Classification

Through the Classification Program, the Service determines whether to add or remove a species to the Federal lists of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. Once listed, a species is afforded the full range of protections available under the Endangered Species Act, including prohibitions on killing, harming or otherwise "taking" a species. In some instances, species listing can be avoided by the development of Candidate Conservation Agreements which may remove threats facing the candidate species.

Species are delisted when they are determined to be extinct, recovered (i.e., they no longer meet the definition of a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act), or when the original data for classification was in error.  Species that are delisted due to recovery must be monitored for a period of not less than 5 years to ensure that they do not again become threatened or endangered following delisting.

Most Classification program activities within the Pacific Region are handled by our Fish and Wildlife field offices. 

Please select an office below to access more detailed information about a species in your area. 
Select a Field Office Idaho Fish & Wildlife Office Oregon Fish & Wildlife Office Pacific Islands Fish & Wildlife Office Washington Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Information

About the Classification Program

The following links and documents explain the listing and delisting processes. The full protective measures of the Endangered Species Act to counter species extinction take effect when a species is listed.  For purposes of the Endangered Species Act, endangered and threatened species are defined as follows:

The term “endangered species” means any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range other than a species of the Class Insecta determined … to constitute a pest whose protection under the provisions of the Act would present an overwhelming overriding risk to man. 16 U.S.C. 1522(6)

The term “threatened species” means any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. 16 U.S.C. 1532(19)

• The Listing Program (an article from the Nov./Dec. 1999 issue of our Endangered Species Bulletin)
• Listing a Species as Threatened or Endangered, Section 4 of The Endangered Species Act
• Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions (PDF)
• Delisting a Species