PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday proposed removing the eastern cougar from the endangered species list, declaring that the cougars have likely been extinct for at least 70 years. 
 
 Recent sightings of cougars in the Northeast are believed to be migrating western mountain lions, Florida panthers or captive animals that were released into the wild, wildlife biologists said. 
 
 "We recognize that people have seen cougars in the wild in the eastern U.S.," said Martin Miller, northeast chief of endangered species. "Those cougars are not of the eastern cougar subspecies." 
 
 The big cats are known across the U.S. by a variety of names: Cougar, mountain lion, puma, panther, or catamount. The eastern cougar subspecies was listed as endangered in 1973. 
 
 Most of the eastern cougars disappeared in the 1800s as European settlers killed them to protect themselves and their livestock and as forests were harvested and the cougar's primary prey, white-tailed deer, nearly disappeared, officials said. The last records of eastern cougars are believed to be in Maine in 1938 and in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1932. 
 
 But that doesn't mean cougars are gone for good from the East. 
 
 Western mountain lions have been expanding their range. In 2011, a solitary young male cougar traveled about 2,000 miles from South Dakota through Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York before being killed on a Connecticut highway. A cougar of unknown origin was also killed in Kentucky in December 2014, officials said. 
 
 The forests of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate New York have ideal cougar habitat, should the western cougars continue to expand eastward, officials say. 
 
 Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity said the extinction of eastern cougars has disrupted the forest ecosystem and allowed large populations of white-tailed deer to thrive. 
 
 "This is a somber moment to think about what the land under our feet used to be like, and what roamed here," Robinson said in a statement from New Mexico. "It should also be a clarion call to recover pumas and all of our apex predators to sustainable levels to help rebalance a world that is out of kilter." 
 
 There's some debate over whether the eastern cougar subspecies is a distinct population following researcher's findings that suggested all U.S. cougars share a similar genetic makeup. 
 
 But since that's still up for debate, the federal agency proceeded as if eastern cougars are a distinct population that used to have a range over 21 states from Missouri to Michigan to Maine to the Carolinas, said Mark McCollough, an endangered species biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Maine. 
 
 The proposal to remove the eastern cougar from the endangered species list was being published in the Federal Register and will be available for public comment for 60 days before the agency proceeds with final rule making. The proposal does not affect the status of the Florida panther, which will remain listed as endangered. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow David Sharp on Twitter at https://twitter.com/David_Sharp_AP 

 Documents Open for Comment Click on Document ID link to go to Regulations.gov. There are 12 records. 
 
 Subtitle Comment End Date Address 
 
 Proposed Rules: Designation of Critical Habitat for Sonoyta Mud Turtle 
 
 
 
 Action: Proposed rule. 
 
 
 
 62778-62794 12/06/2018 1018-BD53 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-R2-ES-2017-0014 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 02/04/2019 
 
 
 
 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
 
 Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, Fish and Wildlife Office, 
 
 9828 North 31st Ave. #C3, Phoenix, AZ 85051-2517 
 
 Phone: 602-242-0210 
 
 Fax: 602-242-2513 
 
 
 
 
 
 Proposed Rules: General Provisions; Revised List of Migratory Birds 
 
 
 
 Action: Proposed rule. 
 
 
 
 61288-61307 11/28/2018 1018-BC67 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-HQ-MB-2018-0047 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/28/2019 
 
 
 
 
 
 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Eric L. Kershner, Chief of the Branch of Conservation, Permits, and Regulations 
 
 Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
 
 MS:MB, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 
 
 Phone: 703-358-2376 
 
 Fax: none listed 
 
 
 
 
 
 Proposed Rules: Designation of Critical Habitat for the Candy Darter 
 
 
 
 Action: Proposed rule. 
 
 
 
 59232-59268 11/21/2018 1018-BD15 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-R5-ES-2018-0050 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/22/2019 
 
 
 
 
 
 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Johm Schmidt, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
 
 West Virginia Ecological Services Field Office, 694 Beverly Pike, 
 
 Elkins, WV 26241-9475 
 
 Phone: 304-636-6586 
 
 Fax: none listed 
 
 
 
 
 
 Proposed Rules: Supplemental Proposals for Migratory Game Bird Hunting Regulations for the 2019-20 Hunting Season; Notice of Meetings 
 
 
 
 Action: Proposed rule; supplemental. 
 
 
 
 47868-47873 09/21/2018 1018-BD10 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-HQ-MB-2018-0030 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/15/2019 
 
 
 
 
 
 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Ron W. Kokel 
 
 Division of Migratory Bird Managemest 
 
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS:MB, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041 
 
 Phone: 703-358-1714 
 
 Fax: none listed 
 
 
 
 
 
 Notices: Hurricane Sandy Remapping Project for Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia 
 
 
 
 Action: Notice of availability; request for comments; notice of public meetings via webcast and teleconference. 
 
