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Imperiled Species Listing Process

FWC Sharpening Its Imperiled Species Listing Process

By Henry Cabbage, FWC

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is near the end of a six-year exercise of analyzing the process of classifying imperiled species as endangered, threatened or species of special concern.

Initially, Floridaâs fish and wildlife authorities basically relied on intuition rather than scientific information to classify the stateâs imperiled species. The more distressing the classification, the more protection measures automatically kicked into place. However, all that changed in 1999.

The FWC adopted criteria developed by the prestigious International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to classify imperiled species and abandoned the practice of routinely adopting the same protection measures for all listed species. The agency began tailoring protection measures according to individual species' needs. After all, applying the same protection measures to marine mammals and birds, for instance, didnât allow for how different their needs are.

"IUCN has revised the criteria since 1999, and the FWC has decided it would be wise to consider adopting the revisions," said Dan Sullivan, the FWC's endangered species coordinator. "IUCN will train FWC scientists in how to apply the new criteria."

Another change to the process is involving scientific experts from outside the agency throughout classification decisions. Previously, the FWC asked outside experts to review the quality of scientific inquiry that led to decisions, but not to take part in the decision-making process.

Between July 1 and Dec. 31, the FWC will consider petitions it receives for changes to the list. It will not consider such petitions at other times of the year except in emergencies. Once the FWC receives a petition to classify or reclassify an imperiled species, the agency's scientists will determine whether the petition has merit. If it is not a frivolous petition, the agency will assemble a panel of internal and external experts to conduct a "biological status review" to determine how seriously imperiled the species is.

Any formal review of a species' classification that results in the species being added to, deleted from or reclassified on the list will require FWC scientists, with input from the public and experts from outside the agency, to draft a new management plan, based on measures that would benefit the species.

"Although the Commission determines which category is appropriate when the biological status review is completed, the species' category won't change until FWC Commissioners approve a management plan for that species," Sullivan said. "When a species no longer qualifies for listing at a specific category, its category could be changed to a higher or lower level of imperilment, or it could be removed from the list entirely if that is the appropriate action. The important thing is that even if the species comes off the list, it still will have all the protection spelled out in the species' management plan."

Sullivan said 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.

"Any species that faces a 10-percent or greater chance of extinction within the next 100 years will qualify for a spot somewhere on the imperiled species list," Sullivan said, "but in all cases, protection measures will be according to each species' needs rather than its classification."

Yet another important change in the listing process is that scientists will use information concerning the species' condition in Florida, rather than its overall condition worldwide, in making classification decisions. If authorities considered worldwide data only, it would be possible that some species could become completely wiped out in Florida, and never qualify as imperiled species in Florida if they are doing well elsewhere in the world.

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

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