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DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
<br />DIVISION OF ECOLOGICAL AND WATER RESOURCES
<br />In The Matter Of Proposed Amendment to and Repeal of Rules Governing
<br />Minnesota's List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species
<br />in
<br />Minnesota Rules, Chapter 6134: Endangered and Threatened Species
<br />STATEMENT OF NEED AND REASONABLENESS
<br />General Statement
<br />Introduction
<br />Minnesota's List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species (List) was created in 1984,
<br />amended in 1996, and has remained unchanged since. The List, established under the authority of
<br />Minnesota's Endangered and Threatened Species Statute, draws attention to species that are at greatest
<br />risk of extinction within the state; special regulations are applied to those listed as endangered or
<br />threatened. By alerting resource managers and the public to species in jeopardy, activities can be
<br />reviewed and prioritized to help preserve the diversity and abundance of Minnesota's flora and fauna.
<br />Because of the importance of this List in influencing resource use and management activities in
<br />Minnesota, it is critical that it reflect the most current information regarding the distribution,
<br />abundance, and security of species within the state. In this document, the Department of Natural
<br />Resources (DNR) describes and explains the changes it proposes to make to the status of 302 species
<br />of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, fish, mollusks, jumping spiders, butterflies and moths,
<br />caddisflies, tiger beetles, leafhoppers, dragonflies, vascular plants, lichens, mosses and Liverworts, and
<br />fungi.
<br />History of Minnesota's Endangered and Threatened Species Statute
<br />Minnesota law pertaining to endangered species dates to Laws of Minnesota 1971, Ch. 825, which
<br />listed several animal species as endangered, and granted authority to the DNR's commissioner to add
<br />or delete animals by rule. Laws of Minnesota 1974, Ch. 465 added a threatened category to the statute
<br />and dropped the listing of specific species in statute. Laws of Minnesota 1981, Ch. 285 added a
<br />special concern category to the statute, and added plants to the statute's protection. The statute,
<br />entitled Protection of Threatened and Endangered Species was codified into its current form (Minn.
<br />Stat., sec. 84.0895) in 1986 (Laws of Minnesota 1986, Ch. 386, art. 4, s. 9).
<br />Content of Minnesota's Endangered and Threatened Species Statute and Associated Rule
<br />Minnesota's Endangered and Threatened Species Statute provides protection to species at risk of
<br />extinction within Minnesota, and reflects the Legislature's intent that the DNR manage these species
<br />in such a way as to prevent their extinction and restore their viability within the bounds of the state,
<br />and thus maintain all elements of the state's native flora and fauna. The statute identifies those
<br />activities from which an endangered species is protected (Minn. Stat., sec. 84.0895, subd. 1), specifies
<br />that violation of this prohibition is a misdemeanor (Minn. Stat., sec. 84.0895, subd. 9), and authorizes
<br />peace officers or conservation officers to enforce the statute (Minn. Stat., secs. 84.0894 and 84.0895,
<br />subd. 6). It authorizes the DNR commissioner to conduct studies to support species conservation
<br />(Minn. Stat., sec. 84.0895, subd. 4), to develop programs, orders, and rules to recover species from
<br />threatened or endangered status (Minn. Stat., sec. 84.0895, subd. 5), and to designate species as
<br />endangered, threatened, or of special concern (Minn. Stat., sec. 84.0895, subd. 3, see below). While
<br />the statute and associated rule provide protection from prohibited acts to all endangered or threatened
<br />species, species of special concern receive no such protection.
<br />The statute also provides exemptions from its stated prohibitions for: 1) plants on land classified for
<br />property tax purposes as class 2a or 2b agricultural land, or on ditches and roadways; 2) noxious
<br />weeds designated as such under statute or weeds otherwise designated as troublesome by the
<br />Department of Agriculture; 3) noxious weed control; 4) the application of pesticides or other
<br />agricultural chemicals on land adjacent to class 3 or 3b agricultural land; and 5) the accidental taking
<br />of endangered and threatened plants where the existence of the plant is not known at the time of the
<br />taking (Minn. Stat., sec. 84.0895, subd. 2). It also provides for the capture or destruction of a
<br />protected species, without permit, to avoid an immediate and demonstrable threat to human life or
<br />Proposed Amendment of Minnesota Rules, Chapter 6134: Endangered and Threatened Species
<br />Statement of Need and Reasonableness: August 10, 2012
<br />Page 2
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