- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering whether to list as endangered or threatened three species of animals found in the West.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering whether to list as endangered or threatened three species of animals found in the West. But the agency announced Tuesday it also may de-list two species that are currently on the endangered and threatened list. In response to various petitions, the service has published a batch of what it calls “substantial 90-day findings” for those petitions it found warranted a closer look. That is an early step in deciding whether to grant federal protection under the Endangered Species Act to new species or to de-list others. Included in the package are the western bumblebee, a native insect that is an important pollinator throughout the West. Defenders of Wildlife had petitioned for its listing, saying it is in decline from habitat loss, disease, pesticides, and climate change. The service will also evaluate whether to list two fish, the Rio Grande chub and Rio Grande sucker, both found in southern Colorado and New Mexico. But it is also looking at de-listing the southwestern willow flycatcher, a small bird listed in 1995. A petition argues that it is not in fact an imperiled subspecies, but part of a larger, healthy population of willow flycatchers. The service is also considering a request by the Western Area Power Administration to de-list the Deseret milkvetch, a feathery-leaved herb found in Utah.
