The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that based on a review of the best available science, the Chowanoke crayfish is not in danger of extinction now, or likely to become so within the foreseeable future, and does not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The freshwater crustacean native to streams and rivers in the Chowan and Roanoke River basins in Virginia and North Carolina is still found in most of the watersheds where it was known to occur historically, and has access to clean, connected, flowing streams with habitat features it needs to survive. The two-inch long crayfish is a poor burrower, and relies on cover from woody debris, leaf litter, undercut banks, and other in-stream objects for shelter.
Over time, development, climate change , and nonnative crayfish may affect the quality of the Chowanoke crayfish’s habitat, decrease food availability, and increase its susceptibility to disease. The red swamp and virile crayfish, both nonnative species, are known to alter habitat and outcompete native crayfish for food and space. The Chowanoke crayfish currently co-occurs with the red swamp crayfish in two locations, and with the virile crayfish in one.
However, biologists have not observed negative impacts to the Chowanoke crayfish in those places. The Service concluded that these threats to the species are not significant enough to warrant the protections of the ESA.
In both North Carolina and Virginia, the species’ stream habitat is buffered in numerous places by lands that are managed through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation Reserve Program or protected by state and federal agencies and private land trusts. Those lands include the Service’s Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. By reducing erosion and runoff, forested riparian buffers help maintain water quality and instream habitat for the Chowanoke crayfish. The crayfish also benefits from habitat protections for other federally listed aquatic species with overlapping ranges, including Roanoke logperch, yellow lance, and Atlantic pigtoe.
On April 20, 2010, the Service received a petition to list 404 aquatic, riparian, and wetland species, including Chowanoke crayfish, as endangered or threatened species under the Act. On September 27, 2011, the Service published a positive 90-day finding on the petition and decided to conduct a more in-depth review of many of those species, including the crayfish.
As part of that in-depth review, the Service initiated a biological species status assessment (SSA). The resulting SSA report was peer reviewed by academic experts and by state and federal agency partners. Scientists found that while stressors such as sedimentation, development, and nonnative crayfish species may impact populations, the crayfish has maintained, and is projected to continue to maintain, resilient populations throughout its range.
Although ESA protection is not warranted for the Chowanoke crayfish, the Service will coordinate with state partners on future monitoring efforts, as appropriate.
The notice of this finding is available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection
The effort to conserve America’s at-risk wildlife and recover listed species is led by the Service and state wildlife agencies in partnership with other government agencies, private landowners, conservation groups, tribes, businesses, utilities and others. The Service has drawn support for its use of incentives and flexibilities within the ESA to protect rare wildlife, reduce regulations and keep working lands working.
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