§12803.__Designation of endangered species

1.__Standards. The commissioner shall recommend a species to be listed as endangered or threatened whenever the commissioner finds one of the following to exist:

A.__The present or threatened destruction, modification or curtailment of its habitat or range;

B.__Overutilization for commercial, sporting, scientific, educational or other purposes;

C.__Disease or predation;

D.__Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or

E.__Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence within the State.

2.__Commissioner's duties. In recommending a species to be listed as endangered or threatened, the commissioner shall:

A.__Make use of the best scientific, commercial and other data available;

B.__Consult, as appropriate, with federal agencies, other interested state agencies, other states having a common interest in the species and interested persons and organizations; and

C.__Maintain a list of all species that the Legislature has designated to be endangered or threatened, naming each species by both its scientific and common name, if any, and specifying over what portion of its range each species so designated is endangered or threatened.

3.__Legislative authority.__The Legislature, as sole authority, shall designate a species as state endangered or state threatened species.__The list of state endangered or state threatened species is as follows:

Common Name Scientific Name Status

Least Tern Sterna albifrons Endangered

Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos Endangered

Piping Plover Charadrius melodus Endangered

Sedge Wren Cistothorus platenis Endangered