Peer Review of Scientific Information

5-year Status Reviews of 11 Mobile River Basin Mussels Species:

Fine‑lined Pocketbook (Hamiota altilis)
Orange-nacre Mucket (Hamiota perovalis)
Alabama moccasinshell (Medionidus acutissimus)
Coosa moccasinshell (Medionidus parvulus)
Southern Clubshell (Pleurobema decisum)
Dark Pigtoe (Pleurobema furvum)
Southern Pigtoe (Pleurobema georgianum)
Ovate Clubshell (Pleurobema perovatum)
Triangular Kidneyshell (Ptychobranchus greenii)
Upland combshell (Epioblasma metastriata)
Southern acornshell (Epioblasma othcaloogensis)

About the Document

Title: 5-year Status Reviews of Mobile River Basin Mussels

Purpose:  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is conducting a 5-year status review of the federally listed, threatened fine‑lined pocketbook, orange-nacre mucket, Alabama moccasinshell and the federally listed, endangered Coosa moccasinshell, southern clubshell, dark pigtoe, southern pigtoe,
ovate clubshell, triangular kidneyshell, upland combshell, and southern acornshell under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).  The purpose of reviews conducted under this section of the Act is to ensure that the classification of species as threatened or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (50 CFR 17.11 and 17.12) is accurate.  A 5-year review is an assessment of the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review.  On the basis of such reviews, we determine whether or not any species should be removed from the List (delisted), or reclassified from endangered to threatened or from threatened to endangered.  Delisting a species must be supported by the best scientific and commercial data available and only considered if such data substantiate that the species is neither endangered nor threatened for one or more of the following reasons: (1) the species is considered extinct; (2) the species is considered to be recovered; and/or (3) the original data available when the species was listed, or the interpretation of such data, were in error.  Any change in Federal classification would require a separate rulemaking process.

About the Peer Review Process

Type of Review:  Influential

Date of Peer Review:  Peer review will occur between June 2005 and August 2005.

Estimated Dissemination Date of the Final 5-year Review Document:  August 2007.

Process:  The Service will conduct external peer review of this document through electronic letters sent to three or more independent scientific reviewers with expertise in mollusk conservation, hydrology, conservation biology, and aquatic resource management.

The Service will make formal requests for peer review from Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and additional peer review from several independent species or habitat experts.  Peer review of the scientific information used in our analysis of the status of these mussels and the validity of the data will be requested, but peer reviewers will not be asked to provide recommendations on the legal status of the species.

The Service will use the information received from the peer review, as appropriate, in the conclusions and recommendations for the 5-year review of the mussels.

About Public Participation

Public comments on the 5 year review for the mussels were sought with a Federal Register announcement on June 14, 2005, and the distribution by mail and press release of this announcement to interested parties.

The Service will post a notice on its website of the recommendation resulting from the 5-year review of the mussels, including a summary of the results of the peer review process.  If this 5-year review results in a recommendation to change the status of the mussels, additional public review and comment will be sought within the proposed rulemaking process.

This peer review plan is made available on this website to allow the public to monitor our compliance with the Office of Management and Budget’s Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review.

Contact

Paul Hartfield, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Jackson Ecological Services Office, 601-321-1125