§ 5402. Endangered and threatened species lists

(a) The Secretary shall adopt by rule a State endangered species list and a State threatened species list. The listing for any species may apply to the whole State or to any part of the State and shall identify the species by its most recently accepted genus and species names and, if available, the common name.

(b) The Secretary shall determine a species to be endangered if it normally occurs in the State and its continued existence as a sustainable component of the State's wildlife or wild plants is in jeopardy.

(c) The Secretary shall determine a species to be threatened if:

(1) it is a sustainable component of the State's wildlife or wild plants;

(2) it is reasonable to conclude based on available information that its numbers are declining; and

(3) unless protected, it will become an endangered species.

(d) In determining whether a species is threatened or endangered, the Secretary shall consider:

(1) the present or threatened destruction, degradation, fragmentation, modification, or curtailment of the range or habitat of the species;

(2) any killing, harming, or over-utilization of the species for commercial, sporting, scientific, educational, or other purposes;

(3) disease or predation affecting the species;

(4) the adequacy of existing regulation;

(5) actions relating to the species carried out or about to be carried out by any governmental agency or any other person who may affect the species;

(6) competition with other species, including nonnative invasive species;

(7) the decline in the population;

(8) cumulative impacts; and

(9) other natural or human-made factors affecting the continued existence of the species.

(e) In determining whether a species is threatened or endangered or whether to delist a species, the Secretary shall:

(1) use the best scientific, commercial, and other data available;

(2) at least 30 days prior to commencement of rulemaking, notify and consult with appropriate officials in Canada, appropriate State and federal agencies, other states having a common interest in the species, affected landowners, and any interested persons; and

(3) notify the appropriate officials and agencies of Quebec or any state contiguous to Vermont in which the species affected is known to occur. (Added 1981, No. 188 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 2015, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 20.)