USFWS proposed to delist the Apache Trout

In 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife conducted a 5-year status review of the Apache Trout. A 5-year status review is supposed to be completed for each species on the List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Each 5-year status review closes with a recommendation to uplist (Threatened to Endangered), downlist (Endangered to Threatened), maintain current listing, or remove the species from the 'list.'

An AZGFD crew surveys the South Fork Little Colorado River for Apache Trout.

The 5-year status review for the Apache Trout completed in 2022 recommended it be delisted because the recovery criteria of 30 genetically pure populations of the species, stated in the 2009 recovery plan (2nd revision), had been met. The 5-year review leveraged heavily the information in the 2022 Species Status Assessment for the Apache Trout that I led with a group of agency experts from White Mountain Apache Tribe, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. The SSA is a comprehensive science document occasionally developed for listed species to inform US Fish and Wildlife policy decisions (5-year reviews, listing recommendations, etc).

In August of 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acted on the recommendation in the 5-year status review and 'proposed' to remove the Apache Trout from the List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife. This proposed rule was published in the Federal Register in August, 2023. The delisting justification followed the same logic as the recommendation. That recovery plan goals had been met and recovery achieved. Public comment on the proposed rule closed in early October, 2023.

Dan Dauwalter with an Apache Trout from Coyote Creek, Fort Apache Indian Reservation

A final rule should be made sometime in 2024. What would a delisting rule mean for the species? The action agencies and Trout Unlimited signed a Cooperative Management Plan for the Apache Trout that demonstrated continued commitment to conserving the species. There will be less oversight through consultation with the Service, but that also means more work could get done expeditiously for this conservation reliant species. What do you think?.