California Spotted Owl; Endangered Status for the CoastalSouthern California Distinct Population Segment and Threatened Status With Section 4(d) Rule for the Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list two distinct population segments (DPSs) of the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis), a bird species from California and Nevada, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This determination also serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to list the California spotted owl. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the Coastal-Southern California DPS as endangered is warranted, and that listing the Sierra Nevada DPS as threatened is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list the Coastal-Southern California DPS as an endangered species under the Act and the Sierra Nevada DPS as a threatened species with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act ("4(d) rule"). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it will add these two DPSs to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and extend the Act's protections to them.