Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
PRATT – As required by the Nongame and Endangered Species Act of 1975, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism required to review threatened and endangered species every five years.
A Threatened and Endangered Species Task Force, made up of members from state and federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations, will review the currently listed species and those species proposed for listing. During the review, species can be added, removed or have their status changed based on petitions and documented scientific evidence.
The task force then makes a recommendation for each species. As part of this review, five public informational meetings will be held statewide throughout the month of April.
In Hays, the public hearing will be at 3 p.m. April 23 at Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History.
Out of the 60 species currently listed, 36 are defined as threatened and the remaining 24 are defined as endangered.
The following species are currently under review to be removed from the endangered list, except for the Northern Long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis), which has been requested as an addition to the Threatened list:
- Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis)
- Black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla)
- Many-ribbed salamander (Eurycea multiplicata)
- Silverband shiner (Notropis shumardi)
- Chestnut lamprey (Ichthyomyzon castaneus)
- Spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)
- Longnose snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)
- Redbelly snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)
- Smooth earth snake (Virginia valeriae)
The last review, in 2009, was responsible for the change in listing of the bald eagle and peregrine falcon, both of which were removed from the endangered list. That same year, the delta hydrobe, shoal chub and the plains minnow were added to the threatened list.
For more information, visit ksoutdoors.com.