The Fourche Mountain salamander does not need the protection of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced.
The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned in July 2012 to have the salamander, along with 52 other amphibians and reptiles in the United States, to be listed as threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Petitioners requested that the salamander, found in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, be considered endangered because of declines in its range and poor forest-management practices.
The Endangered Species Act provides protection for species listed as threatened or endangered. The protection also requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to identify critical habitat that may need to be considered in protection efforts.
The wildlife service will not count the salamander among endangered species because the petition did not present “substantial or scientific or commercial information” indicating that action was needed, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s explanation filed in the Federal Register.
The U.S. Forest Service already considers the salamander in its land-management plans and works with the Fish and Wildlife Service to care for the salamander and its habitat, the Fish and Wildlife Service said in a news release.
Arkansas is home to 36 endangered or threatened species, and 2,200 endangered or threatened species have been recognized nationwide.