Proposed Rule2025-22542
Pribilof Islands Administration; Dogs Prohibited
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 11, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS proposes to revise regulations that prohibit dogs on the Pribilof Islands by creating an exception for NMFS to authorize certified and trained rodent detection dogs to respond to and prevent the establishment of invasive rodents on the Pribilof Islands. Invasive rodents could have significant consequences for the wildlife species that live and breed on the Pribilof Islands and the health and food security of community members. This action supports Tribal, local, and Federal agency efforts and is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Fur Seal Act (FSA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and other applicable laws.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 236 (Thursday, December 11, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 236 (Thursday, December 11, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57442-57446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22542]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 216
[Docket No. 251205-0178]
RIN 0648-BN39
Pribilof Islands Administration; Dogs Prohibited
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to revise regulations that prohibit dogs on the
Pribilof Islands by creating an exception for NMFS to authorize
certified and trained rodent detection dogs to respond to and prevent
the establishment of invasive rodents on the Pribilof Islands. Invasive
rodents could have significant consequences for the wildlife species
that live and breed on the Pribilof Islands and the health and food
security of community members. This action supports Tribal, local, and
Federal agency efforts and is intended to promote the goals and
objectives of the Fur Seal Act (FSA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA), and other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on or before January 12, 2026.
ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available
at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2025-0405">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2025-0405</a>. You may
submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-0405, by
either of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>
and type NOAA-NMFS-2025-0405 in the Search box. Click the ``Comment''
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
<bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to the Assistant Regional
Administrator, Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region NMFS, P.O.
Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or
[[Page 57443]]
individual, or received after the end of the comment period may not be
considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the public
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information,
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
Electronic copies of the draft Regulatory Impact Review prepared
for this proposed rule may be obtained from <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Williams, NMFS Alaska Region,
907-271-5117, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#96fbfff5fef7f3fab8e1fffafafff7fbe5d6f8f9f7f7b8f1f9e0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b4d9ddd7dcd5d1d89ac3ddd8d8ddd5d9c7f4dadbd5d59ad3dbc2">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority for Action
The FSA (16 U.S.C. 1161-1169b) requires the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) to administer Federal lands of the Pribilof Islands and
ensure that activities on such Federal lands are consistent with the
purposes of conserving, managing, and protecting northern fur seals,
Callorhinus ursinus, and other wildlife. The Secretary is authorized to
promulgate regulations necessary for the administration of the Pribilof
Islands (16 U.S.C. 1169), which NMFS, acting pursuant to delegated
authority, has promulgated at 50 CFR part 216, subpart G-Pribilof
Islands Administration. NMFS manages northern fur seals consistent with
both the FSA and MMPA.
Background
The current text of 50 CFR 216.82, ``Dogs prohibited,'' states:
``In order to prevent molestation of fur seal herds, the landing of any
dogs at Pribilof Islands is prohibited.'' NMFS has interpreted the
molestation of the fur seal herds to include physical disturbance and
disease transmission by a dog or its feces.
An invasive rat was reported on St. Paul Island (of the Pribilof
Islands) in June 2024. The introduction of an invasive rat (or invasive
rodent) could have significant ecological consequences for the
indigenous species that live and breed on the islands, including
northern fur seals, which have been designated as depleted under the
MMPA (53 FR 17888, May 18, 1988).
As such, the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI) and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) requested that NMFS consider
allowing a rat detection dog to land on St. Paul Island for the purpose
of confirming the presence of and locating any rats. NMFS has
historically supported Tribal, local, and Federal agency efforts to
prevent the introduction of invasive rodents on the Pribilof Islands.
Invasive rodents include brown rats or Norway rats, black rats or roof
rats, mice, and other less common species. Mice do not pose the same
wildlife risk as rats, but have been observed killing seabird chicks,
and also have a human health and zoonotic disease risk. Black rats
generally avoid water, but have been observed on one of the Aleutian
Islands.
