Fish and Wildlife Service Poised to Publish Finding that Listing of Native Hawaiin Bird May be Warranted
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has prepared a 90-day finding (pdf) under the Endangered Species Act, in which it concludes that list of the ‘I’iwi (Vestiaria coccinea) as threatened or endangered may be warranted, according to an article in Greenwire by April Reese. The species, also known as the scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper, is endemic to Hawaii, and its known distribution is limited to the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai.
The Service received a petition to list the species on August 25, 2010, from Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, and Dr. Tony Povilitis, Life Net. With its 90-day finding, the Service initiated a status review for the species that will culminate in a 12-month finding, which will address whether listing is warranted. The time frame for that review will be dictated by the date when the 90-day finding is published in the Federal Register.
