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<br />.~.,.,... -...,-......-..-. ..........-- --_...........:......_- <br /> <br />002320 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />information, the Secretary shall promptly <br />the status of the species concerned. <br />promptly publish each finding made under <br />the Federal Re~ister. <br /> <br />commence a review of <br />The Secretary shall <br />this subparagraph in <br /> <br />The Act requires that if the petitioned action is justified, the Service <br />has 12 months to make a final determination of whether the species <br />warrants protection under the Act. The Service also has the option to <br />determine whether a species warrants listing but is precluded from <br />listing because other species listing proposals take precedence and <br />"expeditious progress" is being made in total to officially list and <br />delist endangered and threatened species. <br /> <br />In order to comply with the Act. the Service maintains lists of candidate <br />species from which prospective endangered and threatened species are <br />determined. Candidate species are classified as either Category 1 or <br />Category 2. Category 1 consists of those species on which substantial <br />information exists to warrant immediate protection under the Act. <br />Category 2 consists of those species that are suspected to be threatened <br />or endangered but on which insufficient information exists to make a <br />determination. <br /> <br />Listin~ of Candidate Soecies as Endan~ered or Threatened <br /> <br />The Endangered Species Act states: <br /> <br />The Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal <br />Re~ister a list of all species determined by him or the <br />Secretary of Commerce to be endangered species and a list of <br />all species determined by him or the Secretary of Commerce to <br />be threatened species. Each list shall refer to the species <br />contained therein by scientific and common name or names I if <br />any, specify with respect to such species over what portion of <br />its range it is endangered or threatened, and specify any <br />critical habitat within such range. <br /> <br />As of December 11, 1989, the Service had 601 domestic species in Category <br />1, which were not officially listed as endangered or threatened. Also. <br />the Service had 3,033 domestic species in Category 2. which had not been <br />sufficiently surveyed to determine their current status. Service <br />officials cited ongoing funding and personnel shortages as the prime <br />cause for this listing backlog. <br /> <br />At the time of our review, the Service's policy was to list at least 50 <br />species per year on a nationwide basis. Accordingly, during fiscal years <br />1987 through 1989, the Service listed 138 species. or an average of 46 <br />per year. Listing actions, including listings, delistings, and <br />reclassifications, have averaged 26 per year in the 17 years since the <br />current Act was passed in 1973. Even if the Service meets its goal of <br />listing 50 species per year, it will take 12 years to list the 601 <br />candidate Category 1 species. In addition. based on Service staff <br />estimates of candidate Category 2 species, it appears that approximately <br />1,300 to 1,800 of the 3,033 species now designated as candidate Category <br />2 species will eventually qualify for the Act's full protection. Again, <br /> <br />6 <br />