 
 
 64861-64869 12/18/2018 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-HQ-ES-2018-0034 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 04/17/2019 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Katie Niemi, Coastal Barriers Coordinator 
 
 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS:ES, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 
 
 Phone: 703-358-2071 
 
 Fax: none listed 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Notices: Draft List of Bird Species to Which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Does Not Apply 
 
 
 
 Action: Notice of availability; request for comments. 
 
 
 
 61161-61163 11/28/2018 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-HQ-MB-2018-0048 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/28/2019 
 
 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Eric L. Kershner, 
 
 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS:MB, 5275 Leesburg Pike, 
 
 Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 
 
 Phone: 703-358-2376 
 
 Fax: none listed 
 
 
 
 
 
 Notices: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Draft Restoration Plan #1.1 and Environmental Assessment; Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group 
 
 
 
 Action: Notice of availability; request for public comments. 
 
 
 
 65360-65361 12/20/2018 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-R4-ES-2018-N153 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/22/2019 
 
 Notices: Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Habitat Conservation Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for Marbled Murrelets, Bald Eagles, and Golden Eagles; Skookumchuck Wind Energy Project, Lewis and Thurston Counties, Washington 
 
 
 
 Action: Notice of availability; request for comments. 
 
 
 
 61664-61667 11/30/2018 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-R1-ES-2018-0095 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/14/2019 
 
 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Tim Romanskt 
 
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 510 Desmond Dr. SE, Suite 102, 
 
 Lacey, WA 98503 
 
 Phone: 360-753-5823 
 
 Fax: none listed 
 
 
 
 
 
 Notices: 1018-0153: Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Check-In Permit and Use Report 
 
 
 
 Action: Notice of information collection; request for comment. 
 
 
 
 64149-64150 12/13/2018 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-R4-NWRS-2018-N132 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/14/2019 
 
 Notices: Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL; Wild Cat Education & Conservation Fund, Occidental, CA; James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA; Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY; Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Abingdon, VA; University of Wisconsin--Madison, Madison, WI, etc. 
 
 
 
 Action: Notice of receipt of permit applications. 
 
 
 
 63668-63671 12/11/2018 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-HQ-IA-2018-0083 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/10/2019 
 
 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Brenda Tapia 
 
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS:IA, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 
 
 22041-3803 
 
 Phone: 703-358-2104 
 
 Fax: none listed 
 
 
 
 
 
 Notices: Cord Offermann, Austin, TX; Chicago Zoological Society dba Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, IL; Uno Mas Ranch, Bandera, TX; Gary Reeder, Flagstaff, AZ; ABR, Inc.--Environmental Research and Services, Fairbanks, AK; USGS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK 
 
 
 
 Action: Notice of receipt of permit applications. 
 
 
 
 62600-62601 12/04/2018 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-HQ-IA-2018-0086 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 01/03/2019 
 
 For Further Information Only: 
 
 (Do Not Send Comments Here) 
 
 Monica Thomas 
 
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS:IA, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 
 
 22041-3803 
 
 Phoe: 703-358-2104 
 
 Fax: none listed 
 
 
 
 
 
 Notices: Draft City of Rancho Palos Verdes Natural Community Conservation Plan and Habitat Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment, City of Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles County, California 
 
 
 
 Action: Notice of availability; request for public comment. 
 
 
 
 54769-54771 10/31/2018 
 
 
 
 Click here to see this Federal Register document: Text 
 
 
 
 Docket ID: FWS-R8-ES-2018-N094 
 
 
 
 Related Docket: 
 
 12/31/2018 

 Press Release 
 
 Extinct eastern cougar subspecies proposed for removal from endangered species list 
 
 Cougars in the East are Florida panthers, released captives or dispersing from the West 
 
 Division of Public Affairs 
 
 External Affairs 
 
 Telephone: 703-358-2220 
 
 Website: https://www.fws.gov/external-affairs/public-affairs/ 
 
 Bruce Wright, New Brunswick wildlife biologist and author, with what is believed to be the last eastern puma. The puma was trapped by Rosarie Morin of St. Zacharie, Quebec in Somerset County, Maine in 1938. Mounted specimen resides in the New Brunswick Museum in St. John, New Brunswick. Credit: Courtesy of Northeastern Wildlife Station 
 
 The eastern cougar (Felis concolor couguar) has likely been extinct for at least 70 years, according to a thorough review of data from researchers, states and Canadian provinces across the subspecies’ range. In response to the review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove the extinct subspecies from the endangered species list. 
 
 “We recognize that people have seen cougars in the wild in the eastern U.S.,” said Martin Miller, the Service’s Northeast Region Chief of Endangered Species. “Those cougars are not of the eastern cougar subspecies.” 
 
 The Service completed the formal review of the eastern cougar in 2011. During the review, the Service examined the best available scientific and historic information, queried 21 states and eastern Canadian provinces, and reviewed hundreds of reports from the public. No states or provinces provided evidence of the existence of an eastern cougar population. 
 
