The Service will make a final decision on the 2013 proposal to list the rufa red knot as threatened under the Endangered Species Act by November 28, 2014. The Service requested a two-month extension from the U.S. District Court of D.C., as the agency had previously agreed to publish a final decision by the end of September 2014 through a settlement agreement with WildEarth Guardians and Center for Biological Diversity.
During more than 130 days of public comment periods and three public hearings since September 2013, the Service received more than 17,400 comments on the threatened listing proposal, many of which were supportive form letters, while others raised issues with the adequacy of horseshoe crab management, the impacts of wind turbines, the inclusion of interior states in the range, and other topics. The agency requested additional time to complete the final decision so that we could thoroughly analyze complex information available after the proposal, such as national and global climate assessments, and so that we could carefully consider and address extensive public comments. A thorough response to comments will be included in the final document
