Recovery Report to Congress Fiscal Years 2015-2016
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Report to Congress on the Recovery of Threatened and Endangered Species Fiscal Years 2015-2016 On the cover: Grizzly bear, Nihoa millerbird, Aleu- tian shield fern, Louisiana quillwort, Florida torreya, Wawae’iole, Mesa Verde cactus, Hidden Lake bluecurls, steamboat buckwheat, Welsh’s milkweed, fountain thistle, popolo ku mai, Arizona cliffrose, Florida Brickell-bush, and soft bird’s-beak. Artwork by Miles Yun Report to Congress on the Recovery of Threatened and Endangered Species Fiscal Years 2015-2016 This biennial report provides an update on the progress toward recovery of all domestic threatened and endangered species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has lead responsibility. This report covers progress toward recovery during the period between October 1, 2014, and September 30, 2016. Data, organized by major taxonomic groupings in the following tables, are presented for each U.S. listed domestic species under the jurisdiction of the Service. At the close of this reporting period, the Service had lead responsibility for recovering 1,517 federally listed threatened (328) and endangered (1,189) species. Data include: Credit: Rick Swart/ODFW Culminating a 20-year partnership with many public and private partners, the the species’ common name and ● Service announced the removal of the Oregon chub from federal protection in scientific name, or just scientific February 2015. The chub was the first of any federally protected fish to reach the name where no common name is recovery milestone. available; ● the date the species was listed under the ESA; Animal Species: Mammals, ● the date of the species’ recovery Species Name ● plan; Species are listed in the tables by Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes, Clams, Snails, Insects, ● the stage of development of the common name within their respective Arachnids, Crustaceans, recovery plan; taxonomic groups. Where a species has more than one commonly accepted ● Plant Species: Flowering Plants, ● the number of actions outlined Ferns and Allies, Conifers and in the recovery plan that have common or scientific name, the alternate Cycads, Lichens been implemented; name is indicated in parentheses with an “equals” symbol followed by the ● the species’ listing classification alternate name. Most species are listed Each species’ name is hyperlinked as an endangered species or at the taxonomic level (species or to the corresponding species profile threatened species; subspecies). If a species is listed only page in the Service’s Environmental ● the species’ recovery priority within a specific geographic boundary, Conservation Online System (ECOS). number; its population information is provided in Species profile pages provide a one- ● the date the species’ most recent parentheses after the common name(s). stop source for summary information 5-year review was completed; and The scientific name is also given in on individual species. In addition, the species’ 5-year review status ● parentheses behind the common name. electronic copies of the species’ recommendation from the most Many plants and some invertebrates do recovery plan, the most recent 5-year recent review. not have a common name, so only the status review, and relevant Federal scientific name is given. The species are Register publications may be accessed ordered in the following taxa groups: from the species profile page. Report to Congress on the Recovery of Threatened and Endangered Species Fiscal Years 2015-2016 1 Credit: Tom MacKenzie/USFWS Credit: Tom Theodore Roosevelt IV lauded conservation partnerships at a press conference in May 2015 announcing the Service’s proposal to remove the Louisiana black bear from threatened status following recovery. Date Listed active recovery plan. If a species has beetle, Ohlone tiger beetle, Peck’s cave This indicates the date the species more than one active recovery plan, amphipod, and Scotts Valley polygonum). was added to the Federal Lists of all active plan dates will be shown in Threatened and Endangered Wildlife this column. An “N/A” in this column Recovery Plan Status and Plants (Lists), generally about indicates that a species does not yet Updates on the development and 30 days after the publication of the have an approved final recovery plan or implementation of recovery plans Federal Register announcing the published draft recovery plan. “Exempt” are an important tool in the Service’s listing decision. In some instances, in this column indicates that this species mission to recover listed species, as species listings have been revised. is exempt from needing a recovery plan. they provide guidance on the direction, For revisions related to taxonomic Species are “Exempt” if we determine strategy, and benchmarks for recovery. splits (i.e., what was originally listed that developing a recovery plan will They also provide indicators for when as a single species is now recognized not promote the conservation of the it may be appropriate to