News
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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...
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Service determines two Southeastern orchids do not warrant Endangered Species Act protections
August 31, 2020 | 3 minute read
Based on reviews of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has found that the Big Cypress epidendrum and Cape Sable orchid do not face the threat of extinction now or in the foreseeable future and do not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). New surveys and the latest science have determined that these orchids occur across Latin America and the West Indies in a variety of habitat types and elevations that will help ensure the species’ persistence into the future. Read the full story...
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Male marron bacora flowers. Photo by USFWS.
Service proposes to list rare Virgin Islands plant, designate critical habitat
August 25, 2020 | 4 minute read
The marron bacora (Solanum conocarpum), a rare, tropical plant native to the Virgin Islands, is in decline. There are only seven remaining populations on the island of St. John in the United States Virgin Islands, with limited numbers of individuals in each. Of these seven populations, all but one occurs within the boundaries of the Virgin Islands National Park. A population discovered by staff from the Royal Botanic Gardens (KEW) in 2018 on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, extended the species’ range. Read the full story...
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Secretary Bernhardt announces historic expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities on public lands
August 18, 2020 | 17 minute read
Saginaw, Michigan – Continuing the Trump Administration’s unprecedented efforts to increase recreational access on public lands, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt announced today at the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge the historic opening and expansion of over 850 hunting and fishing opportunities across more than 2.3 million acres at 147 national wildlife refuges and national fish hatcheries. This rule is the single largest expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities by the U. Read the full story...
