Service Completes Five-Year Status Reviews for 20 Species in California

Service Recommends Delisting Two species, Downlisting Four and no Change in Status for 14 Others

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today announced the completion of 5-year reviews for 20 species in California. Of the reviews being announced today, two are recommended for delisting, four for downlisting from endangered to threatened and 14 for no change in status.

These 5-year reviews were undertaken as required by section 4(c)(2)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (Act). This list of completed reviews incorporates species that were noticed for review on July 7, 2005 and March 3, 2006. The 5-year review constitutes a recommendation by the Service. Any change in the listing status will require a separate rulemaking process.

The species included in this announcement are: Plants: Eureka Valley dunegrass, Eureka Valley evening-primrose, San Clemente broom, San Clemente paintbrush, San Clemente bushmallow, Santa Cruz bushmallow, Ben Lomond spineflower, Catalina mountain mahogany, Hoffmans rockcress, Howells spineflower, San Clemente woodland star, Chorro Creek bog thistle, Yreka phlox; Lepidoptera: Kern primrose sphinx moth, Laguna Mountains skipper; Fish: tidewater goby and; Invertebrates: conservancy, longhorn, and vernal pool fairy shrimp and vernal pool tadpole shrimp

"The hard work of our partners -- a cross-section of Californians that includes ranchers, landowners, local governments, the State of California and the Department of Defense -- is paying off." said Steve Thompson Service Manger in California and Nevada

Recommended for delisting are Eureka Valley dunegrass and Eureka Valley evening-primrose.

Recommended by the Services 5-year review for downlisting from endangered to threatened are three plants, the San Clemente broom, San Clemente paintbrush, San Clemente bushmallow, and a fish, the tidewater goby.

No status change was recommended for the Kern primrose sphinx moth, Laguna Mountains skipper, Ben Lomond spineflower, Catalina mountain mahogany, Hoffmans rockcress, Howells spineflower, San Clemente woodland star, Chorro Creek bog thistle, Yreka phlox and conservancy, longhorn, and vernal pool fairy shrimp and vernal pool tadpole shrimp.

Copies of the 5-year reviews can be found on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/cno/es/5yr.html and also at the following offices and/or websites:

Under the Act, the Service maintains a list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plant species at 50 CFR 17.11 (for animals) and 17.12 (for plants). The Act also requires that we conduct a review of listed species at least once every five years and on the basis of such reviews determine whether or not any species should be removed from the List (delisted), or reclassified from endangered to threatened or from threatened to endangered. Any change in federal classification requires a separate rulemaking process distinct from the 5-year review.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 548 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

More information about the Fish and Wildlife Service operations in California, Nevada and the Klamath Basin is available at www.fws.gov/cno .