View Rule Making Project for more information.

The purpose of this proposal is to update and clarify WDFW’s procedures for listing and recovering state endangered, threatened, and sensitive wildlife species. Specifically, the goals of amending WAC 220-610-110 are the following:

1.  Focus limited agency resources on tasks that have the greatest influence on species recovery;
2.  Maintain an understanding of species status on timelines that do not eclipse the focus on recovery planning and implementation;
3.  Clarify areas of ambiguity;
4.  Remove redundancies.

The proposed amendments would result in the following changes to WAC 220-610-110:

• Add the option to adopt, in whole or in part, with or without revisions, a species’ federal recovery plan, in lieu of or in addition to a state recovery plan;
• Add a requirement to review recovery plan objectives and progress toward recovery in periodic status reviews and determine whether a plan update is warranted;
• Replace the requirement for a “management” plan for sensitive species with the requirement for a recovery plan for sensitive species;
• Require agency staff to maintain a list of state endangered, threatened, and sensitive wildlife species with links to status reports/reviews and recovery plans, and anticipated timeline for updates on the agency website;
• Extend the completion time for recovery plans from three years to five years;
• Extend the timeline for periodic status reviews from every five years to every ten years;
• Add species categories and definitions for “management peripheral” and “presumed extirpated” species, allowing exemption for recovery plan and status review requirements;
• Update the definitions of “endangered”, “threatened”, and “sensitive” to create tiers, add clarity, and avoid overlap with other designations; ·
• Align state listing criteria with the five factors as described in Sec. 4(a)(1) of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA);
• Clarify language to indicate that when a species is listed under the ESA the first time, WDFW will then evaluate whether to recommend species listing and that the recommendation is not required to mirror federal status;
• Align public notice requirements to be consistent with rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act;
• Remove obsolete language regarding requirements for actions to occur within a timeframe referencing adoption of the original rule