Report shows endangered species program flaws

Federal biologists are falling far short of requirements to track the fate of endangered species, according to a recent report from the General Accounting Office. The investigative arm of Congress studied how several federal agencies report and tally actions related to animals and plants on the endangered species list. The report showed that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (responsible for managing endangered species) does not have a way to track the reports it requires of other federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service. Out of 497 species listed in the western states, federal investigators said the Fish and Wildlife Service only has a formal database for three of them — the spotted owl, the marbled murrelet and bull trout. Seven other species are tracked by informal means, leaving 487 species without meaningful tracking data. Investigators found that federal biologists couldn't come up with an accurate reckoning of the required data in 63 percent of the cases studied...SummitDaily