The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released its yearly appraisal of the current status of plants and animals that are candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Candidate Notice of Review was published in todays Federal Register.  Four species were removed from the candidate list and five species were added since the last review in September 2006. There are now 280 species recognized by the Service as candidates for ESA protection.

As part of this review, the Service is soliciting public comment and additional information on these candidate species, as well as information on species that may be eligible for addition to future candidate updates. This information will be valuable in preparing listing documents and future revisions or supplements to the notice of review.

"The candidate list helps the Service, states and our partners focus attention and effort on the species most in need of careful management," said Service Director H. Dale Hall. "Because of successful conservation efforts with our partners, significant threats to a number of these candidate species have been removed."

Hall highlighted the important role conservation efforts play in reducing risks to species not yet listed.  The Surprising Cave beetle in Kentucky is one example.  It was removed as a candidate after an assessment found that the species range was larger and the threats to its continued existence had decreased. In addition, Mammoth Cave National Park entered into a 15-year agreement to conserve the cave beetle and its habitat, which includes Surprising Cave and three other caves in the park. This conservation agreement is just one of many such agreements across the country helping to conserve at-risk species before they require ESA protection. More than 150 candidate and at-risk species currently benefit from candidate conservation agreements.

Three other species were removed from the candidate list this year: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/candidates/index.html.