Feds still weighing protected status for elderberry beetle

SAN ANDREAS – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that it is reopening the public comment period for a proposal to remove the valley elderberry longhorn beetle from the threatened species list.

The beetle and the bushes in which it spends most of its life have long been an inconvenience for those seeking to build structures or operate farms in areas where they live.

Under federal law, the beetle and the bush it needs are protected, and the resulting regulations have caused increased expenses or delays for projects ranging from the Calaveras County Jail now under construction to a road built several years ago at the Port of Stockton.

The proposal to delist the beetle comes after some farmers have planted elderberry bushes in an effort to increase the habitat available for the insect.

Species are delisted when biologists determine they are no longer in danger of going extinct. The bald eagle is the most famous species to have been listed as endangered and later delisted once its population rebounded.

Information on the proposed delisting can be found online at the website for the Sacramento office of the Fish and Wildlife Service: fws.gov/sacramento.

Comments may be submitted online at the federal rule-making portal, regulations.gov, or by postal mail to Public Comments Processing, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM, Arlington, VA 22203.

Comments submitted either online or by postal mail should be marked Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2011-0063.

The agency extended the comment period by 30 days and will accept comments until Feb. 22.