Fish and Wildlife Service releases annual list of candidate species

Five species of plant and animal are new candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act, according to a notice issued today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

One species, a mammal native to California called the Palm Springs roundtail ground squirrel, was removed from the list.

The changes mean that there are now 251 species of plants and animals on the candidate species list.

Candidates for listing meet the statutory criteria for protection under the ESA but are not added to the roster of endangered and threatened species because the agency's resources are needed to list higher priority species.

FWS can act to conserve candidate species through extension of grants to states, territorial governments, and private entities. In addition, the agency has entered into 110 Candidate Conservation Agreements under which the parties agree to take specific actions, or avoid specific actions, with the aim of reducing the threat to a candidate species' survival.

More than 100 candidate species are managed under Candidate Conservation Agreements.