Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Rule to List the Columbia Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) as Endangered

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered status for the Columbia Basin distinct population segment of the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This population consists of fewer than 30 wild individuals in Douglas County, Washington, and a small captive population. The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit is imminently threatened by recent decreases in its population size and distribution that have caused it to be susceptible to the combined influence of catastrophic environmental events, habitat degradation and fragmentation, disease, predation, demographic limitations, and loss of genetic heterogeneity. We find that these threats constitute a significant risk to the well- being of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit and, as such, make the protective measures afforded by the Act immediately available with publication of this final rule.