FWS to conduct review of 11 species in the coming year

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has made an announcement that it is going to carry out a review of 11 species in the next year, to determine if any merit protection as part of the US Endangered Species Act.

One of the well known animals that will be considered is Northern Rocky Mountain fisher, second-timer in the process, which belongs to a small carnivore in similar taxonomic family as minks, weasels, and otters.

They are nearly 3 to 4 feet long, weigh about 4 to 6 pounds, and are short of foot. Fishers have bushy tails, which gives them a somewhat cat-like body shape. They are found throughout Canada, Great Lakes, the US Pacific Northwest, Northern Rocky Mountains, and New England.

The animals have a preference for forests that surround open waters, and the Rocky Mountains fishers like to stay around deep snows, and don’t favor regions with good tree cover for protection from weather and softly sloped terrain.

The news of the Rockies fisher protection is going to be precise good news for a few of its favorite fare: snowshoe hares, squirrels, birds and mice. In fact, this also won’t make Porcupines happy. The FWS said that fishers are among the few predators that feed on the spiky critters.

The second time is likely to be the charm for the Rocky Mountains fisher. In 2011, the FWS carried out a status review of the creature. At that time, it concluded that though factors like habitat loss and fur trapping were of concern, they were not major enough to place a dent in the population. However, now the animal is going to get a new hearing.

There are seven species of skink also, including a lizard with over 1,500 species in its family and the narrow-footed diving beetle, the Great Basin silverspot butterfly, and the Scott Riffle beetle, that will be up for potential protection.