Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Environmental Law Blogs -> ESA Blawg

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Environmental Law

: ESA Blawg

FWS reviews petition, finds listing may be warranted, undertakes status review on Susan's purse-making caddisfly, and proposes endangered status for Flying earwig Hawaiian damselfly and Pacific Hawaiian damselfly

By Keith Rizzardi

ADVERTISEMENTS

74 Fed. Reg. 32514 / Vol. 74, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List the Susan’s pursemaking caddisfly (Ochrotrichia susanae) as Threatened or Endangered

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90–day finding on a petition to list the Susan’s purse-making caddisfly (Ochrotrichia susanae) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the Susan’s purse-making caddisfly may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a status review of the species to determine if listing the species is warranted. To ensure that the review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding this species. DATES: We made the finding announced in this document on July 8, 2009. To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request that we receive data and information on or before September 8, 2009.

EXCERPT: the petition presents substantial information indicating that listing the Susan’s purse-making caddisfly throughout its entire range may be warranted, based on impacts of livestock grazing, erosion and sedimentation from logging roads, and sedimentation from prescribed fire activities (Factor A), and the inadequacy of Federal regulatory mechanisms (Factor D).

***

74 Fed. Reg. 32490 / Vol. 74, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service / 50 CFR Part 17 / Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Endangered Status for Flying Earwig Hawaiian Damselfly (Megalagrion nesiotes) and Pacific Hawaiian Damselfly (M. pacificum) Throughout Their Ranges

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list two species of Hawaiian damselflies, the flying earwig Hawaiian damselfly (Megalagrion nesiotes) and the Pacific Hawaiian damselfly (M. pacificum), as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would extend the Act’s protections to these species. We have determined that critical habitat for these two Hawaiian damselflies is prudent, but not determinable at this time. DATES: We will accept comments received on or before September 8, 2009. We must receive requests for public hearings, in writing, at the address shown in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section by August 24, 2009.

EXCERPT: On May 4, 2004, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Secretary of the Interior to list 225 species of plants and animals that were already candidates, including these two Hawaiian damselfly species, as endangered or threatened under the provisions of the Act. In our annual CNOR, dated May 11, 2005 (70 FR 24870), we retained a listing priority number of 2 for both of these species in accordance with our priority guidance published on September 21, 1983 (48 FR 43098). A listing priority number of 2 reflects threats that are both imminent and high in magnitude, as well as the taxonomic classification of each of these two Hawaiian damselflies as distinct species... Beginning with the early alteration of streams and wetland systems by the colonizing Hawaiians, followed by extensive stream and wetland conversion, alteration, and modification, and by degradation of native forests through the 20th century, Hawaii’s native damselflies, including the two species that are the subject of this proposal, experienced a tremendous reduction in available habitat. In addition, predation by a number of nonnative species that have been both intentionally and, in some cases, inadvertently introduced onto the Hawaiian Islands is a significant and ongoing threat to all native Hawaiian damselflies...

Full post as published by ESA Blawg on July 08, 2009 (boomark / email).