NMFS has an MMPA section 119 (16 U.S.C. 1388) cooperative agreement
(also referred to herein as a co-management agreement) with the ACSPI
to share responsibility for the conservation of northern fur seals (and
other marine mammal species) and the management of subsistence use (the
agreement can be found at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/marine-mammal-protection/co-management-marine-mammals-alaska#tribal-government-of-st-paul">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/marine-mammal-protection/co-management-marine-mammals-alaska#tribal-government-of-st-paul</a>). The co-management agreement between NMFS and
ACSPI includes shared responsibility for management decisions regarding
northern fur seal conservation and subsistence use through a co-
management council, which is comprised of equal membership between NMFS
and ACSPI. The co-management council process includes regular meetings.
The City of St. George, City of Saint Paul (16.10), ACSPI Tribal
Code (7.05), and the State of Alaska (5 AAC 92.141) have promulgated
regulations preventing rodents. The communities primarily carry the
significant burden of preventing rodent invasions on St. Paul and St.
George, including implementing increased biosecurity measures when the
threat of invasive rodents occurs.
ACSPI has assumed the burden of rodent prevention on St. Paul
Island since the late 1990s, after initiation of the program by the
USFWS in 1993. Today, the prevention efforts include 75 specialized
rodenticide and snap trap stations positioned around the harbor, fish
processing plant, warehouses, and docks where rodents might escape from
an arriving vessel. From 1995 through 1996, nine rats were found on St.
Paul Island and all were dead. In 2018, the first live rat was detected
in the fish processing plant and, after 10 months of active trapping
and multiple detections, the rat was confirmed dead immediately outside
the plant. No subsequent sightings occurred over the next 12 months,
and no rats were sighted on St. Paul Island until the June 2024
sighting. St. George Island has never had a rat detection, suggesting
that its rat prevention stations established around the harbor and
landfill have been effective. St. George did respond to an invasive
mouse event within the last decade, and St. Paul has had intermittent
mouse detections over the past decade. Dutch Harbor, which has rats, is
the closest port to the Pribilof Islands and is often the origin for
local and regional cargo vessels and barges. Fishing vessels come to
St. Paul and St. George for fuel, resupply, and emergencies, many of
which originate from Dutch Harbor. The risk of rodent introductions to
the Pribilof Islands is also growing primarily due to increased vessel
traffic in the sub-arctic and Arctic for tourism. Vessels are the
primary source of introductions of rats to islands worldwide (Drake and
Hunt 2008).
Request From Multi-Agency Invasive Rat Task Force
In June 2024, the ACSPI and USFWS Alaska Maritime National Wildlife
Refuge (USFWS AMNWR) contacted NMFS regarding the report of an invasive
rat on St. Paul Island. NMFS staff participated in regular task force
meetings between ACSPI, USFWS AMNWR, and U.S. Department of Agriculture
to discuss the invasive rat situation. Multiple methods of detection
have been implemented around the initial observation site on St. Paul
Island, including motion sensing trail cameras, chew blocks, bait
stations, and snap traps. No additional detections have been observed,
but given the abundance of wild food for rats during the summer and
fall, the task force expects that these methods may not yield
additional detections of the rat if it is on island. After other
methods of detection were unsuccessful and after numerous meetings, the
task force determined that a dog specially trained in rat detection was
the most likely method to detect any rats on St. Paul Island.
The Proposed Rule, Need for This Action, and Expected Effects
This rule would provide an exception to the current regulatory
prohibition by allowing the Regional Administrator to authorize the use
of rodent detection dogs to respond to any incidents that could
otherwise lead to the establishment of a rodent population on any of
the Pribilof Islands. NMFS believes the ecological benefits of
successfully detecting and eradicating any invasive rodents on the
Pribilof Islands outweigh the manageable risks of molestation of the
fur seal herd and
[[Page 57444]]
disease transmission from dogs or their feces. The potential
environmental consequences of dogs on the Pribilof Islands include the
exposure of indigenous wildlife to canine diseases transmitted through
feces or urine and molestation of indigenous wildlife by an
uncontrolled dog. After careful review, NMFS has preliminarily
determined (pending consideration of public comments) that the landing
of certified and trained rodent detection dogs, subject to certain
conditions that would be imposed by NMFS, would not create any
significant environmental risk to fur seals or other wildlife
populations on the Pribilof Islands. These conditions would include:
(1) the only dogs that could be authorized on the Pribilof Islands
would be rodent detection dogs certified to have been trained for that
purpose; (2) the certified rodent detection dog(s) will undergo any
quarantine period required by the State of Alaska; (3) any such dog
must have current immunizations and health certifications required by
the State of Alaska; (4) any such dog must be under constant control
(i.e., voice, electronic, or leash) by a professional dog handler; and
(5) the handler will be responsible for feces management, including
collecting all feces, securing all feces from exposure to indigenous
wildlife, and disposing of all feces by incineration on the island from
which it is collected.