evaluate as multiple species or subspecies), species, including cases where we have the status of the species. As we have we maintain the original listing date determined that another document consistently demonstrated in previous with the original species and report fulfills the recovery planning needs Recovery Reports to Congress, the date of the revision for the newly (e.g., Little Kern golden trout). We also the Service is continuing to make listed taxa. As a rule of thumb, if the corrected entries for eight species where improvements in finalizing recovery individuals receiving the protections previous reports erroneously indicated plans for threatened and endangered of the ESA are unchanged by the the completion of a recovery plan for the species. revision, we report the original listing species, although only a conservation date. strategy had been completed by the date The Service remains committed to of this report (i.e., riparian brush rabbit, its goal of having a recovery plan for Active Recovery Plan Date riparian woodrat, Akikiki, Comal Springs every listed domestic species, where This indicates the date of the species’ riffle beetle, Comal Springs dryopid it promotes the conservation of the 2 Report to Congress on the Recovery of Threatened and Endangered Species Fiscal Years 2015-2016 species. We continue to finalize and the Federal Register as available for species. Recovery plans must, implement recovery plans as a tool for public comment. to the maximum extent practicable, for delisting species and reclassifying provide estimates of time and cost species from endangered to ● RD(#): Draft of the revised to recovery. However, because we threatened. plan has been approved by the have found those estimates to vary Regional Director and published in widely from plan to plan because of By the end of the FY2016 reporting the Federal Register as available for different underlying assumptions, period 76% (1,148) of all domestic public comment. The draft of the first these fields have been omitted from species under the jurisdiction of the revision to the final plan is recorded as the 2016 report. Additionally, most Service had recovery plans (30 of RD(1), draft of the second revision to multi-species plans provide a total cost which were drafted or finalized during the final plan is recorded as RD(2), etc. for all species in the recovery plan and this reporting period). Of the species do not clearly delineate costs for each with recovery plans, most had final ● RF(#): Final revision has been species. This may be appropriate in recovery plans available, with 4% (46 approved by the Regional Director certain circumstances where costs are species) having draft recovery plans and a Notice of Availability has been not necessarily separable or additive that had not yet been finalized. published in the Federal Register. The across species (e.g., multiple species first revision is recorded as RF(1), the depending on the same or overlapping Of the 361 domestic species needing second revision is RF(2), etc. geographic areas). Rather than recovery plans at the end of FY2016, attempt to rectify issues with reporting 47 were newly listed during this ● Exempt: Species that are of time and cost estimates, we are not reporting period. exempted from recovery plan including this data in this report. development. Species are “exempt” The status of recovery plan if the Service has determined that Number of Recovery Actions development is reported below: developing a recovery plan will not Implemented promote the conservation of the The “number of recovery actions ● F: Final plan has been approved by species. implemented” represents the the Regional Director and a Notice of cumulative number of recovery actions Availability has been published in the ● N/A: The species does not yet have identified in the implementation Federal Register. an approved recovery plan. schedules of the recovery documents (in the Recovery Plans database) as ● D: Draft plan has been approved by In recent years, we also reported the implemented as of September 30, 2016. the Regional Director and published in estimated time and cost to recovery Recovery actions are defined as actions relevant to eliminating or reducing the threats identified in listing rules, recovery plans, and through Dr. Carol Bocetti of the California University of Pennsylvania holds a Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel captured during a population survey. The squirrel was subsequent 5-year reviews that are removed from federal protection in December 2015. identified in the Recovery Plans database. A recovery action in the Recovery Plans database is counted as “implemented” if it has an action status of ongoing current, ongoing not current, partially complete, or complete. An “N/A” in his column indicates that the species does not yet have an approved recovery plan. “Exempt” in this column indicates that the species is exempt from needing a recovery plan. Listing Classification The species’ listing classification, as of September 30, 2016, is included in the table (T or E).