6 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
By Eric Fowler
Work has begun to update Nebraska's
list of threatened and endangered species,
and if approved as proposed, four small-
bodied fish, one bird and one reptile would be
added to the list and one mammal removed.
Proposed as threatened - McCown's longspur, timber
rattlesnake, flathead chub and plains minnow
Proposed as endangered - sicklefin chub and western
silvery minnow
Proposed for delisting - North American river otter
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission last updated
the state's list of threatened and endangered species in 2000.
These 30 species have shown documented population and
range declines, most often from habitat loss, and are in the
greatest need for conservation. Listing under the Nebraska
Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act provides
protection for the species and allows plans to be developed to
prevent them from being extirpated from Nebraska.
River otters were common in Nebraska but extirpated by
1920 due to unregulated harvest and habitat loss. There are
now healthy and growing populations
in most rivers across the state thanks to a reintroduction
program that began in 1986. The otter would join the bald
eagle as the only species to be removed from the list.
Listing proposals drawn up by Commission staff have
been reviewed by species experts independent of the
Commission, and the public is now being asked to weigh
in at hearings in each of the eight Nebraska Game and
Parks Board of Commissioners districts across the state this
year and in 2019. Hearings have been held in Ogallala and
Valentine. The next will be at the Commission's Oct. 26
meeting in Kearney. Following those meetings, a final public
hearing will be scheduled, at which time the Commission
will take action on the proposals.
For more information on the listing process and the
species for which changes are proposed and the listing
process, go to OutdoorNebraska.gov/ListingAction/. ■
Nebraska's
Threatened and
Endangered
Species
PHOTO
BY
ERIC
FOWLER
NEBRASKAland
P H O T O C O N T E S T
FOR COMPLETE CONTEST RULES AND ENTRY, GO TO...
Magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/photocontest
