Endangered list input sought

Thursday, March 23, 2006 | 7:21 a.m.

A federal agency is seeking public comment on the legal status of five Nevada species - four fish and a plant - that have received special protections under the Endangered Species Act.

A federal listing of a plant or animal as endangered or threatened can be a big deal . The federal action, designed to protect vulnerable species, can bring development to a halt.

For the threatened plant or animal, it can also be a lifeline rescuing the species from extinction. The same federal law that provides the lifeline also requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to periodically review the situations for the listed species to see if that listing needs to be changed.

Sometimes the species' situation is improving, and it can be taken off the protected list. Sometimes the status is unchanged. Sometimes the situation is getting worse and new steps are needed to stop the slide toward oblivion.

Laurie Sada, assistant field supervisor for the Nevada office of U.S. Fish and Wildlife, said many of Nevada's species are particularly vulnerable to human or natural threats because they are found only in small, isolated pockets, Sada said. On the other hand, that also makes it relatively easy to monitor the health of the species, she said.

"We are going to have to take a close look at the current threats and the status of the species," she said.

Along with 51 species that are native to California, the local arm of the federal agency has begun reviewing the status of four Nevada fish and a plant, all protected by federal law. The agency will take public comment until May 22 on the status of the protected species.

Last year the federal agency initiated status reviews on 31 listed species in the two states. So far, none of those reviews have been completed. Ten reviews are scheduled for completion by the end of September.

Thirty-eight species are listed as endangered or threatened in Nevada and 308 in California, said Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Jeanette Stafford.

The Nevada species are: