conservation of polar

[[Page 78562]]

bears under a number of multi- and bilateral agreements and domestic 
laws and agreements. The Service has implemented its authorities in 
cooperation and collaboration with Alaskan Natives, to the extent 
allowable by law and regulation. We believe the active engagement and 
participation of Alaskan Natives is instrumental to successful 
implementation of our management actions, and we are committed to 
working to strengthen relationships to that end. We recognize that 
effective management of polar bears and human activities affecting 
polar bears and their habitat is greatly strengthened through the 
engagement, participation, and contribution of Alaskan Natives.
    From 1997 to 2016, the Service has maintained cooperative 
agreements with the ANC. Through these cooperative agreements, the 
Service has worked to better understand the needs and interests of 
Alaska Native subsistence hunters and to exchange information on polar 
bears and their habitat. Since 2007, the Service's cooperative 
agreements with the ANC have focused on accomplishing polar bear 
conservation and implementing the U.S.-Russia Agreement.
    The cooperative agreements between the Service and the ANC included 
a commitment to hold an annual meeting of the ANC. Commissioners from 
each of the 15 primary polar bear harvesting villages were appointed by 
their respective tribal governments to serve on the ANC Board. The 
cooperative agreements also included a requirement for coordination 
between the ANC Chairman and the ANC Commissioners to ensure: (1) That 
all Commissioners were fully informed of the taking limitation that 
will be implemented for the ACPBP; (2) that community concerns about 
conservation, management, and subsistence use of polar bears were 
shared with the ANC executive leadership with copies to the Service; 
and (3) that Commissioners attended local tribal government meetings, 
including those with the ANC leadership and Service employees, to 
present information on the polar bear harvest and other information 
about polar bear management and conservation and provide relevant 
reports from these meetings to the ANC executive leadership with copies 
to the Service.
    Consistent with these agreements, the ANC was requested to assist 
in monitoring polar bear harvest in the local community by providing 
information to the hunters and community on progress of the harvest 
and, when appropriate, helping to ensure that Marking, Tagging, and 
Reporting Program (MTRP) taggers completed their tagging and reporting 
requirements. The MTRP, established pursuant to section 109(i) of the 
MMPA, requires hunters to present polar bear hides and skulls within 30 
days of harvesting for tagging. The MTRP involves a network in 105 
communities throughout Alaska and includes approximately 170 
individuals hired as taggers. The ANC also committed to develop and 
implement steps to obtain authority from the tribal village governments 
to implement and enforce the annual taking limit under the U.S.-Russia 
Agreement and to develop a harvest monitoring system that included: 
Allocation procedures; reporting, tracking, and enforcement mechanisms; 
notification measures for providing real-time information on progress 
of harvest; and outreach and education materials.
    At the second annual meeting of the Commission, which took place 
June 7-10, 2010, in Anchorage, Alaska (75 FR 65507, October 25, 2010), 
the Commissioners adopted an annual limit of polar bears that may be 
removed from the ACPBP of no more than 58 bears per year, of which no 
more than 19 may be females, to be divided evenly between the two 
nations. The Commission determined that all forms of human-caused 
removal of individuals from the ACPBP will be incorporated in this 
annual taking limit. The Commission, at each of its subsequent annual 
meetings held in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, has maintained this 
take limit to ensure the continued harvest of polar bears remains 
sustainable (81 FR 3153, January 20, 2016). In 2012, the Commission 
adopted a multiyear quota system establishing a 5-year harvest level 
allowing annual adjustments to increase or decrease the taking limit 
depending on the harvest in the preceding year(s).
    It is important to recognize that the subsistence harvest of polar 
bears is the primary way animals are removed from the population, but 
not the only way that humans take polar bears; all forms of removal are 
incorporated in the annual taking limit adopted by the Commission. For 
example, pursuant to article 6 of the U.S.-Russia Agreement, polar 
bears from the ACPBP may be taken when human life is threatened. 
Article 6 also authorizes the take of polar bears for scientific 
research and for the purpose of rescuing or rehabilitating injured 
polar bears, consistent with the Range States Agreement. Thus, in the 
course of the U.S. subsistence harvest season, which currently consists 
of the entire calendar year, the annual taking limit will need to be 
adjusted to account for subsistence harvest and other forms of removal, 
should they occur.
    Of equal importance for Alaska Native polar bear hunters to 
understand is that the Commission adopted an annual taking limit in 
which no more than one-third of the overall limit may be female. 
Therefore, in the implementation of the annual taking limit, neither 
the limit on the total number of polar bears that may be removed from 
the population, nor the limit on the number of females that may be 
removed, can be exceeded.

