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FWC MOVES TO POLISH SPECIES LISTING PROCESS

February 3, 2005
Contact: Henry Cabbage (850) 488-4676

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) today directed its staff to proceed with rule revisions to improve the agency’s process for classifying imperiled species. Commissioners plan to take final action on the matter during their April 14-15 meeting in Tallahassee.

Since 1999, the FWC has used criteria developed by the prestigious International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to classify imperiled species as endangered, threatened or species of special concern. IUCN has revised the criteria since then, and the FWC has decided it would be wise to adopt the revisions. IUCN will train FWC scientists in how to apply the new criteria and to involve scientific experts from outside the agency in classification decisions.

Classifications of some species are likely to change under the new criteria, however, the level of protection will not change with reclassification unless a species’ condition indicates changes would benefit the species. In all cases, protection will be according to each species’ needs rather than its classification. However, any species that faces a 10-percent chance of extinction within the next 100 years will qualify for a spot somewhere on the imperiled species list.

Commissioners approved a recommendation for FWC scientists to work with outside experts to
evaluate petitions to change species’ classifications based on species’ status in Florida. Commissioners also approved a staff recommendation for staff to undergo training on how to apply the new criteria and guidelines.

The FWC will consider petitions it receives between July 1 and Dec. 31 for changes to the list. It will not consider other petitions except in emergencies.

Any formal review of a species’ classification will require FWC scientists to draft a new management plan, based on measures that would help the species recover from the threat of extinction. When a species no longer qualifies for listing as endangered, its classification may change to threatened or species of special concern, or it may be removed from the list entirely, but the FWC will continue to pursue protection and management as provided in the species management plan.

More information about the imperiled species listing process is available online at MyFWC.com/imperiledspecies.

HPC/CR

 

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