Fish & Wildlife Service announces annual list of candidate species

The principal federal agency responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act announced Tuesday its annual list of species eligible for listing and included the smallest number of candidates in more than a decade.

According to a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service news release, there are now 192 species of plants and animals that meet the criteria for protection as a threatened or endangered species under federal law.

The 2012 list contains two new additions - the Peñasco least chipmunk (Tamius minimus atristriatus) and the Cumberland arrow darter (Etheostoma sagitta sagitta).

The Peñasco least chipmunk is native to two mountain ranges in New Mexico. It lives in Ponderosa pine forests and is now known only in a small area near Sierra Blanca. The animal's survival is threatened by the near-total elimination of the Ponderosa pine forest upon which it relies.

The Cumberland arrow darter is a fish of about 116 millimeters in length. It's range includes the upper basin of its namesake river in Tennessee and Kentucky. The fish relies on small pools, or adjacent areas, that have cobble-filled bottoms. This habitat is easily damaged by water pollution, a common result of coal mining in the area; loss of stream-side plants; channelization; and deforestation in the watershed.    

Three species that were on last year's list have been removed. They include the elongate mud meadow springsnail, Christ’s paintbrush, and bog asphodel.

FWS is obligated by the terms of an agreement to settle litigation challenging its compliance with the ESA's candidate species provisions to eliminate a backlog of listing decisions by 2017.