Mechanisms for the Management of Polar Bears

    The Service recognizes that federally enforced harvest limitations 
or closures for Alaska Native polar bear subsistence hunters have never 
been in place, and, therefore, we believe that the effectiveness of 
such measures is predicated on consultations and a collaborative co-
management relationship with Alaska Natives and Tribal Governments. 
Such consultation is not only a crucial element of success, but also 
part of our responsibilities under the MMPA, and:
     The President's memorandum of April 29, 1994, 
``Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal 
Governments'' (59 FR 22951);
     Executive Order 13175;
     Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3225 of 
January 19, 2001 [Endangered Species Act and Subsistence Uses in Alaska 
(Supplement to Secretarial Order 3206)];
     Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3317 of 
December 1, 2011 (Tribal Consultation and Policy);
     Department of the Interior Memorandum of January 18, 2001 
(Alaska Government-to-Government Policy);
     the Department of the Interior's manual at 512 DM 2; and
     the Native American Policy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, January 20, 2016 (in the Service Manual at 510 FW 1).
    In addition to working through and with our co-management partner, 
the ANC, the Service has conducted government-to-government 
consultations with tribal governments and held many informational 
meetings in villages and at other relevant forums and conferences. 
During these meetings, we have heard varying levels of awareness and 
satisfaction with the way the above duties assigned and agreed to by 
the ANC were implemented.
    We have heard from Alaska Native tribal governments and 
stakeholders

[[Page 78563]]

that communication regarding the subsistence use of polar bears has 
been imperfect in the past, and we realize that effective communication 
is essential to success. With that in mind, we wish to ensure that our 
future co-management partner: Is capable of and committed to 
effectively facilitating communication between Alaska Native polar bear 
subsistence hunters and the Service; can ensure that Alaska Native 
tribal governments and their constituent members are fully informed of 
management plans, polar bear harvest regulation, and other relevant 
information about polar bear management and conservation; and 
effectively documents and communicates to the Service community 
concerns about polar bears and subsistence use. To do this, we 
anticipate an effective co-management partner will need to travel to 
Alaska Native villages, independently as well as with the Service, in 
order to facilitate full input by the Alaska Native community. Our co-
management partner must also take steps to remain informed about the 
conservation, subsistence use, and co-management of polar bears, which 
may include participation in relevant local, state, national, and 
international meetings.
    The ANC has been working towards developing details of a co-
management plan for polar bears taken from the ACPBP. However, the 
Service has recently determined that we will not be able to continue to 
provide financial support for the ANC's operations, and it is thus 
unlikely that the ANC will be able to continue to serve as the 
representative of Alaska Native people for polar bear subsistence use, 
as defined in title V of the MMPA, as well as for Alaska Native polar 
bear hunters taking bears from the Southern Beaufort Sea population. We 
continue to believe that the activities included in previous agreements 
with the ANC are important, and we are interested in feedback as well 
as suggestions for improved delivery methods to increase effectiveness.

Co-Management Partnership To Represent Alaska Native Polar Bear 
Subsistence Hunters

    The Service is seeking a co-management partner, as a successor 
entity to the ANC, that will provide the Commission with relevant 
information about the Chukchi Sea population in its deliberative 
process and serve as a co-management partner with the Service for 
managing the ACPBP in accordance with the U.S.-Russia Agreement. We 
also seek a partner to represent Alaska Native polar bear subsistence 
hunters who harvest polar bears from the Southern Beaufort Sea 
population, a population that is not regulated under the U.S.-Russia 
Agreement and title V of the MMPA. We are interested in Alaska Native 
input on the formation of a new co-management partner who is able to:
    (1) Involve subsistence users in conservation and management of 
polar bears in Alaska, including the creation of effective two-way 
communication;
    (2) Collect and exchange local observations on polar bears for the 
development of sound management practices for polar bears in Alaska;
    (3) Develop a regional harvest management system in accordance with 
title V of the MMPA and the U.S.-Russia Agreement, including 
promulgation of local ordinances or regulations that restrict the 
taking of polar bears for subsistence purposes, allocation of a quota 
to Alaska Native subsistence hunters, monitoring Alaska Native 
subsistence harvest of polar bears, and, if necessary, enforcement by 
the co-management partner that complements Federal regulations; and
    (4) Develop a polar bear co-management structure, which requires 
obtaining delegated governmental authority to represent, at a minimum, 
the 15 tribal governments in the State of Alaska that engage in the 
annual subsistence taking of polar bears from the Alaska-Chukotka 
population and the Southern Beaufort Sea population.
    Thus, the appropriate Alaska Native Organization (ANO) would play 
an important role in informing positions of the United States at the 
Commission meetings. A committed and engaged partner is particularly 
important at this time given the commitments to implement the U.S.-
Russia Agreement.
    As noted above, we are also soliciting preliminary ideas about the 
content of regulations to facilitate implementation of harvest 
regulations for polar bears in the Alaska-Chukotka population. In order 
to ensure the annual taking limit established by the Commission is not 
exceeded, we believe it is necessary and appropriate to require more 
timely reporting, and we also need to ensure that hunters have 
effective notice of current information regarding the number and sex of 
bears that have been harvested relative to the annual taking limit. 
Therefore, we are seeking ideas and insights on: (1) The most effective 
ways to keep hunters informed of the number of bears available to 
harvest during the course of a season and when the annual taking limit 
has been met; and (2) the quickest and easiest ways for hunters to 
report their harvest.

