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Environmental Law

: ESA Blawg

18 southwestern species under review by FWS

By Keith Rizzardi

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73 Federal Register 20702 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)(DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Status Review of 18 Southeastern Species; Notice)

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is initiating 5-year status reviews of the Key Largo cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola), Audubon’s crested caracara (Polyborus plancus audubonii), Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), Stock Island tree snail (Orthalicus reses (not incl. nesodryas)), four-petal pawpaw (Asimina tetramera), Florida golden aster (Chrysopsis floridana), Apalachicola rosemary (Conradina glabra), Okeechobee gourd (Cucurbita okeechobeensis ssp. okeechobeensis), beautiful pawpaw (Deeringothamnus pulchellus), Garrett’s mint (Dicerandra christmanii), scrub mint (Dicerandra frutescens), Harper’s beauty (Harperocallis flava), white birds in a nest (Macbridea alba), Godfrey’s butterwort (Pinguicula ionantha), scrub plum (Prunus geniculata), Florida skullcap (Scutellaria floridana), gentian pinkroot (Spigelia gentianoides), and Florida ziziphus (Ziziphus celata), under section 4(c)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The purpose of reviews conducted under this section of the Act is to ensure that the classification of species as threatened or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (50 CFR 17.11 and 17.12) is accurate. A 5-year review is an assessment of the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review.

Photo of Audubon’s crested caracara from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services South Florida Ecological Field Services Office

EXCERPT:

What Information Is Considered in the Review? A 5-year review considers the best scientific and commercial data that have become available since the current listing determination or most recent status review of each species, such as: (A) Species biology, including but not limited to population trends, distribution, abundance, demographics, and genetics; (B) Habitat conditions, including but not limited to amount, distribution, and suitability; (C) Conservation measures that have been implemented to benefit the
species; (D) Threat status and trends (see five factors under heading ‘‘How do we determine whether a species is endangered or threatened?’’); and (E) Other new information, data, or corrections, including but not limited to taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, identification of erroneous information contained in the List, and improved analytical methods.

How Do We Determine Whether a Species Is Endangered Or Threatened? Section 4(a)(1) of the Act establishes that we determine whether a species is endangered or threatened based on one or more of the following five factors: (A) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (B) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (C) Disease or predation; (D) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or (E) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence.

OTHER RESOURCES:

Okeechobee Gourd info from the FWS South Florida Multiple Species Recovery Plan and article recounting its rediscovery along the St. Johns River
Audubon’s crested caracara from FWS South Florida Multiple Species Recovery Plan and article by Joan Morrison on importance of rangeland and grasslands to the species.

Full post as published by ESA Blawg on April 16, 2008 (boomark / email).