ENDANGERED SPECIES -- The public is being given an extra 30 days to chime in on a North Idaho-originated petition to remove the rarest and most endangered big-game species in the United States from endangered species protections.

Online comment is extended through Aug. 6 and a meeting is being scheduled in Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry on a petition to delist the Southern Selkirk Mountains population of woodland caribou.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

The Service’s finding and proposal were published in the Federal Register (79 FR 26503) on May 8,

2014. In response to the petition, the Service determined that delisting the species is not warranted, and

also proposed to amend the current listing of this population by defining the Southern Mountain Caribou

Distinct Population Segment (DPS), which includes the currently listed southern Selkirk Mountains

population of woodland caribou. The Service proposed to change the status of the Southern Mountain

Caribou DPS to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, it was determined that the

30,010-acre critical habitat designation is applicable to the U.S. portion of the proposed Southern

Mountain Caribou DPS.

The petition and proposed rule to amend the listing [Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2012-0097] is available for public inspection in the Federal Register Reading Room. 

The notice is scheduled to be published today in the Federal Register.  The final document also will be published Wednesday on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Idaho website.

Public meetings have been scheduled as follows (information sessions will be followed by evening public hearings for comment):

June 25, Sandpoint

Informational meeting: 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Public hearing:  6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  -  Speaker Registration begins at 5:30 p.m.

Location: Bonner County Administration Building 1st Floor Meeting Room, 1500 Highway 2, Sandpoint, Idaho 83864

June 26, Bonners Ferry

Informational meeting: 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Public hearing:  6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  - Speaker Registration begins at 5:30 p.m.

Location: Bonners Ferry High School Auditorium, 6485 Tamarack Lane, Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805