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Listing and Candidate Conservation in the Southeast . Southeast Atlantic Slope Mollusk Meeting Raleigh, North Carolina January 11, 2012. Section 4 of the Federal Endangered Species Act (Act). - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Listing and Candidate Conservation in the Southeast
Southeast Atlantic Slope Mollusk Meeting Raleigh, North Carolina
January 11, 2012
Section 4 of the Federal Endangered Species Act (Act)
Outlines the procedures for adding and removing species from the list and designation of critical habitat.
Outlines recovery plans and 5 year reviews.Clearly assigns responsibilities to both the Secretary of
the Interior and Secretary of Commerce .
DefinitionsEndangered: any species which is in danger of extinction
throughout all or a significant portion of its range
Threatened: any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
Critical Habitat: the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species, at the time its listed, on which are found those physical or biological features (I) essential to the conservation of the species and (II) which require special management considerations or protection; and specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species at the time it is listed such that the areas are essential for the conservation of the species.
Candidate: are those taxa for which the Service has sufficient information on their biological status and threats to list as endangered or threatened under the Act but for which the development of a listing regulation has been precluded to date by other higher priority listing activities.
Definitions
How are species listed?
Petition process orCandidate assessment
process
A species is added to the candidate list when we have sufficient information on biological vulnerability and threats to support a proposal to list as E or T, but precluded by higher priority listing actions. Determined by Five Listing Factors:
The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of the species’ habitat or range
Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes
Disease or predationThe inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanismsOther natural or manmade factors affecting the species’
survival.It is then assigned a listing priority number based on: 1) taxonomic status (sole member of genus, subspecies, pop/DPS), and 2) magnitude and imminence of threats.
Candidate Assessment Process
Species that we believe meet the definition of threatened or endangered under the ESA
Candidate Notice of Review
Chucky madtom, photo by J.R. ShuteAlabama pearlshell survey
Internal Process
Petitions
Petitions are formal requests from the public or other stakeholders to add or remove species from the List, reclassify a species, or designate or revise CH
90 day findings (substantial or not)12 month findings (warranted, warranted but
precluded, not warranted).
External Process
RulemakingProposed rules published in Federal Register.
Comment periods vary (typically 60 days); Public hearings held upon request; Notices (e.g., of economicanalysis or public hearings) also published in Federal Register.
Final rules published within one year of proposed rule
Emergency rules no public comment period and effective for up to 240 days
Critical HabitatShould be designated at time of listingRefers to those areas that contain the physical and
biological features essential to the conservation of the species
Involves an economic analysis and possible exclusionsHighly controversial and often misunderstoodMay be found to be “not prudent” or “not determinable”
Cahaba River, ALClinch River, TN
Listing Program Workload 1996-2010
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 20100
100
200
300
400
500
600
Critical Habitat Des-ignations
Petition Findings (90-day & 12-month)
Listing Determinations (proposed and final)
Year
Num
ber
of S
peci
es
33%
SE Region
Other FWS regions
Listing Program Workload 2007-2011
MegapetitionReceived from Center for Biological Diversity (CBD),
Alabama Rivers Alliance, Clinch Coalition, Dogwood Alliance, Gulf Restoration Network, Tennessee Forests Council, and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy on April 20, 2010.
404 species across the Southeast with overlap with Regions 2, 3, and 5
1,145-page petition
MegapetitionTaxonomic Breakdown:
92 Crustaceans92 Mussels and Snails (26 from SE Atlantic Slope)82 Plants55 Insects 48 Fish15 Amphibians13 Reptiles4 Mammals3 Birds
Magnificent Ramshorn - A. Wood
Determining Our Future Workload
May 2011: FWS settled lawsuits with Wild Earth Guardians (WEG) and CBD over a backlog of 251 candidate species – including 61 in the Southeast. Settlement included a workplan to guide agency actions over next 6 years.
