WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Fish and Wildlife Service Announces 2011 Candidate Species List

Agency will Address More than 100 Species for Federal Listing in 2012
Contact: Mark Salvo (503) 757-4221

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service posted its annual list of candidate species today. The list includes 244 plants and animals that the agency has previously identified as warranting protection under the Endangered Species Act, as well as 48 species that the agency proposed to list in the past year and for which listing will be finalized in 2012. In accordance with a landmark settlement agreement with WildEarth Guardians, the agency will also either propose to list or determine listing is “not warranted” for dozens candidate species in 2012, including the Gunnison sage-grouse, lesser prairie-chicken, Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle, Florida bonneted bat, and the Jemez Mountains salamander.

“What has been a trickle of listing decisions will become a gush of actions in 2012,” said Mark Salvo of WildEarth Guardians. “Most candidate species have waited more than two decades for protection—they cannot afford to wait any longer.”