Endangered Species Act
Listing and Candidate Conservation
Stephanie Chance
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Tennessee Field Office
Endangered Species Act
Section 4(a)(1) The Secretary shall . . . (b)determine whether
any species is an endangered species or a threatened species
because of any of the following 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
(E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued
existence
Tennessee Field Office
Determination of Status
USFWS Species
Assessments
•
•
Relies heavily on
academia, species
experts, literature
Factors assessed
- taxonomic validity
- status and trends
- threats
- conservation efforts
- monitoring
Petitions
•
Can be submitted
by any interested
party
•
90-day finding
•
12-month finding
If warranted, assigned a listing priority number
Candidate Notice of Review published annually in Federal Register
Tennessee Field Office
Section 4
Listing Process Under the
Endangered Species Act
•Determination of Status
 Endangered Species – a species which is in
danger of extinction throughout all or a significant
portion of its range.
 Threatened Species – any species likely to
become an endangered species within the
foreseeable future throughout all or a significant
portion of its range.
Tennessee Field Office
Assigning Listing Priority Numbers
Based on Threats
Magnitude
High
Immediacy
Imminent
Non-imminent
Moderate
to Low
Imminent
Non-imminent
Tennessee Field Office
Taxonomy
Priority
Monotypic genus
Species
Subspecies/population
Monotypic genus
Species
Subspecies/population
1
2
3
4
5
6
Monotypic genus
Species
Subspecies/population
Monotypic genus
Species
Subspecies/population
7
8
9
10
11
12
Listing – Petition Process
Start
Petition Received
90-day Finding
90 days
Tennessee Field Office
Substantial
Information
Not Substantial
Information
Listing – Petition Process
90 days
Substantial Information
12 month finding
Listing
Warranted
1 year
2 years
Proposed Listing
With Critical Habitat
Final Listing and
Critical Habitat
3 years
Tennessee Field Office
Candidate Species
Listing Warranted
But Precluded
Listing Not
Warranted
Proposed Listing
Without Critical Habitat
Final Listing with
Proposed Critical Habitat
Final Critical Habitat
Annual review
Listing
Proposed and Final listing rules published in Federal Register
- Summarize factors affecting the species:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its
habitat or range
Over-utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational
purposes
Disease or predation
The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms
Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence
- Include finding of whether species should be listed as
“threatened” or “endangered”
- Peer review and public comment solicited for proposed rule
- Critical habitat used to be proposed at time of final listing rule –
now including in proposed rules
Tennessee Field Office
Section 4
Listing Work Plan for Current Candidates
• The Service consolidated multiple petition deadline
lawsuits into the US District Court for the District of
Columbia
• Chief plaintiffs were WildEarth Guardians and Center
for Biological Diversity
• Requires either a Proposed Rule or a not-warranted
finding by September 30, 2016, for 251 candidates
• WildEarth Guardians agreed to dismiss pending
lawsuits, refrain from new litigation until March 20,
2017, and limit petitions to 10 or less per year
Tennessee Field Office
Section 4
Tennessee Field Office
MDL Commitments
Species
Action
FY
Rabbitsfoot
Quadrula cylindrica
Proposed listing/CH
2012
Final Listing/CH 2013
Fluted Kidneyshell
Ptychobranchus
subtentum
Proposed listing/CH
2012
Final Listing/CH 2013
Slabside Pearlymussel
Pleuronaia dolabelloides
Proposed listing/CH
2012
Final Listing/CH 2013
Cumberland Darter
Etheostoma susanae
Final CH
2012
Chucky Madtom
Noturus crypticus
Final CH
2012
Laurel Dace
Chrosomus saylori
Final CH
2012
Whorled Sunflower
Helianthus verticillatus
Proposed listing/CH
2013
Final Listing/CH 2014
Short’s Bladderpod
Physaria globosa
Proposed listing/CH
2013
