USFWS initiates five-year status reviews of 156 species

[Cara J]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will begin five-year status reviews of 156 species of plants and animals listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The USFWS conducts assessments of listed species every five years to ensure they have the appropriate level of protection. Assessments use the best available scientific data available to determine if the status of the species has changed since the time of its listing or last status review. The Service can make four possible recommendations after completing an assessment. It can reclassify a species from threatened to endangered; reclassify a species from endangered to threatened; remove the species from the list or maintain the species’ current classification. The species under review are found in Hawaii, Palau, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, and Washington. The Mariana fruit bat (Pteropus mariannus mariannus), Mariana crow (Corvus kubaryi), and Hawaii creeper (Oreomystis mana) are among the species under review. Read the notice in the Federal Register.  

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