It appears that there is a petition to remove the American
Burying Beetle from the Endangered species list as seen in a
recent petition, all related to the oil industry. American
Stewards of Liberty is well-known for trying to remove
endangered species from listings. The petitioners all have
ties with the oil industry, and all are based in Texas.
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[4500030115]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day
Findings on 29 Petitions
Evaluation of a Petition to Remove the American Burying
Beetle from the List of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
Additional information regarding our review of this
petition can be found as an appendix
Documents section.
Species and Range
American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus): Arkansas,
Kansas, Massachusetts,
Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota,
and Texas
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Petition History
On August 18, 2015, we received a petition dated August 18,
2015, via electronic mail
from American Stewards of Liberty, the Independent
Petroleum Association of America, the
Texas Public Policy Foundation, and Dr. Steven W. Carothers
(petitioners) requesting that the
American burying beetle be delisted under the Act due to
error in information such that the
existence or magnitude of threats to the species, or both,
do not support a conclusion that the
species is at risk of extinction now or in the foreseeable
future. The petition clearly identified
itself as a petition and included the requisite
identification information for the petitioner, as
required by 50 CFR 424.14(a). This finding addresses the
petition.
Finding
Based on our review of the petition and sources cited in
the petition, we find that the
petition presents substantial scientific or commercial
information indicating that the petitioned
action (delisting) may be warranted for the American
burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus),
based on a lack of threats under any of the five listing
factors. However, during our status
review, we will thoroughly evaluate all potential threats
to the species, including the extent to
which any protections or other conservation efforts have
reduced those threats. Thus, for this
species, the Service requests any information relevant to
whether the species falls within the
definition of either an endangered species under section
3(6) of the Act or a threatened species
under section 3(20), including information on the five
listing factors under section 4(a)(1) and
any other factors identified in this finding (see Request
for Information for Status Reviews,
above)
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