Final Listing/CH 2014
Eastern Smallfooted Bat
Myotis leibii
12 mo. finding
2013
Northern Longeared Bat
Myotis septentrionalis
12 mo. finding
2013
Tennessee Field Office
MDL Proposed Listing Schedule
TN Candidate Species
COMMON NAME
fluted kidneyshell
slabside pearlymussel
Shorts bladderpod
Whorled sunflower
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Ptychobranchus subtentum
Lexingtonia dolabelloides
Lesquerella globosa
Helianthus verticillatus
Psuedanophthalmus
Fowler's cave beetle
fowlerae
Psuedanophthalmus
Baker Station cave beetle insularis
Indian Grave Point cave Psuedanophthalmus
beetle
tiresias
Psuedanophthalmus
Coleman cave beetle
colemanensis
Psuedanophthalmus
Inquirer cave beetle
inquisitor
Psuedanophthalmus
Nobletts cave beetle
paulus
white fringeless orchid
Platanthera integrilabia
Sequatchie caddisfly
Glyphopsyche sequatchie
Tennessee Field Office
TAXONOMIC
GROUP
clams
clams
plants
plants
LISTING
PRIORITY PETITIONED LEAD BIOLOGIST
2
yes
Stephanie Chance
2
yes
Stephanie Chance
8
yes
Geoff Call
8
yes
Geoff Call
MDL
PROPOSED
RULE
INITIATION
DATE
FY12
FY12
FY13
FY13
MDL FINAL
RULE DATE
FY13
FY13
FY14
FY14
insects
5
no
Dave Pelren
FY14
FY15
insects
5
no
Dave Pelren
FY14
FY15
insects
5
yes
Dave Pelren
FY14
FY15
insects
11
no
Dave Pelren
FY14
FY15
insects
5
yes
Dave Pelren
FY14
FY15
insects
plants
insects
5
8
5
no
yes
yes
Dave Pelren
Geoff Call
Stephanie Chance
FY14
FY15
FY15
FY15
FY16
FY16
2010 Southeastern Mega-petition
•
•
•
•
Center for Biological Diversity
404 riparian and aquatic dependent species
374 species – substantial 90-day findings
82 species occur in TN
Tennessee Field Office
Tennessee Field Office
Notice of Intents. . .
• CBD has filed a notice of intent to sue the
Service for failure to protect the Obey Crayfish
– 404 species petition
– Failure to make the required 12-month finding
Tennessee Field Office
2012 Petition to List 53
Reptiles & Amphibians
• Nationwide petition
– Center for Biological Diversity
• 4 Species in TN:
–
–
–
–
Green Salamander
Weller’s Salamander
Carolina Gopher Frog
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Tennessee Field Office
Candidate Conservation
“Tools” for Candidate Conservation:
• Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances
(CCAA)
• Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCA)
Tennessee Field Office
CCAs and CCAAs
• CCAs and CCAAs are both voluntary, formal
agreements with the Service
• CCAAs also provide incentives to non-Federal
landowners:
• Regulatory Certainty
• Cost Containment
Tennessee Field Office
CCAs
•
•
•
•
Federal and Non-federal cooperators
Non-regulatory
No associated permit/assurances
Considered in listing determinations (may need to apply
PECE - should have RO and WO review if using PECE)
Tennessee Field Office
Candidate Conservation Agreements With
Assurances (CCAA)
• CCAA final policy and regulations were published on
June 17,1999
• Limited to non-Federal landowners
• Requires a determination that benefits to the species
would preclude or remove any need to list the
species if implemented on other necessary
properties
• Provide monitoring, as needed, to assure
implementation and determine effectiveness of
conservation measures
Tennessee Field Office
CCAAs
• Provide assurances
• No additional measures will be required if the
species is listed in the future
• 10(a)(1)(A) enhancement of survival permit,
with delayed effective date tied to any future
listing, allowing take consistent with
Agreement
Tennessee Field Office
CCAAs – Current Agreements
• 25 CCAAs in 15 states
– 9 are umbrella or programmatic agreements
– Cover more than 1 million acres and benefit more
than 160 species including 14 that were
candidates at the time the CCAA was adopted; 59
landowners
• 5 to 50 years in duration
Tennessee Field Office
Robust Redhorse CCAA
Signed in 2002 by USFWS, Georgia DNR, and
Georgia Power. The species has not required
Federal listing to date.
Tennessee Field Office
stephanie_chance@fws.gov
www.fws.gov/southeast/candidateconservation
www.fws.gov/endangered/improving_ESA/
listing_workplan
Tennessee Field Office