Designation of Sensitive Species

February 19, 2010

In Reply Refer To:
6840 (CA930)P

EMS TRANSMISSION: 2/19/10
Instruction Memorandum No. CA-2010-008
Expires: 9/30/11

To:           All Field Managers

From:       Acting State Director

Subject:    Designation of Sensitive Species               

The current revision of BLM Manual 6840, Special Status Species Management, issued December 12, 2008, requires State Directors to designate sensitive species within their respective jurisdictions and, at least once every 5 years, to review and update their sensitive species lists in coordination with State agencies responsible for managing fisheries, wildlife, and botanical resources.  This Instruction Memorandum provides the official sensitive species lists for lands under the jurisdiction of the California State Director.  This list will be updated annually.

Sensitive species are those species requiring special management consideration to promote their conservation and reduce the likelihood and need for future listing under the ESA.  In addition to those species designated as sensitive by the State Director, all Federal candidate species and delisted species in the 5 years following delisting are to be conserved as Bureau sensitive species.  Sensitive species are managed as special status species, along with Federally listed and proposed species, which are automatically treated as special status species.

Attachments 1 and 2 are lists of all special status animals and plants; respectively, including those designated as sensitive by this instruction memorandum.  Attachment 2A lists the special status plants known to occur on BLM lands.  Attachment 2B lists the special status plants that are suspected to occur on BLM lands.  To save paper, Attachments 1 and 2 do not break down the special status species by Field Office.  However, we will soon provide digital copies of individual Field Office special status species lists to botany, fisheries, and wildlife personnel in each Field Office.  Tables 1 and 2, below, show the numbers of special status animals and plants by Field Office.  The state totals in the last row of each of the tables correspond to the total number of species found on BLM lands in California, irrespective of Field Office.  These totals are less than the sum of the Field Office values in the columns in Tables 1 and 2 because some species occur in more than one Field Office (this is especially true for many animal species).

Although the BLM sensitive species list will be updated only once a year, California BLM policy on sensitive plants (California BLM Manual Supplement 6840.06 and Handbook 6840.1) automatically affords sensitive status to plants on List 1B (Plants Rare, Threatened, or Endangered in California and Elsewhere) of the California Native Plant Society’s (CNPS) most recent Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online at:  http://cnps.site.aplus.net/cgi-bin/inv/inventory.cgi ), unless the State Director decides on a case-by-case basis that a particular List 1B species does not warrant sensitive status.  The BLM sensitive plant list is therefore a dynamic list that may change more frequently than every year.  Accordingly, changes to CNPS List 1B that take place between the date of this IM and the issuance of the next IM designating sensitive species will be tracked by State Office staff, who will inform appropriate Field Office staff of any plants added or removed from the 1B list that affect BLM lands.  Plants on BLM lands added to List 1B between the dates of this IM and the next one are to be treated as sensitive species.  Plants on BLM lands that are removed from List 1B between the dates of this IM and the next one may continue to be treated as sensitive at the discretion of the Field Manager.

Field Managers are also reminded that they may request the State Director to add or remove plant species from the sensitive plant list.  Such requests must be in writing and include necessary documentation.  Please refer to California BLM Manual Handbook 6840.1 for details.

Questions on designated sensitive species or on any special status species may be directed to Amy Fesnock (animals) at (916) 978-4646 or to Christina Lund (plants) at (916) 978-4638.

Signed by:                                                                                                      
James Wesley Abbott                                                                                    
Acting State Director                                                                                     

Authenticated by:
Richard A. Erickson
Records Management

Attachments
  1       - List of special status animals, including those designated as sensitive (3 pp.)
  2A    - List of special status plants, including those designated as sensitive, that are known to
           occur on BLM lands (10 pp.)
  2B    - List of special status plants, including those designated as sensitive, that are suspected to  
           occur on BLM lands (6 pp.)

cc:    WO-230 (Attn:  Senior Specialist, T&E Program)
         CA-921 (Steve Kupferman)
         CA-943 (Craig Barnes)