There are certified and trained rodent detection dogs available
through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several private
organizations.
The purpose of the current regulation at 50 CFR 216.82 is to
prevent molestation of fur seals; NMFS has interpreted ``molestation''
as including physical disturbance and disease transmission by the dog
or its feces. The current regulation allows no exceptions to the
prohibition on the landing of dogs on the Pribilof Islands. NMFS is
proposing to revise 50 CFR 216.82 to create a limited exception to
allow landowners to request the Regional Administrator to authorize the
landing of certified and trained rodent detection dogs for up to 180
days for the sole purpose of detecting and eradicating invasive
rodents. The regulation would continue to prohibit the landing of dogs
on the Pribilof Islands for any other purpose, including as household
pets.
There are several potential rodent detection methods, including
trail cameras, chew blocks, and baited snap traps. These methods, for
example, have been deployed and monitored on St. Paul Island since the
first sighting was reported in June 2024 in an attempt to confirm the
initial rat sighting. No additional sightings have been made using
these methods. These methods will continue to be used by ACSPI and
USFWS to detect or capture the rat; however, they are known to be less
effective than a trained rodent detection dog.
Since a rodent detection dog is much more effective than other
methods, NMFS believes the ecological benefits of detecting and
eradicating any invasive rodents through this rule outweigh the
manageable risks of molestation of the fur seal herd and disease
transmission from dogs or their feces. The dog(s) would be under
constant control, so there is very little risk of molestation of the
fur seal herd, or other wildlife, as contemplated in the original
rulemaking (34 FR 13371, August 19, 1969). In addition, to minimize
disease transmission, any dogs must have proof of current immunizations
and health certifications required by the State of Alaska, and the
handler would be responsible for collecting and disposing of all feces.
Finally, the exception is limited to a total of 180 days per incident
and is triggered when a dog or dogs are necessary for rodent detection
on an island because of an incident that may potentially lead to the
establishment of a rodent population on any of the Pribilof Islands.
The 180-day limit applies based on the incident triggering the need for
a rodent detection dog on that specific island. If two islands have
rodent incidents, the dogs deployed to each island will be subject to
separate 180-day limits. The 180-day period starts on the date of the
dog's arrival on the island and is calculated by the total number of
days the dog is present on that island. If for any reason the dog needs
to depart prior to the 180-day limit, only those days that a dog was
present on that island count toward the limit, and certified and
trained rodent detection dog(s) would be allowed to return to the
island for the remainder of the 180-day period if necessary for rodent
detection. Each 180-day period will apply to the island and
circumstances for which it was authorized. If new circumstances emerge
after a 180-day period expires, the Regional Administrator would
consider whether to authorize a new 180-day period based on the
evidence available, including evidence of the presence of any rodents.
This rulemaking is meant to address the need of preventing the
establishment of an invasive rodent population and improving the
ability to detect invasive rodents on the Pribilof Islands. A single
pregnant female rat is capable of breeding with her own male offspring
with no negative genetic consequences, resulting in the creation of a
viable new population (Costa et al., 2016). Rodents may predate on
subsistence resources, such as seabirds, their eggs, and chicks (Angel
et al., 2009). Cliff and burrow nesting seabirds on the islands use
habitats that limit exposure to arctic fox predation, but those same
habitats are particularly vulnerable to rats as cliffs and burrows do
not limit their access to nests. In addition, rodents are common
carriers of many diseases transmissible to humans, fur seals, and other
wildlife, including Leptospirosis (Richardson et al., 2017).
While alternative methods have been deployed to try to locate the
rat or signs of its presence without importing a rat detection dog to
St. Paul Island, those methods to date have not located the rat. ACSPI
and USFWS will continue to deploy and monitor for the presence and
signs of a rat in 2025 while NMFS pursues this rulemaking to create a
regulatory exception that would apply to all of the Pribilof Islands.
