Special Status Species

Special status species include any species which is listed, or proposed for listing, as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act; or which is listed and protected by State statute in a category implying potential endangerment or extinction. Under the level one inventory guidelines, special status species are listed in OMBIL as either Federal or State listed species.

Projects should consult with local Fish and Wildlife Service Offices, personnel from State fish and game, local Nature Conservancy and/or County Natural Heritage Inventories to determine species which are likely to occur on the project lands. If the species presence have been confirmed by project staff or other agencies, an occurrence indicator such as common or rare should be provided based on best professional judgment. If the species habitat is present and it is likely that the species may occur on the project, the species shall be listed as potential.

Recent changes to the level one inventory no longer reduces completion of the inventory when potential species are present. The species list, including potential species, will complete the projects special status species portion of the level one inventory and the project will receive full credit. Level two type sampling such as mist nets for bats or point count for birds will likely be needed for final confirmation of some species, but will not affect the performance of the projects inventory completion.