Endangered Species Act Listing and Candidate Conservation

1. Endangered Species ActListing and Candidate Conservation Stephanie Chance U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

2. Endangered Species Act Section 4(a)(1) The Secretary shall . . . (b)determine whether any species is an endangered species or a threatened species because of any of the following factors: (A) the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (B) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (C) disease or predation; (D) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms (E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence

3. Determination of Status • USFWS Species Assessments • Relies heavily on academia, species experts, literature • Factors assessed • taxonomic validity • status and trends • threats • conservation efforts • monitoring • Petitions • Can be submitted by any interested party • 90-day finding • 12-month finding If warranted, assigned a listing priority number Candidate Notice of Review published annually in Federal Register Section 4

4. Listing Process Under the Endangered Species Act • Determination of Status • Endangered Species – a species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. • Threatened Species – any species likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

5. Assigning Listing Priority Numbers Based on Threats

6. Listing – Petition Process Petition Received Start 90-day Finding Substantial Information Not Substantial Information 90 days

7. Listing – Petition Process Substantial Information 90 days Candidate Species 12 month finding Listing Warranted Listing Warranted But Precluded Listing Not Warranted Annual review Proposed Listing Without Critical Habitat Proposed Listing With Critical Habitat 1 year 2 years Final Listing with Proposed Critical Habitat Final Listing and Critical Habitat 3 years Final Critical Habitat

8. Listing • Proposed and Final listing rules published in Federal Register • Summarize factors affecting the species: • The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range • Over-utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes • Disease or predation • The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms • Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence • Include finding of whether species should be listed as “threatened” or “endangered” • Peer review and public comment solicited for proposed rule • Critical habitat used to be proposed at time of final listing rule – now including in proposed rules Section 4

9. Listing Work Plan for Current Candidates • The Service consolidated multiple petition deadline lawsuits into the US District Court for the District of Columbia • Chief plaintiffs were WildEarth Guardians and Center for Biological Diversity • Requires either a Proposed Rule or a not-warranted finding by September 30, 2016, for 251 candidates • WildEarth Guardians agreed to dismiss pending lawsuits, refrain from new litigation until March 20, 2017, and limit petitions to 10 or less per year Section 4

11. MDL Commitments

12. MDL Proposed Listing ScheduleTN Candidate Species

13. 2010 Southeastern Mega-petition • Center for Biological Diversity • 404 riparian and aquatic dependent species • 374 species – substantial 90-day findings • 82 species occur in TN

15. Notice of Intents. . . • CBD has filed a notice of intent to sue the Service for failure to protect the Obey Crayfish • 404 species petition • Failure to make the required 12-month finding

16. 2012 Petition to List 53 Reptiles & Amphibians • Nationwide petition • Center for Biological Diversity • 4 Species in TN: • Green Salamander • Weller’s Salamander • Carolina Gopher Frog • Alligator Snapping Turtle

17. Candidate Conservation “Tools” for Candidate Conservation: • Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA) • Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCA)

18. CCAs and CCAAs • CCAs and CCAAs are both voluntary, formal agreements with the Service • CCAAs also provide incentives to non-Federal landowners: • Regulatory Certainty • Cost Containment

19. CCAs • Federal and Non-federal cooperators • Non-regulatory • No associated permit/assurances • Considered in listing determinations (may need to apply PECE - should have RO and WO review if using PECE)

20. Candidate Conservation Agreements With Assurances (CCAA) • CCAA final policy and regulations were published on June 17,1999 • Limited to non-Federal landowners • Requires a determination that benefits to the species would preclude or remove any need to list the species if implemented on other necessary properties • Provide monitoring, as needed, to assure implementation and determine effectiveness of conservation measures

21. CCAAs • Provide assurances • No additional measures will be required if the species is listed in the future • 10(a)(1)(A) enhancement of survival permit, with delayed effective date tied to any future listing, allowing take consistent with Agreement

22. CCAAs – Current Agreements • 25 CCAAs in 15 states • 9 are umbrella or programmatic agreements • Cover more than 1 million acres and benefit more than 160 species including 14 that were candidates at the time the CCAA was adopted; 59 landowners • 5 to 50 years in duration

23. Robust Redhorse CCAA Signed in 2002 by USFWS, Georgia DNR, and Georgia Power. The species has not required Federal listing to date.

24. stephanie_chance@fws.govwww.fws.gov/southeast/candidateconservationwww.fws.gov/endangered/improving_ESA/listing_workplanstephanie_chance@fws.govwww.fws.gov/southeast/candidateconservationwww.fws.gov/endangered/improving_ESA/listing_workplan