Import of Polar Bear Trophies From Canada: Change in the Finding for the M'Clintock Channel Population

The Fish and Wildlife Service is adopting the emergency interim rule published on January 10, 2001, as a final rule without substantive change. This rule amended our regulations, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), on the import of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) taken by sport hunters in the M'Clintock Channel population, Nunavut Territory, Canada. Current information indicates that this population has severely declined and harvest quotas have not ensured a sustainable population level. In the emergency interim rule, we found that the M'Clintock Channel population no longer meets the import requirements of the MMPA and amended 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. In addition, the emergency interim rule updated our regulations to reflect the formation of the new territory of Nunavut and notified the public on the lifting by Canada of the harvest moratorium in the Viscount Melville Sound polar bear population. This final rule presents the best available information on the M'Clintock Channel population and addresses comments received on the emergency interim rule.