,,ii #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bfgh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #bi1 #bjad ,mr4 ,inhofe 7for himself and ,mr4 ,coburn7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works ,a ,,bill ,to remove the ,american burying beetle from the list of endangered species under the ,endangered ,species ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aeca et seq474 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,american ,burying ,beetle ,relief ,act of #bjad4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 in #aihi1 the ,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife ,service 7referred to in this section as the ,service7 listed the ,american burying beetle as an endangered species under the ,endangered ,species ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aeca et seq472 7#b7 in making the decision to list the ,american burying beetle as an endangered species1 the ,service-- 7,a7 stated that the ,american burying beetle was once widely distributed throughout eastern ,north ,america2 and 7,b7 considered possible factors in the population decline of the ,american burying beetle1 but ultimately concluded that the cause of the species' decline is unknown2 7#c7 as of the date of the decision1 there were only #b known populations of the ,american burying beetle1 #a located in ,eastern ,oklahoma and #a located on an island off the coast of ,rhode ,island2 7#d7 at that time1 the ,rhode ,island population was estimated to be around #ebj ,american burying beetles and the ,oklahoma population to be fewer than #ab ,american burying beetles2 7#e7 the ,service has not completed a range-wide population survey of the ,american burying beetle since #aihe2 7#f7 in #aiia1 the ,service published a recovery plan for the ,american burying beetle1 with the objective of protecting and maintaining the extant population in ,rhode ,island and the populations in ,oklahoma2 7#g7 in order to reconsider the listing status of the ,american burying beetle1 the ,service is required to identify #c populations of ,american burying beetle that have been reestablished 7or additional populations discovered7 within each of #d broad geographical areas of the historical range of the ,american burying beetle2 7#h7 the ,service has identified these #d geographical areas as-- 7,a7 the ,midwest region1 including ,oklahoma and most ,states between ,texas1 ,louisiana1 and ,montana2 7,b7 the ,great ,lakes region2 7,c7 the ,southeast region2 and 7,d7 the ,northeast region1 including ,rhode ,island2 7#i7 in #bjjh1 the ,service performed the first #e-year review of the ,american burying beetle1 which-- 7,a7 determined that-- 7i7 the criteria for reconsidering the listing of the ,american burying beetle had been met in the ,midwest region1 where additional occurrences of the ,american burying beetle have been discovered2 and 7ii7 that1 as a consequence1 the total number of ,american burying beetle in this recovery area is believed to greatly exceed the numerical target established under the recovery plan2 7,b7 stated that although one of four geographic recovery areas for the ,american burying beetle has met the criteria for reclassification1 the species presumably remains extirpated in most of its historic range2 and 7,c7 concluded that the ,american burying beetle should remain listed as an endangered species2 7#aj7 as of the date of enactment of this ,act-- 7,a7 the population of the ,american burying beetle in ,nebraska is estimated to contain over #c1jjj ,american burying beetles1 making that one of the largest known populations1 although at the time the ,american burying beetle was listed in #aihi none were known to live in ,nebraska2 7,b7 the population of the ,american burying beetle in ,oklahoma has grown dramatically from the population numbers in #aihi when the ,american burying beetle was listed as an endangered species and is believed to be well into the thousands2 7,c7 the ,service believes that the ,american burying beetle exists in #de of the #gg counties in ,oklahoma1 although at the time the ,service listed the ,american burying beetle as endangered in #aihi1 only #d counties in ,oklahoma had a known ,american burying beetle population2 7,d7 ,oklahoma ,state officials are concerned about the lack of mitigation options available to developers relating to the ,american burying beetle2 and 7,e7 ,oklahoma ,department of ,wildlife ,conservation ,director ,richard ,hatcher has not received a response to the request submitted to the ,service on ,april #ae1 #bjac1 which asked-- 7i7 for an update to the recovery plan for the ,american burying beetle2 and 7ii7 that the process of delisting the ,american burying beetle begin2 7#aa7 ,service documents published close to the date of enactment of this ,act list the ,states of ,arkansas1 ,kansas1 ,massachusetts1 ,missouri1 ,nebraska1 ,ohio1 ,oklahoma1 ,rhode ,island1 ,south ,dakota1 and ,texas as having an ,american burying beetle population2 7#ab7 the history of the process of the gray wolf being delisted as an endangered species1 first in some areas of the ,united ,states and then entirely1 provides an example that could be used to delist the ,american burying beetle in the ,midwest region2 7#ac7 important points in the history of the gray wolf being delisted include that-- 7,a7 in #bjaa1 the ,service decided to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list in the ,states of ,idaho1 ,montana1 ,utah1 ,washington1 and parts of ,oregon while leaving the species listed in ,wyoming2 7,b7 this partial delisting was due to the healthy population levels present in those ,states at that time2 and 7,c7 less than #b years later1 in #bjac1 the delisting was extended to ,wyoming1 and the gray wolf was no longer listed as endangered under the ,endangered ,species ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aeca et seq472 7#ad7 there is support for the ,american burying beetle being completely delisted1 because-- 7,a7 beginning in #bjjg1 the ,service promulgated an official policy stating that when the ,service evaluates the probability of a species being lost to extinction across the range of that species1 the ,service does so within the known existing range of that species1 not a hypothetical historic range of that species2 7,b7 using the policy described in subparagraph 7,a71 if the ,american burying beetle were reconsidered as a candidate for being listed as an endangered species under the ,endangered ,species ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aeca et seq471 the ,american burying beetle likely would not be eligible because the known populations are not in danger of being lost and instead are expanding as of the date of enactment of this ,act2 and 7,c7 the historic range of the ,american burying beetle1 described by the ,service as being ubiquitous at some point1 is reliant on data1 observations1 and studies that are more than #gj years old and are not easy to locate2 7#ae7 there is a lack of information about the extent of the ,american burying beetle population as of the date of enactment of this ,act1 although the population appears to have expanded since the ,american burying beetle was originally listed as an endangered species2 7#af7 it is not clear whether the increased population count of the ,american burying beetle is due to the scientific community being more apt at locating these insects or whether the population has actually increased2 and 7#ag7 it is clear the ,american burying beetle has proven much more resilient than the ,service originally believed1 rendering the decision of the ,service to list the ,american burying beetle as an endangered species under the ,endangered ,species ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aeca et seq47 indefensible4 #c4 ,removal of ,endangered ,species ,status ,notwithstanding the final rule of the ,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife ,service entitled ,endangered and ,threatened ,wildlife and ,plants2 ,determination of ,endangered ,status for the ,american ,burying ,beetle 7#ed ,fed4 ,reg4 #bifeb 7,july #ac1 #aihi771 the ,american burying beetle shall not be listed as a threatened or endangered species under the ,endangered ,species ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aeca et seq474