Listing a species

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State environmental policy
U.S. environmental policy
Endangered species policy
State endangered species
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Environmental terms

Listing a species is the process of placing an animal or plant species on the federal list of endangered or threatened species. Once an animal or plant species is listed, the species receives full federal protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Overview

An animal or plant species can be listed as either endangered or threatened. The federal list contains the names of all plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and other species receiving full federal protection. The complete federal list of protected species can be searched here. The list of all species proposed for listing as endangered or threatened can be found here.

Listing process

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may initiate proposals to list a species or review petitions to list a species submitted by the public. The agency must examine whether a species meets the definition of an endangered or threatened based on the following five criteria:

“	the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; an overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; disease or predation; the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; other natural or manmade factors affecting its survival.	”
—U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required to list species solely based on the "best scientific and commercial data available," a standard found in the Endangered Species Act, after conducting a review of the status of a species.

If one or more of the above criteria are met, the agency can take action to list a species beginning with a listing proposal published in the Federal Register. Any member of the public can comment or provide information on a listing proposal within 60 days. A final listing decision is published within one year of the listing proposal. Final listing decisions become law 30 days after they are published in the Federal Register. Once a species is listed, federal protective measures apply. Federal agencies must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service before they perform activities, such as filling a wetland, that may harm a listed species or adversely modify its habitat. Private individuals and groups are prohibited from taking a listed animal species, which includes any activity that negatively affects a listed species or adversely modifies its habitat. The federal government may purchase land to use as a listed species' habitat.

Impact of listing

Private actions

Once a species is listed, federal protective measures apply. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits the taking of any listed animal species. To take a species means to "harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct." Taking a species also includes the adverse modification of a listed species' habitat. Any individual that knowingly takes a listed animal species can be fined up to $25,000 by the federal government for each violation or instance. Individuals can be fined up to $500 for each violation if they take a listed animal species unknowingly. The text of the law containing all federal penalties can be found here.

Private landowners are prohibited from making significant modifications to their land if their proposed modification ends up harming a listed species or its habitat. This prohibition includes private land that could potentially house nearby populations of a listed species, though the land may not be inhabited by a listed species at the time. Private landowners planning on modifying their land can apply for an incidental take permit, which authorizes the incidental taking of a listed species. Before a permit is granted, property owners must submit a habitat conservation plan, which must contain information on the relevant and predicted effects of the landowner's taking of a listed species, how the effects will be minimized and/or mitigated, and how the plan will be financed. Landowners must also demonstrate that they have considered all possible protective actions for the listed species before deciding upon a final habitat conservation plan.

Federal actions

Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if a federally permitted or authorized action could affect listed species. If the federal agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agree that the proposed action would not adversely affect a species, the consultation ends and the proposed action moves forward. If the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or a federal agency determines that the action may affect a listed species, a biological opinion or review must be made to determine the precise effects of the proposed federal action on listed species.

If a federal agency or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines that the proposed action is likely to adversely affect a listed species, the agencies must consult further to investigate how the proposed action will affect listed species. Formal consultation can last up to 90 days. If the proposed action will have adverse effects, a federal agency must modify or adjust the proposed action to minimize adverse effects.

Critical habitat

See also: Critical habitat

Critical habitats are specific geographic areas, whether occupied by listed species or not, that are determined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be essential for the conservation and management of a listed species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may jointly propose to list a species and designate critical habitats or the agency can address critical habitats up to a year after the date of a species' listing. After considering all probable economic and other impacts of critical habitat designations, the agency designates critical habitat areas based on the best scientific data available.

Federal agencies must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if their actions could affect listed species with critical habitat designations. Federal actions that involve a federal permit, license, or funding as well as actions that are likely to destroy or adversely modify affected areas are reviewed by federal agencies. Projects can be modified to minimize harm to a species through the Section 7 consultation process.

Listing priority

Candidate species (species that have been proposed for listing but are precluded due to other listing priorities) receive a listing priority from one to 12 based on the significance of the threats they face, the proximity of the threats, and the taxonomic uniqueness of the species (for example, a subspecies, which is a species with a taxonomic rank below full species, receives lower priority than full species). The listing priority determines the order in which proposed listing rules are prepared. Species considered to be at greater risk (with a listing priority between one and three) are proposed for listing first.

See also

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  Costs of listing species

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  Glossary of ESA terms

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  Endangered species policy in the U.S.

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  Listed species