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The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) announced in a June 20 Federal Register Notice that it has initiated status reviews of 53 species under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). See 84 Fed. Reg. 28850.
One of the species range includes the state of Arkansas.
The ESA requires that the Service maintain lists of endangered and threatened wildlife and plant species in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”). Further, the federal statute requires the Service to review each listed species’ status at least once every five years. The Service states that its five-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:
- Species biology, including, but not limited to, population trends, distribution, abundance, demographics, and genetics;
- Habitat conditions, including, but not limited to, amount, distribution, and suitability;
- Conservation measures that have been implemented to benefit the species;
- Threat status and trends (see the five factors under How Do We Determine Whether a Species is Endangered or Threatened?); and
- Other new information, data, or corrections, including, but not limited to, taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, identification of erroneous information contained in the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, and improved analytical methods.
The 53 species listed are characterized as having primary range in the southeastern United States.
The plant whose range includes the State of Arkansas is the Lindera melissifolia (pondberry).
The Service requests new information concerning the status of any of the 53 species.
A copy of the Federal Register Notice can be downloaded here.
