FWS determined endangered species status for the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly under the ESA.

NMFS announced the availability of a draft ESA recovery plan for the threatened oceanic whitetip shark for public review.

NMFS published the final annual determination for 2023, identifying U.S. fisheries operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Ocean in which participants will be required to take fisheries observers upon NMFS’ request to learn more about sea turtle bycatch in a given fishery, evaluate measures to prevent or reduce sea turtle takes, and implement the prohibition against sea turtle takes.

FWS removed the San Clemente Bell’s sparrow, San Clemente Island (SCI) bush-mallow, SCI paintbrush, SCI lotus, and SCI larkspur from the federal lists of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants under the ESA.

FWS proposed to designate approximately 104 river miles in Bledsoe, Blount, Morgan, and Roane Counties, Tennessee, and Scott, Smyth, and Washington Counties, Virginia, as critical habitat for the sickle darter under the ESA.

FWS initiated five-year status reviews under the ESA for two plant and three animal species, and requests the submission of scientific and commercial data that has become available since the last review of the species.

FWS reclassified Fender’s blue butterfly from endangered to threatened under the ESA, and finalized a rule issued under §4(d) of the Act that provides for the conservation of the species.

FWS initiated five-year status reviews under the ESA for 31 animal and plant species, and requests the submission of scientific and commercial data that has become available since the last review of the species.

NMFS announced 90-day findings on a petition to list the Oregon Coast and Southern Oregon and Northern California Coastal Chinook salmon evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) as threatened or endangered or, alternatively, list only the spring-run Chinook salmon components of the Oregon Coast and the Southern Oregon and Northern California Coastal ESUs as threatened or endangered under the ESA, finding the request to list the entire Oregon Coast and Southern Oregon and Northern California Coastal ESUs is warranted and the request to list only the spring run components of those ESUs is not warranted.

FWS announced findings that the Bone Cave harvestman is not warranted for delisting, and that seven species—Brandegee’s buckwheat, Chowanoke crayfish, Cisco milkvetch, stage station milkvetch, Isely’s milkvetch, Columbia Oregonian, and Rye Cove cave isopod—are not warranted for listing as threatened or endangered under the ESA.