States
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, WyomingTo make sure all species listed as threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) continue to have the appropriate level of protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) conducts assessments of their status at least once every five years. We call these five-year status reviews. These periodic reviews are required under ESA section 4(c)(2). Status reviews of listed species that apply these same standards, such as those conducted as part of the petition process or rulemaking process, can also fulfill the ESA’s requirements for conducting a status review every 5 years.
Search our database of 5-year status reviews to find the most recent review for a species and notices for species that are currently being reviewed.
Possible outcomes
A five-year status review utilizes the best available scientific and commercial data on a species to determine whether its status has changed since the time of its listing or its last status review.
Upon completion of a five-year review, we can make four possible recommendations:
- Reclassify the species from threatened to endangered (uplist),
- Reclassify the species from endangered to threatened (downlist),
- Remove the species from the List (delist),
- Maintain the species’ current classification.
The outcome of a five-year status review does not change the status of a species. However, if the five-year status review recommends a change in classification, we may propose to reclassify or delist a species through a separate rulemaking process that requires publication in the Federal Register and public review and comment. No change in status of the species may occur until the completion of the rulemaking process. We engage in rulemaking based on the results of five-year status reviews as Service priorities dictate and our resources allow.
What we consider
A five-year status review begins with Service biologists gathering the best available scientific and commercial data regarding the species.
To facilitate this process, we publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the species under review and requesting any relevant information we should consider, particularly any information that has become available since the original listing determination or most recent status review. Such information includes:
- 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 benefited the species,
- Threat status and trends,
- Other new information, data, or changes in taxonomy or nomenclature contained in the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants.
Benefits
We work continually to use the best available scientific information in implementing our responsibilities under the ESA. This includes incorporating new information and assessing ongoing conservation efforts.
A five-year status review gives us the opportunity to periodically take a comprehensive look at the best available information for a species and assess its progress toward recovery. These reviews assist us and our partners in identifying conservation needs and prioritizing conservation efforts for federally listed species.
How to participate
See our Species with Five Year Status Reviews report to find notices for species with reviews in progress.
All completed status reviews and notices for species that are currently being reviewed are published on the Service’s website.
Instructions for submitting information are provided in the notices announcing the species we are reviewing. If you submit information, please support it with documentation such as maps, bibliographic references, methods used to gather and analyze the data, and/or copies of any pertinent publications, reports, or letters by knowledgeable sources. We will consider all information submitted, but raw data that has not been analyzed or summarized may have limited usefulness.