Public Comments

    We request comments and suggestions and encourage the submission of 
new ideas, materials, and recommendations from: The public; Alaska 
Native tribal governments, corporations, and organizations; 
environmental organizations; local, State, and Federal agencies; and 
any other interested party. Please ensure that the comments pertain 
only to the issues presented in this ANPR. You must submit your 
comments and supporting materials by one of the methods listed in 
ADDRESSES. If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your 
entire comment--including any personal identifying information--will be 
posted on the Web site. If you submit a hardcopy comment that includes 
personal identifying information, you may request that we withhold this 
information from public review, but we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov. Comments and materials we receive will be 
available for public inspection at http://www.regulations.gov, or by 
appointment, during normal business hours, at the Service (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    We are interested in hearing from leaders and members of the 
Alaskan Native community, hunters, and tribal governments. We also 
welcome comments and information from Native Corporations, the State of 
Alaska, other governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and 
members of the public. To be most useful, and most likely to inform 
decisions, comments should be specific, be substantive, explain the 
reasoning behind the comment, and address the issues outlined in this 
ANPR.
    For the purposes of this ANPR, we are seeking input on the 
development and implementation of a co-management framework to manage 
subsistence use of polar bears in Alaska, including the sustainable 
harvest management obligations of the U.S.-Russia Agreement as 
implemented under title V of the MMPA. We are also soliciting 
preliminary ideas about the content of regulations to facilitate 
implementation of harvest regulations for polar bears in the Alaska-
Chukotka population. Because establishment and implementation of a co-
management framework would not alter existing international obligations 
or national laws and regulations affecting polar bear management, 
including the U.S.-Russia Agreement, we are not seeking comments on 
those topics.

[[Page 78564]]

    We are seeking comments on: (1) The appropriate activities and 
functions to be carried out by a co-management partner; (2) candidate 
organizations or entities to serve in the capacity of a co-management 
partner; (3) recommendations for improving the process for obtaining 
the input and engagement of Alaskan Natives in polar bear conservation 
and management; (4) recommendations for improving the exchange of 
information between the Federal Government and Alaskan Natives on polar 
bear conservation and management; and (5) methods and measures for 
effective implementation of polar bear harvest management, consistent 
with the obligations of the U.S.-Russia Agreement.
    We are particularly interested in receiving comments on the 
following questions relating to the establishment and maintenance of a 
cooperative agreement with an ANO for polar bear conservation and 
management and the promulgation of regulations to monitor and manage 
the harvest of polar bears from the Alaska-Chukotka population:
    1. Should the Service enter into a cooperative agreement with a new 
ANO for polar bear conservation and management?
    2. What functions and roles should a polar bear co-management 
entity perform?
    3. How should a polar bear co-management entity be formed?
    4. Are there existing organizations or entities that are capable of 
and interested in serving in the role of the polar bear co-management 
entity?
    5. What methods are most effective for the exchange of information 
between the Federal Government and Alaskan Natives?
    6. Should harvest regulations for polar bears in the Alaska-
Chukotka population be promulgated only at the Federal level or issued 
by the polar bear co-management entity and then adopted in Federal 
regulations?
    7. What is the appropriate timing for reporting of harvested bears?
    8. What is the most effective method for reporting of harvested 
bears in a timely manner?

Next Steps and Timing

    For all of the reasons identified above, the Service is interested 
in identifying a co-management partner in the immediate future so that 
we can ensure the effective engagement of Alaskan Natives in the many 
ongoing and time-critical polar bear management and conservation 
actions. It is our goal to have a co-management partner in place in 
2017 so that they can proceed with securing the necessary 
authorizations from tribal governments and, assuming that option is 
preferred, establish a program of locally enforceable ordinances for 
polar bear harvest from the ACPBP. Further, as discussed above, the 
U.S.-Russia Agreement is in effect, including the annual taking limit 
established by the Commission, and we have an obligation to take 
actions necessary for its implementation. Thus, one management option 
being considered by the Service is, in the absence of ordinances 
adopted by the ANC or its successor by which Federal regulations would 
be based, to proceed with promulgation of regulations at only the 
Federal level.
    Authority: We issue this ANPR under the authority of title V of the 
MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1423 et seq.).

    Dated: October 25, 2016.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-26881 Filed 11-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P