This month, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published the latest update to its National Listing Workplan (Workplan). This update to the Workplan is the Service’s latest since March 2022, and projects the anticipated timeline for the agency’s listing-related decisions over the next five years (2023-2027). In general, the Workplan estimates the Service’s publication dates for various findings and publications, including but not limited to 12-month findings, species status reviews, proposed listing determinations and critical habitat designations, and final listing determinations.

The Service’s goal for the Workplan is twofold. First, it aims to proactively provide agencies and stakeholders with clarity and predictability for its timelines for publishing species-related decisions. Second, the Service aims to create and encourage opportunities for proactive species conservation efforts to avoid the need to impose new statutory protections under the Endangered Species Act.

A few notable species for which the Workplan provides estimated dates for publishing a 12-month finding include: the Joshua tree (2023), western population of gray wolf (2024), western bumblebee (2024), American bumblebee (2026), and prairie gray fox (2027). The Workplan also indicates that the Service plans to issue proposed listing determinations for the monarch butterfly and little brown bat in 2024. Additionally, the Service plans on publishing final listing determinations in 2024 for the Northern American wolverine, black-capped petrel, and bi-state sage grouse. The full five-year Workplan can be found here.