Blog: Strengthening the Species Status Assessment process: The longfin smelt SSA provides instructive insights
In its evolving effort to meet Congress’s directive that determinations under the federal Endangered Species Act should be informed by the “best available scientific and commercial data” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses Species Status Assessments “to deliver foundational science” to support its decisions. While this process does not typically garner much attention beyond that of the agency, the recent proposal to list longfin smelt as endangered has highlighted the SSA’s importance and brought to light some assessment elements that can be improved. By way of background, the Service intends the Assessments to provide “focused, repeatable, and rigorous scientific assessment” that results in “improved and more transparent and defensible decision making, and clearer and more concise documents.”