Kansas DWPT to conduct five-year review of imperiled species – via Herp Digest

Hays Post, Kansas, 2/23/18

Pratt, KS – The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) is conducting a five-year review of the lists of Kansas species that are endangered, threatened or Species In Need of Conservation (SINC). Endangered is the most imperiled category of the three, and species on the SINC list are deemed to require conservation measures to prevent them from becoming threatened or endangered. A five-year review is required by the Kansas Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1975. Any individual or group can petition KDWPT to propose an addition, deletion, or modification to the current lists by providing pertinent scientific information required within the petition form.

KDWPT relies on the Threatened and Endangered Species Task Committee to assist with the review process. The task committee consists of seven members representing various disciplines, and include staff from state and federal agencies and state universities. To determine if a full review is warranted, the task committee examines updated scientific information and research for any species petitioned for a listing change. Species experts are consulted and all available data is evaluated during the full review. These recommendations, and any amendments to them, are published in the Kansas Register for public comment for at least 90 days. After a full review is completed, the task committee makes recommendations to the KDWPT Secretary and any changes to the lists must be approved by the KDWPT Commission following a public hearing.

At the last five-year review completed in 2014, the redbelly snake, smooth earth snake, longnose snake, spring peeper, chestnut lamprey and silverband shiner were downlisted or removed from the threatened list and added to the SINC list. The Eskimo curlew, black-capped vireo, and many-ribbed salamander were removed from the threatened list due to no evidence of viable populations in Kansas. The northern long-eared bat was added to the SINC list.

Currently, the state endangered list includes 10 invertebrates, five fish, two amphibians, two birds and two mammals. The state threatened list includes six invertebrates, 11 fish, six amphibians, four reptiles, two birds and one mammal. The state SINC list includes 83 species. For detailed information on each list, visit www.ksoutdoors.com and click “Wildlife & Nature,” then “Threatened and Endangered Species.”

Click here for a list of Threatened and Endangered (T&E) Species in Ellis County.

A recent survey conducted by Responsive Management – an internationally recognized research firm specializing in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues – found that conservation of threatened and endangered wildlife remains important among Kansans. Some interesting findings included:

            •          A majority of Kansas residents (91 percent) agreed that the KDWPT should continue to identify and protect habitat critical to threatened and endangered species.

            •          A majority (73 percent) of residents agree with the statement, “Wildlife that is threatened and endangered in Kansas yet abundant in other states should still be protected in Kansas.”

Petitions must be received by May 31, 2018 to be considered for the current five-year review. Petition forms can be downloaded at

http://ksoutdoors.com/Services/Threatened-and-Endangered-Wildlife/Five-Year-Review-of-Listed-Species and submitted electronically to rare.species@ks.gov or mailed to KDWPT, Attn: ESS, 512 SE 25th Ave., Pratt, KS 67124-8174.

Government to impose new limits on shark fishing

The government plans to require almost all sharks landed by recreational fishermen off the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico to measure at least 8 feet from nose to fork in the tail, a move that some recreational fishermen said will end their sport but that conservationists say is needed to save an imperiled species.

The debate over how best to protect the dusky shark — which can migrate hundreds of miles in a season but whose juveniles return every summer to the mid-Atlantic — highlights the complicated task of recovering shark species.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has prohibited the catch of dusky sharks since 1999, but scientists found its population to be so depleted that it will take 100 years for it to recover.

The dusky shark, which averages nearly 12 feet in length and 400 pounds, takes two decades to reach sexual maturity and has small litters every three years, which makes it vulnerable to overfishing.

The environmental group WildEarth Guardians has petitioned to list the dusky shark under the Endangered Species Act.

Continued:  http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019705589_sharks18.html?syndication=rss