While this rulemaking was initiated by the local observation on St.
Paul Island in 2024, the risk of invasive rodents being introduced to
any of the Pribilof Islands has grown in the past decade due largely to
an increase in vessel and cruise ship traffic. As such, this rule would
allow a landowner to respond to an incident involving an invasive
rodent by requesting NMFS's authorization for an exception to land a
rodent detection dog. The exception would remain in effect for up to
180 days from the date of the dog's first landing on the island with
the rodent incident, allowing for the logistical challenges involved in
arranging for landing an invasive rodent detection dog on the Pribilof
Islands, and having adequate time to detect rodents if present on the
Pribilof Islands.
This rulemaking is not likely to have adverse economic impacts on
small businesses or the economies of St. Paul or St. George Islands.
NMFS intends for this action to apply to the Pribilof Islands, not just
St. Paul and St. George, because the risk of shipwrecks introducing
rodents is also possible on the uninhabited islands. Not taking this
action and allowing the invasive rat to persist or allowing an invasive
rodent to otherwise become established on St. Paul could result in
negative environmental impacts, which could in turn impact the
wildlife-viewing tourist economy managed by the Tanadgusix (TDX)
Corporation, the local Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act village
corporation for St. Paul. There is no similar tourism economy on St.
George Island, only the incidental revenue from
[[Page 57445]]
hotel occupancy operated by the Tanaq Corporation, the local Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act village corporation for St. George. The
communities of St. Paul and St. George also rely on marine and
terrestrial species breeding on the Pribilof Islands for subsistence
purposes and food security that could be affected by an invasive rodent
introduction. The TDX Corporation and Tanaq Corporation may be affected
as the dog may need to search on their lands. The landowner who
requests authorization to land a dog or dogs on island would be
responsible for obtaining permission from other landowners before any
search occurs on their properties.
Scope of Proposed and Potential Regulatory Changes and Request for
Comment
In this proposed rule, NMFS would revise the regulations at 50 CFR
216.82 to allow an exception, lasting up to 180 total days a dog (or
dogs) is on island, to the regulatory prohibition against landing dogs
on the Pribilof Islands in order to land certified and trained rodent
detection dogs on the Pribilof Islands to support Tribal, local, and
Federal agency efforts to detect, locate, and eradicate any invasive
rodents on the Pribilof Islands. This exception would allow certified
and trained rodent detection dogs on the Pribilof Islands. This
regulatory change would respond to the June 2024 report of an invasive
rat on St. Paul Island but also allows flexibility for NMFS to
authorize landowners to land certified and trained rodent detection
dogs on any of the Pribilof Islands to respond to any future incidents,
such as a shipwreck or observations of invasive rodents on the Pribilof
Islands.
Rather than proposing a one-time exemption for this current
incident on St. Paul Island, NMFS proposes to create an exception to
the regulatory prohibition of dogs to last up to 180 days in order to
land certified and trained rodent detection dogs on any of the Pribilof
Islands as needed to respond to and prevent the introduction of
invasive rodents. This would allow a timely response to any incident
that may potentially lead to the establishment of a rodent population
on any of the Pribilof Islands. The exception would allow for a
landowner to request the NMFS Alaska Regional Administrator to
authorize the landing of certified and trained rodent detection dogs on
any of the Pribilof Islands for 180 days to search for, detect, and
eradicate rodents. The implementation of the exception will balance the
need to reduce exposure of seasonal wildlife, the availability of human
and wild food sources, refuge from the weather, and the urgency of the
incident being considered in terms of the likelihood of rodents
establishing a population on the Pribilof Islands.
The landowners would be responsible for providing the evidence of
the rodent sighting, certification the dog(s) have been trained for
rodent detection, immunization and health certification records for the
dog(s) to be used to detect rodents, the expected duration and location
of the search, any permissions needed for searches on lands owned by
others, number of dogs expected to be used, and the feces management
plan to NMFS. NMFS will review the information provided and the
Regional Administrator may authorize the exception in writing to the
landowner within 10 working days of receipt of the completed
information package so that, if the request is approved, the certified
and trained dog(s) could be secured and transported to the island in a
timely manner for rodent detection. When authorizing the use of rodent
detection dog(s), the Regional Administrator may impose conditions on
their use on the specified Pribilof Island to address and mitigate the
potential risks of molestation of the fur seal herd and disease
transmission from dogs or their feces. Such conditions could include
requirements for the control and handling of the dogs and dog feces by
a professional dog handler while the dogs are on the Pribilof Island,
compliance with any required quarantine period, and direction for the
Pribilof Island landowner to communicate to NMFS when the dog(s) arrive
and depart the Island, where the searches occurred, when the searches
were completed, and whether any invasive rodents were detected. This
action does not create any other exceptions to the existing prohibition
on landing dogs on the Pribilof Islands, including household pets.
Classification
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent with the FSA (16 U.S.C. 1161-
1169b), the MMPA, and other applicable laws, subject to further
consideration after public comment. In the development of this proposed
rule, NMFS worked with the ACSPI pursuant to the NMFS and ACSPI's co-
management agreement under the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1388(a)).
Executive Order 12866
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 14192
This proposed rule is not an Executive Order 14192 regulatory
action because this rule is not significant under Executive Order
12866.
Executive Order 13175
As noted in the preamble, the ACSPI and USFWS have requested that
NMFS implement this rule to revise the FSA regulations to authorize
rodent detection dogs to land on the Pribilof Islands. NMFS has worked
collaboratively and had frequent communication with the ACSPI as part
of a multi-agency invasive rodent task force and pursuant to the NMFS
and ACSPI's co-management agreement under the MMPA. NMFS also contacted
the local Alaska Native Corporation on St. Paul Island (Tanadgusix
Corporation, TDX) about revising the regulations regarding the landing
of rodent detection dogs on St. Paul Island. Neither the Alaska Native
Tribe on St. Paul Island (ACSPI) nor the TDX Corporation expressed
opposition to this rule. Similarly, NMFS contacted the Traditional
Council of St. George Island, and their local Native Corporation (Tanaq
Corporation) about revising the regulations regarding the landing of
certified and trained rodent detection dogs and determined there was no
opposition. Given the level of Tribal engagement in the course of
responding to this issue and developing this proposed rule, Tribal
consultation was not held on the proposed rule.
A Tribal summary impact statement under section (5)(b)(2)(B) and
section (5)(c)(2) of E.O. 13175 was not required for this proposed rule
because this action does not impose substantial direct compliance costs
on Alaska Native Tribal Governments and this action does not preempt
Tribal law. A Tribal summary impact statement is not required and has
not been prepared.
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)
An RIR was prepared to assess costs and benefits of available
regulatory alternatives. A copy of this draft analysis is available
from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on
[[Page 57446]]
a substantial number of small entities. The factual basis for this
determination is as follows.
The current regulation prohibits landing of all dogs on the
Pribilof Islands. This proposed rule would create a limited exception
for the NMFS Alaska Regional Administrator to authorize the landing of
certified and trained rodent detection dogs on the Pribilof Islands for
180 days subject to certain conditions that would be imposed by the
Regional Administrator to prevent the molestation of fur seals and
other wildlife by such dogs. The statutory authority and the need for
this action, as well as expected effects, are described in the preamble
above. NMFS also prepared a Regulatory Impact Review that analyzed
alternatives, including the status quo. The establishment of invasive
rodents on the Pribilof Islands could result in negative environmental
and ecological impacts that could in turn impact the wildlife-viewing
tourist economy managed by the TDX Corporation and Tanaq Corporation
and the communities of St. Paul and St. George that rely on marine and
terrestrial species breeding on the Pribilof Islands for subsistence
purposes and food security.
Implementing this proposed rule would help prevent the
establishment of invasive rodents on the Pribilof Islands, which in
turn could provide a means to protect the tourist economy, subsistence
resources that contribute to food security and the mixed cash-
subsistence economy, and public health costs from rodent-borne
diseases. This exception proposed in this action would create the
flexibility and opportunity for landowners on the Pribilof Islands to
hire and utilize the services of a certified and trained rodent
detection dog handler to prevent invasive rodents from establishing a
population on the Pribilof Islands. Entities that would be directly
regulated by this proposed rule are limited to any Pribilof Islands
landowner who requests invasive rodent detection services and the
service provider. Landowners on the Pribilof Islands include the
Federal government, municipal governments of St. Paul and St. George,
and the TDX Corporation and Tanaq Corporation. In addition to private
companies, other Federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, may have rodent detection dogs available.
