Endangered Species Act Protections for 165 Petitioned Species Not Warranted

Category: Wildlife
Type: News
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Date: Thursday, February 5th, 2009

The U.S.F.W.S. has made a partial determination regarding a petition to protect 206 species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service found that the petition submitted by WildEarth Guardians does not contain substantial information that listing may be warranted for 165 of the petitioned species; therefore, the Service will not initiate a further status review for these species. The public is encouraged to provide the Service any new information that becomes accessible regarding the status of these species or threats to them or their habitat. 2 plant species included in the petition were addressed in a petition finding for 475 Southwestern species that published on January 6, 2009. Therefore, only 204 species were reviewed for this determination. A finding regarding the remaining 39 petitioned species will be made at a later date.

The 165 species addressed in this finding are found in Arkansas, Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming and include four vertebrates, 71 invertebrates, and 90 plants. A list of the petitioned species can be found in the Federal Register notice published today or at the Service?s web site: http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie

Information contained in the petition regarding the 165 species is broken down as follows:

The petition provided minimal information for 90 of the species, in some cases no more information than the name of the species.
Basic information on the range of 25 species was provided, but population size or abundance was rarely quantified.
Threats for 47 species were described for a general area, but the petition did not link the threats to the species or the habitat occupied by the species.
The petition cited one or more threats to the remaining three species, but did not provide documentation to support significant impacts from the threats.

Petitions are formal requests to give a species Endangered Species Act protection as either threatened or endangered. The Service reviews the information contained in the petition and other scientific information in our files to determine if further analysis is needed.

The mission of the U.S.F.W.S. is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

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