Opinion ID: 3037715
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Subspecies Distinction

Text: [3] To be eligible for an endangered species listing, an animal must first be classified, at a minimum, as a distinct subspecies. See 16 U.S.C. § 1532(16). FWS used the 2001 Maldonado Study and the Morphological Study in the Final Rule only to describe further the distinct morphological and genetic characteristics of the BVL shrew subspecies. 67 Fed. Reg. at 10101. FWS sought to “add depth” to its morphological discussion by incorporating these studies into the Final Rule. The Proposed Rule primarily supported the conventional conclusion that the BVL shrew is a distinct subspecies by citing to a 1932 study by Dr. Grinnell, which, according to FWS, is the only scientifically valid, peer-reviewed, and KERN COUNTY FARM BUREAU v. ALLEN 6869 published taxonomic treatment of the BVL shrew. 65 Fed. Reg. at 35033-34. The Maldonado studies confirmed FWS’s previous conclusion by providing additional data on the BVL shrew’s morphological and genetic characteristics. Having reached an identical conclusion that affirmed its alreadysupported subspecies classification, FWS’s use of the Maldonado studies in the Final Rule was far from critical to its listing decision.