News
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Puerto Rican harlequin butterfly. Photo by Jan Zegarra, USFWS.
El Servicio solicita comentarios del público sobre la propuesta para incluir la Mariposa Arlequín de Puerto Rico como especie amenazada bajo la Ley Federal de Especies en Peligro de Extinción
October 9, 2020 | 5 minute read
Hoy, el Servicio Federal de Pesca y Vida Silvestre (el Servicio) propone incluir la Mariposa Arlequín de Puerto Rico (Atlantea tulita) como especie amenazada bajo la Ley Federal de Especies en Peligro de Extinción (ESA, por sus siglas en inglés). El Servicio también propone designar hábitat crítico para la mariposa, así como un reglamento especial 4 (d). El Servicio aceptará comentarios públicos sobre esta propuesta hasta el 14 de diciembre de 2020 (60 días después de su publicación en el Registro Federal). Read the full story...
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Puerto Rican harlequin butterfly. Photo by Jan Zegarra, USFWS.
Service seeks public comment on proposal to list rare Puerto Rican butterfly as threatened under Endangered Species Act
October 9, 2020 | 4 minute read
Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the Harlequin butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service is also proposing to designate critical habitat for the butterfly, as well as a special 4(d) rule. The Service will accept public comments on this proposed decision until 12/14/2020 (60 days after publication in FR). Six populations of the Puerto Rican harlequin butterfly, a medium-sized butterfly native to Puerto Rico, are known to exist in the world. Read the full story...
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Eastern black rail in flight – Texas, April 2016. Photo © Jesse Huth, used with permission, Huth Avian Services.
Service finalizes listing the eastern black rail as threatened under the Endangered Species Act
October 7, 2020 | 4 minute read
The eastern black rail, a small, secretive marsh bird historically known to exist in 35 states east of the Rocky Mountains, Puerto Rico, Canada, Brazil, and several countries in the Caribbean and Central America, will be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The final listing includes a rule that will help ensure beneficial conservation actions continue, while minimizing impacts to landowners and other stakeholders. Critical habitat designation for the eastern black rail was deemed not prudent. Read the full story...
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Service proposes to list two eastern freshwater mussels as threatened under the Endangered Species Act
September 28, 2020 | 6 minute read
Following rigorous scientific reviews of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the longsolid and round hickorynut freshwater mussels, found in streams and rivers in the Eastern U.S., as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. With today’s action, the Service is also proposing critical habitat and special rules under section 4(d) of the ESA that tailor protections for each species, along with economic analyses on the costs associated with critical habitat designation. Read the full story...
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A red-cockaded woodpecker has dinner outside its nesting cavity. Photo by USFWS.
Trump Administration proposes downlisting of red-cockaded woodpecker under Endangered Species Act
September 25, 2020 | 13 minute read
Fort Benning, Georgia — Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Fort Benning Garrison Commander, Col. Matthew Scalia, were joined by public and private representatives today to celebrate the proposed downlisting of the red-cockaded woodpecker from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In the Southeast, no fewer than eight Army installations, four Air Force installations and one Marine Corps installation all made commitments to recovery goals for red-cockaded woodpeckers, which is a cardinal-sized bird, 8 to 9 inches in height with a sharp beak, living on land they manage. Read the full story...
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Nashville crayfish. Photo by Phil Kloer, USFWS.
Service reopens public comment period for proposed delisting of Nashville crayfish
September 22, 2020 | 4 minute read
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reopening the public comment period on the proposed delisting of the Nashville crayfish from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to recovery. The comment period reopening will provide an additional 30 days for all interested parties to comment on the proposed rule and participate in an information meeting and a separate public hearing. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule. Read the full story...
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Atlantic pigtoes ready for release. Photo by USFWS.
Service reopens public comment period on proposed listing and critical habitat for declining freshwater mussel
September 21, 2020 | 3 minute read
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reopening the public comment period on a proposal to list the Atlantic pigtoe, a freshwater mussel native to rivers of the Atlantic seaboard, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service is soliciting public input on changes made to the critical habitat that was proposed at the time of the proposed listing in 2018. Critical habitat is defined by the ESA as the specific geographic areas that contain features essential to the conservation of listed species and that may require special management and protection. Read the full story...