The use of certified and trained rodent detection dogs will help to
successfully locate and remove any invasive rodents from the Pribilof
Islands, which will protect sensitive wildlife, subsistence resources
necessary to maintain food security, wildlife and communities that may
be exposed to invasive rodent-borne diseases, and the small wildlife
tourism economy on the Pribilof Islands. Therefore, it is expected that
the proposed action could have a beneficial economic effect on any
small entities by creating the opportunity to detect invasive rodents
on the Pribilof Islands with certified and trained dogs. As a result,
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and none has
been prepared.
Collection-of-Information Requirements
This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. NOAA is not soliciting the
information from the public and therefore is not conducting a
collection of information. NOAA will respond to a request from an
individual landowner on the Pribilof Islands for assistance in
obtaining an exception to use a certified and trained rodent detection
dog on the Pribilof Islands.
References
Angel, A., Wanless, R.M. and J. Cooper. Review of impacts of the
introduced house mouse on islands in the Southern Ocean: are mice
equivalent to rats?. Biological Invasions 11, 1743-1754 (2009).
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9401-4">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9401-4</a>.
Costa, F., J.L. Richardson, K. Dion, C. Mariani, A.C. Pertile, M.K.
Burak, J.E. Childs, A.I. Ko, and A. Caccone, Multiple Paternity in
the Norway Rat, Rattus norvegicus, from Urban Slums in Salvador,
Brazil, Journal of Heredity, Volume 107, Issue 2, March 2016, Pages
181-186, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esv098">https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esv098</a>.
Drake, D.R., Hunt, T.L. Invasive rodents on islands: integrating
historical and contemporary ecology. Biological Invasions 11, 1483-
1487 (2009). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9392-1">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9392-1</a>.
Richardson, J.L., Burak, M.K., Hernandez, C., et al. Using fine-
scale spatial genetics of Norway rats to improve control efforts and
reduce leptospirosis risk in urban slum environments. Evolutionary
Applications. 2017; 10: 323-337. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12449">https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12449</a>.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 216
Alaska, Pribilof Islands.
Dated: December 5, 2025.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 216 is amended
as follows:
PART 216--REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE
MAMMALS
0
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 216 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq., unless otherwise noted.
0
2. In Section 216.82 add paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 216.82 Dogs prohibited.
(a) In order to prevent molestation of fur seal herds, the landing
of any dogs at Pribilof Islands is prohibited.
(b) Exception to prevent the establishment of invasive rodents on
the Pribilof Islands. The NMFS Alaska Regional Administrator may
authorize the landing of certified and trained rodent detection dogs on
an island in the Pribilof Islands, subject to the following:
(1) A Pribilof Island landowner must submit a request for
authorization to land a rodent detection dog on a Pribilof Island in
writing to the NMFS Alaska Regional Administrator and must include the
following information:
(i) Evidence of rodent presence on a Pribilof Island;
(ii) Certification that the dog has been trained for rodent
detection;
(iii) Certification that the dog will be under the constant voice,
electronic, or leash control of a professional dog handler, or
otherwise confined, while on the Pribilof Island;
(iv) Proof that the dog has undergone any quarantine period
required by the State of Alaska;
(v) Current immunization and health certifications required by the
State of Alaska;
(vi) The number of dogs expected to be used;
(vii) The professional dog handler's written plan for collecting
and incinerating dog feces;
(viii) The expected duration and location of rodent searches on the
Pribilof Island; and
(ix) Any other information requested by the Regional Administrator.
(2) After receipt of a complete request, within [10] days, the NMFS
Alaska Regional Administrator may authorize the landing of one or more
certified and trained rodent detection dogs and impose conditions on
their use on the specified Pribilof Island.
(3) No certified and trained rodent detection dog authorized by the
NMFS Alaska Regional Administrator may be on the specified Pribilof
Island for more than 180 total days from landing on that Island.
[FR Doc. 2025-22542 Filed 12-10-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 11, 2025.
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