 The Service concluded that cougars occasionally occur in eastern North America, but that they are either Florida panthers, dispersing animals from western populations, or have been released or escaped from captivity. The conclusions are based on a review of more than 100 reports dating back to 1900. 
 
 The eastern cougar subspecies was listed as endangered in 1973. However, accounts suggest that most eastern cougars disappeared in the 1800s as European immigrants killed cougars to protect themselves and their livestock, as forests were harvested, and as white-tailed deer, the cougar’s primary prey, nearly went extinct in eastern North America. The last records of eastern cougars are believed to be in Maine (1938) and New Brunswick (1932). 
 
 Extinct animals and plants cannot be protected under the Endangered Species Act, which is meant to recover imperiled species and their habitats. Additionally, under law, the eastern cougar listing cannot be used as a method to protect other cougar subspecies. The proposal is available for public inspection June 16 at https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection. From June 17 to August 17, 2015, the proposal will be available for review and comment at www.regulations.gov under docket no. FWS–R5–ES–2015–0001. 
 
 Wild cougar populations in the West have been expanding their range eastward in the last two decades, with individual cougars confirmed throughout the Midwest. Evidence of wild cougars dispersing farther east is extremely rare. In 2011, a solitary young male cougar traveled about 2,000 miles from South Dakota through Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York, and was killed on a Connecticut highway. A cougar of unknown origin was also killed in Kentucky in December 2014. 
 
 The Service's proposal to remove the eastern cougar from the endangered species list does not affect the status of the Florida panther, another cougar subspecies listed as endangered. 
 
 Additional information about eastern cougars, including frequently asked questions and cougar sightings, is at: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/ecougar. Find information about endangered species at http://www.fws.gov/endangered. 

 Bruce Wright, a New Brunswick-based wildlife biologist and author, with what is thought to be the last eastern puma. The puma was trapped by in Somerset County, Maine in 1938. 
 
 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is planning to remove the eastern cougar from the endangered species list after determining the subspecies has likely been extinct for 70 years. 
 
 The proposal comes after a formal review of the subspecies' status that concluded in 2011. Wildlife officials looked at more than 100 reports (going back to 1900) and found that recent "sightings" of the eastern cougar were actually of Florida panthers, wild western cougars or other cougars that escaped from captivity or were released. 
 
 The FWS also looked at available historical and scientific studies, and consulted experts in 21 U.S. states and some eastern Canadian provinces. [5 Mysterious Animal Die-Offs] 
 
 "We recognize that people have seen cougars in the wild in the eastern U.S.," Martin Miller, the service's northeast region chief of endangered species, said in a statement. "Those cougars are not of the eastern cougar subspecies." 
 
 Meanwhile, wild western cougars have been moving east over the past two decades, FWS officials said. Usually, these cougars end up in the Midwest, although there have been isolated cases of cougars traveling even further east than that, the officials added. 
 
 For example, in 2011, a male cougar was tracked from South Dakota through Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York before it was killed on a highway in Connecticut. Another cougar was killed in Kentucky in 2014, although its origin was not determined, FWS officials said. 
 
 The eastern cougar has been classified as "endangered" since 1973, but the last records of the animal date back to the 1930s in Maine and New Brunswick. Most of these cougars were killed in the 1800s as the result of European immigrants clearing forests. Those immigrants also killed the animals out of concern that the large predators would hunt livestock. In addition, populations of eastern cougars dwindled when white-tailed deer (which the cougars feasted on) nearly went extinct in North America. 
 
 The proposal to remove the species is posted on the Office of the Federal Register website. It will be available for review and comment until Aug. 17. Another cougar species, the Florida panther, remains on the endangered species list. 
 
 Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
– The eastern cougar no longer needs to be on a list of protected animals because it was killed off more than 70 years ago, the US Fish and Wildlife Service says. The agency now proposes shifting the subspecies from the endangered list to the extinct list, LiveScience reports. The FWS, which consulted experts in 21 states and several eastern Canadian provinces and pored over more than 100 reports dating to 1900, says the proposal to change the cougar's status will be available for public comment until August 17. The last eastern cougar on record was killed in Maine in 1938, and while there have definitely been cougars spotted in the East since then, the FWS determined they were either Florida panthers or western cougars that escaped from zoos or wandered east—like one that was shot in Kentucky last fall. A spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity tells the AP that the extinction of the eastern cougar should be a "somber moment to think about what the land under our feet used to be like, and what roamed here." What happened between then and now? The FWS explains that the bulk of the population is thought to have been killed off in the 19th century, as immigrants cleared large forests and killed the animal out of fears it would attack growing livestock populations; at the same time, the cougar's chief prey, the white-tailed deer, was largely wiped out. Of course, the AP notes that some researchers believe the eastern cougars may not have been a distinct subspecies at all. (And then there's this "extinct" bird, which recently sang to researchers.)