Nevada Threatened and Endangered Species Program

The BLM’s Threatened and Endangered Species Program works to conserve and recover federally-listed species and their habitat on public lands. The program also provides support for conservation of “Sensitive” plant and animal species or subspecies with a goal of avoiding the need to list them in the future.

 

Currently there are 45 species or subspecies of plants and animals listed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in Nevada but they are not evenly distributed across the state. For instance, five of the 11 listed plants are only found at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The two most high profile listed species are the Lahontan cutthroat trout and the Mojave population of desert tortoise.

 

The BLM places a special emphasis on maintaining functioning ecosystems to benefit all wildlife and plants, and restoring habitat. Because the habitat of many species includes lands and waters not administered by the BLM, successful conservation requires extensive collaboration and cooperation with a number of partners.

 

 

The BLM manages habitat for all animal and plant species that inhabit BLM-managed public lands. When a particular native wildlife, fish, or plant species occurring on BLM lands becomes at-risk, and BLM has the capability to significantly affect the species future, the State Director can designate the species as Bureau Sensitive, in order to help reduce the likelihood of the species being listed as Threatened or Endangered under the ESA. BLM biologists review and update the Sensitive Species lists periodically.

 

Then, the BLM devotes special attention to maintaining or improving habitats for these species using the best available science and through partnerships with state and federal agencies and private landowners.