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<br />;...:..........~"'~_..~....'"_..........--"-._. .......... ..' ,'.. <br /> <br />'."-,"...---"-'.'" <br /> <br />002321 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />even if the Service meets its goal of listing 50 species per year, it <br />will take an additional 26 to 36 years to list those species currently <br />classified as Category 2 candidates that may eventually need the Act's <br />protec tion. Therefore, it may take from 38 to 48 years at current <br />listing rates to list just those species now estimated to qualify for <br />protection under the Act. In the meantime, additional species will <br />likely require the Act's protection. The Service has also initiated the <br />practice of listing multiple species, which could impact the above <br />estimates; however. a significant increase in the current use of this <br />listing tool would be needed to effect a meaningful difference. We <br />believe that this length of time to list and protect endangered species <br />is not indicative of the "expeditious progress" specified in the Act and <br />could likely result in additional extinction of certai'l;plants and <br />animals during the period. According to Service records, during the <br />past 10 years, 17 plant and 17 animal species formerly classified as <br />Category 1 or Category 2 candidate species, such as the Texas Henslow's <br />sparrows. and wild spiderflowers, are now considered extinct (Appendix <br />1). These 34 species became extinct before full protection was provided <br />to them under the Act, <br /> <br />Since the Service does not record and track actual employee time by <br />program subactivities, we could not obtain accurate data on the amounts <br />spent for listing activities. However I the Service estimated that it <br />costs approximately $60,000 to officially list a single species. Using <br />this amount as a basis, it would cost approximately $36 million to list <br />the 601 current candidate Category 1 species and an additional <br />$78 million to $108 million to list the remaining 1,300 to 1.800 <br />candidate Category 2 species estimated to eventually merit listing. <br />These estimates contrast sharply with the Service's total listing budget <br />for fiscal year 1989 of approximately $3.5 million. <br /> <br />While the estimated costs to list species in need of the Act's protection <br />do not reasonably coincide with the Service's annual listing budget. we <br />believe that maximum usage of mu1tispecies listings could significantly <br />reduce the cost differential. We also believe that as another cost- <br />savings approach, the Service should consider the possibility of simply <br />listing en masse all plants and animals it currently believes warrant <br />official listing as endangered or threatened. <br /> <br />An alternative to listing endangered and threatened species would be to <br />request more cooperation from individual states in providing programs to <br />conserve endangered and threatened species. The Ac t provides for the <br />consideration of state and local government efforts in determining the <br /> <br />lIInformation is based solely on the Service's own summary information. <br />These data were not validated as to the species existence or extinction. <br />The Service, in its July 12, 1990, response (Appendix 3)' provided certain <br />clarification and/or corrections to the information. <br /> <br />7 <br />