Submission of Conservation Efforts to Make Listings Unnecessary under the Endangered Species Act

This request is for extension of a current information collection under the Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions (PECE), which was finalized jointly by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in 2003 (see 68 FR 15100, March 28, 2003). There are no changes or revisions to this collection request. The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), specifies the process by which NMFS and FWS (the Services) can list species as threatened or endangered. When considering whether to list a species, the ESA requires the Services to take into account “those efforts, if any, being made by any State . . . or any political subdivision of a State . . . to protect such species.” Conservation efforts are often formalized in conservation agreements, conservation plans, management plans, or other similar documents and are often developed with the specific intent of making the listing of species as threatened or endangered unnecessary. Sometimes these agreements or plans have yet to be implemented or demonstrate their effectiveness at the time the Services must make a listing decision. In such instances, the Services use the criteria identified in the PECE to evaluate the conservation efforts. The development of such an agreement or plan that has the specific intention of making listing unnecessary constitutes a new information collection. One of the criteria identified in PECE is that such agreements and plans contain a provision for monitoring and reporting the progress and results of implementation of conservation efforts. This criterion also constitutes a new information collection, in addition to the agreement.

The latest form for Submission of Conservation Efforts to Make Listings Unnecessary under the Endangered Species Act expires 2028-04-30 and can be found here.

Developing Agreement

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Conservation, Marine and Land Management