Endangered Species Listing and Candidate Assessment

Target Audience:

Open only to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species program employees whose duties include Endangered Species Act Section 4 listing and candidate assessment and conservation responsibilities.

Summary and Objectives

This course provides basic information regarding all aspects of endangered species petition management, candidate assessment, Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts evaluation, critical habitat designation, and listing/delisting determinations. Case studies and interactive exercises are used to reinforce instruction.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify the Service's obligations and authorities for listing species as threatened or endangered under Section 4 of the ESA and how these obligations relate to other parts of the ESA.
• Define a species, including distinct population segments.
• Explain Service compliance responsibilities related to candidate assessment and listing under the Freedom of Information Act, Federal Advisory Committee Act, and Administrative Procedure Act.
• Identify how to establish and maintain a complete administrative record of the Service's actions associated with a species' review for listing and/or critical habitat designation.
• Describe the steps for placing and prioritizing a species on the candidate list.
• Describe how prelisting conservation influences the need for listing of species.
• Describe the management of petitions to list or delist species or to designate critical habitats.
• Identify the steps for determining if critical habitat designation is prudent and determinable.
• Describe the need for and steps involved in developing an outreach strategy for the entire listing process.

Competency Addressed:

Conservation Biology - Basic, Data Interpretation - Basic, Environmental Compliance - Basic, Technical Documentation - Basic, Administrative Law - Awareness