Bald eagle and peregrine falcon recommended for delisting
PRATT -- At a Jan. 8 meeting of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) staff presented recommendations for additions and deletions to the Kansas List of Threatened & Endangered (T&E) Species and Species In Need of Conservation (SINC). Under state law, KDWP must review the list every five years. Any person or organization can petition the state to list a species.

This year, 21 species were petitioned for a change in T, E, or SINC status. Of these, the bald eagle and peregrine falcon were recommended for delisting. The following list describes each species, its current status, its petitioned status, the KDWP preliminary recommendation, and the KDWP final recommendation. Final action will be taken on these recommendations at the June commission meeting in Council Grove.

Only publicly funded or assisted projects or projects that require some other state or federal permit are reviewed by KDWP to determine if they impact critical habitat of T&E species. Activities that are not tax-funded, or do not trigger state or federal permitting criteria and are otherwise lawful, are not covered by state law (KAR 115-15-3). Lawful activities by private landowners or developers, such as housing or business construction and normal farming and ranching practices, are not subject to current state T&E regulations, even if those activities result in incidental taking of listed species.

Endangered species are any species of wildlife whose continued existence as a viable component of the state’s wild fauna is determined to be in jeopardy under Kansas state law (KSA 32-958c). Threatened species are any species of wildlife that appears likely, within the foreseeable future, to become an endangered species under guidelines of Kansas state law (KSA 32-958f). SINC species are those that are highly specialized, with a limited habitat in Kansas, or show population declines that warrant data collection concerning its status in Kansas. Conservation efforts focused on these species can prevent future listing as threatened or endangered. No regulatory oversight occurs on SINC-listed species.

For more information on T, E, and SINC species in Kansas, visit the KDWP website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us. Click "Site Map" at the bottom of the page, then "Threatened and Endangered Species" under "Other Services."
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