September 2011: FWS found 374 of the 404 aquatic and aquatic-dependent species from the “megapetition” may warrant ESA listing
Listing Work PlanFWS commitments:Complete 90-day and/or 12-month petition findings for over 500 species in the next
2 years.
Over a period of six years: Determine whether 251 species on the November 2010 list of candidates should
be listed (SE Region has 61 of those species); List an additional 31 species (SE Region has lead for 2 of those species)Make 90-day findings on incoming petitions to screen for emergency listing, and,
if necessary, process listings; andDesignate critical habitat at the time of listing when prudent and determinable..
Listing Work Plan:General WEG & CBD commitments
Moratorium and limitations on litigation to enforce ESA deadlines or to challenge warranted-but-precluded findings.
Cap on petitions submitted each year.
Listing Work PlanJoint FWS-WEG/CBD Commitments
Work to ensure that other deadline litigation or the remedy phase of merits challenges do not interfere with the work plan.
Establish dispute resolution process if the assumptions identified in the agreements do not materialize.
The FWS and WEG will hold annual meetings to discuss progress.
Listing Work PlanThe work plan provides certainty and predictability to landowners and communities about what species will be listed and the general timeline.The Service will continue to work closely with our state counterparts and other key stakeholders as we implement the plan
Next StepsGather as much information as possible on status and
distribution of 374 species with “substantial” petition findings from Megapetition, and the threats they face.
Work to conserve as many of these species and our federal candidates as possible.
Candidate Conservation : Southeast Region’s CommitmentLaunched “CCAA +” InitiativeMore than $200,000 in FY 2012
Hired a new CCAA Coordinator for the Region(Gabrielle (Gabe) Horner)
$50,000 for outreach and engagement
Plan to work cooperatively with all partners and stakeholders to address threats and secure conservation agreements
Conservation Agreements
Candidate Conservation
Agreements (CCAs)
and
Candidate Conservation
Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs)
FWS biologist Mike Sealy holds a candidate species, the Louisiana pine snake.
CCAs and CCAAs are both voluntary, formal agreements with the Service.
CCAAs also provide incentivesto non-Federal landowners:
• Regulatory Certainty
• Cost Containment
The Greater Adams Cave beetle in Kentucky is one of four Southeastern species covered under a CCAA.
1*
1
24 Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances
As of today, only 1 of the 40 species covered under a CCAA has been listed under the ESA.
2**2 4***
1
11
2
1*
1*
1*
1
1 *~ 1
* = Programmatic Agreement
1
* 1
Robust Redhorse CCAASigned in 2002 by USFWS, Georgia DNR, and Georgia Power. The species has not required Federal listing.
CCAAs in the worksSpring pygmy sunfish: Belle
Mina Farm Ltd., AlabamaSafe Harbor Agreement (SHA)/CCAA for 3
listed and 24 candidate species: Arkansas, TNC and NRCS
SHA/CCAA for several longleaf pine dependant species in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi
Panama City crayfish: The St. Joe Company, Florida Panama City crayfish
- Ed Keppner
Black pine snake - Bill Finch, TNC
BenefitsIdentified threats are reduced or
removedConserved now, possibly before
an ESA listing is necessaryCost effective way to conserve
speciesAssurances for landownersMany species already a priority
for states & other stakeholders
Florida bonneted bat
Spring pygmy sunfish
Additional Conservation Agreements/Actions to Address Threats
Land acquisitionPartners for Fish and
Wildlife agreementsConservation easementsDepartment of
Agriculture programsConservation banksState & NGO agreementsDept. of Energy &
Defense programs
Changes in management regimes (e.g., flows)
State & local laws/ ordinances
Questions?
Rob Tawes U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceSoutheast Regional Office1875 Century BoulevardAtlanta, GA 404/679-7142robert_tawes@fws.govwww.fws.gov/southeast
For more information visit: www.fws.gov/endangered
orhttp://www.fws.gov/endangered/improving_ESA
/listing_workplan.html
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