DRAFT REGULATION ON ENDANGERED SPECIES AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT THROUGH OCT. 18TH

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Draft Regulation on Endangered Species Available for Public Comment Through October 18, 2024

DEC recently released a draft regulation to protect certain endangered and threatened species. The rulemaking begins a multi-phase process of updating New York State’s list of animal species classified as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. The draft regulation addresses species of fish, a recently designated species of frog (Atlantic coast leopard frog), and species recently classified under the federal Endangered Species Act.

New York’s list of endangered and threatened species was last updated in 1999 and does not currently reflect best available information on the distribution of species or their conservation status. This proposal is the first in a series of rulemakings to update the overall threatened and endangered species list, and DEC anticipates addressing groups of related species in separate rulemakings over the next two years.

The current proposed rulemaking will update the status of freshwater fishes based on research by DEC and partners over the last 25 years. Status assessment information for species addressed in this rulemaking is available on DEC’s website.

DEC is holding two virtual public hearing sessions on Thursday, October 10, at 1 p.m. and at 6 p.m. The draft regulation and details for the hearings and comment period are available on DEC's website.

New Yorkers are encouraged to comment on this draft regulation and help ensure the State’s full regulatory protection is applied appropriately statewide. Comments will be accepted through 5 p.m. on October 18, 2024, and must be submitted in writing to rarefish@dec.ny.gov (subject: “Endangered Species”) or to: NYSDEC, Attn: Lisa Holst, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4753.