in-20250806-IR-312250380NRA: NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION

NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION Information Bulletin #2 (Fourteenth Amendment) SUBJECT: Roster of Indiana Animals, Insects, and Plants that are Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened, or Rare (also described as Special Concern).

I. INTRODUCTION

Following is a roster of animals, insects, and plants considered in Indiana by the Department of Natural Resources to be extirpated, endangered, threatened, or rare (also described as special concern). The roster is intended to help identify these animals and plants, and the hope is that a better understanding of the fragility of these species will promote intelligent land use decisions. Pursuant to IC 14-9-2-5, the specific or general locations of the endangered and threatened species listed in this roster shall be kept confidential unless authorized by the Director and are exempt from disclosure for the purposes of IC 5-14-3-4, the Access to Public Records Act. This roster may also be cross-referenced in rules and other documents directed to land use management. Inclusion of an animal or plant on the roster is determined based on the best current information available. Adjustments to the listing will be required as additional data becomes available to the department and as the conditions of species change. For this reason, adjustments will be needed periodically to this roster, and those adjustments will be set forth in later editions of the roster. Additional information concerning particular species included on the roster may be obtained from the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish, Wildlife, and Nature Preserves. For more information, or to suggest additions, deletions, or modifications to the listing, contact the following: INDIANA CLASSIFICATIONS This section sets forth the classifications used in Indiana for wild animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. The classifications used for hexapods and arachnids are set forth in Section III and plants in Section IV. "Endangered" means any animal species or subspecies whose prospects for survival or recruitment within the state are in immediate jeopardy and are in danger of disappearing from the state. This includes all species classified as endangered by the federal government that occur in Indiana. "Special Concern" means an animal species requiring monitoring because of known or suspected vulnerability, limited abundance, or distribution in Indiana or a change in legal status or required habitat of the species of animal has occurred. II. ANIMALS III. VASCULAR PLANTS IV. HISTORY The initial roster was published February 1, 1992 (15 IR 848), republished April 1, 1992 (15 IR 1312), and subsequently amended to include additional species. In the third amendment, posted at (28 IR 1581) on February 1, 2005, revisions were made to several of the endangered species lists. The term "special concern" replaced the references to "rare" as it relates to wild animals and is expanded to include species in a legal status transition. Federal funding is available for species that are endangered or of special concern. In the fourth amendment, posted at 20070815-IR-312070469NRA on August 15, 2007, "rare", "threatened", and "extirpated" classifications for insect species were retained. Classification definitions were added for vascular plant species. In addition, species are reclassified and scientific names were modified. In the fifth amendment, posted at 20120125-IR-312120047NRA on January 25, 2012, the listing for endangered reptiles and amphibians was modified. Notable was removal of the American bald eagle from the endangered species list. Some species removed from the endangered list were redesignated as "special concern". Amendments were made to use scientific names that are consistent with those for species of animals listed in 312 IAC 9. In the sixth amendment, posted at 20140129-IR-312140023NRA on January 29, 2014, the listing for endangered birds, mollusks, insects, and vascular plants was modified. Notable was the removal of the peregrine falcon from the endangered species list. The listing of mammals of special concern added the eastern small-footed myotis and removed the river otter and bobcat. A large number of additions were made to the listing of rare insects. In the seventh amendment, posted at 20151007-IR-312150339NRA on October 7, 2015, the ruffed grouse and the rufa red knot were added to the species of special concern for birds. The name of the northern cavefish was changed to the Hoosier cavefish. Scientific names were modified to accurately reflect the current, published scientific names for each species. Also, a few changes were made to the listing of extirpated and endangered vascular plants. In the eighth amendment, posted at 20171122-IR-312170551NRA on November 22, 2017, the black bear was added to the species of special concern for mammals, and the northern bobwhite and American woodcock were added to the special concern list for birds. The red-shouldered hawk was removed from the special concern list for birds. The American eel was added to the special concern list for fish, while the longnose sucker, Ohio River muskellunge, lake whitefish, cypress darter, and Tippecanoe darter were removed from the special concern list for fish. In the ninth amendment, posted at 20181128-IR-312180513NRA on November 28, 2018, three species of bats were added to the endangered list of mammals. The osprey was removed from the state list of endangered birds and moved to the special concern list, while the rufa red knot was added to the state endangered species list of birds. Six species were also removed from the list of endangered species of mussels, because they are no longer found in the state and are considered to have been extirpated. The northern leopard frog was removed from the special concern list, and the plains gartersnake was added to the special concern list for reptiles. In the tenth amendment, posted at 20200311-IR-312200085NRA on March 11, 2020, the alligator gar was added to the special concern list of fish. Eight species of mussels were added and one species was removed from the special concern list. A number of changes were made to the lists of insects and plants, and definitions of terms were modified for vascular plants. In the eleventh amendment, posted at 20201125-IR-312200601NRA on November 25, 2020, the most notable changes were the ruffed grouse was added as an endangered species of bird and the cisco and western sand darter were added as endangered species of fish. The bald eagle was removed as a bird species of special concern and the northern brook lamprey was moved from the endangered list to the special concern list for fish. A number of bird and amphibian species were added as species of special concern. Several revisions were made to the lists of insects and plants, and spiders were identified separately within the section for insects. Numerous technical corrections to scientific names and correlating amendments were also made. In the twelfth amendment, posted at 20220202-IR-312220017NRA on February 2, 2022, language was added in Section I to indicate that the specific or general locations of the endangered and threatened species listed in this roster are to be kept confidential pursuant to IC 14-9-2-5. A correction was made to the genus for the least tern in the endangered list for birds, and several duplicates were removed. One (1) species of insect was added to the list of extirpated species, four (4) species were removed from the list of rare or endangered species, and multiple species were added to the list of endangered, threatened, and rare species of insects. Additional taxonomic changes were made to the lists for plants, in addition to spelling corrections. Seven (7) species of plants were added to the endangered species list, one species added to the list of threatened species, and eight (8) species were removed from the lists completely. In the thirteenth amendment, the northern brook lamprey was removed from the special concern list. The Karner blue butterfly was upgraded to an endangered species instead of a threatened species. The two-pronged bristletail was added to the list of threatened species and the American bumble bee was added to the list of rare species of insects. Additional taxonomic changes were made to several insects. Five (5) species were added to the endangered list of plants, and three (3) species were added to the threatened species of plants. In the fourteenth amendment, scientific names were changed for three (3) species of birds (the sedge wren, cerulean warbler, and Henslow’s sparrow), as well as four (4) species of reptiles, three (3) species of fish and two (2) species of mussels. The butterfly mussel was also added to the list of mussels of special concern, and the slender glass lizard was added to the list of reptiles of special concern. The osprey was removed from the list of birds of special concern. Taxonomic changes were made to eleven (11) species of insects, and a spelling change was made to one (1) species of insect. Taxonomic changes were made to eleven (11) species of plants, nine (9) species of plants were downlisted from state threatened to state watch list species, five (5) species of plants were upgraded from the state watch list to state threatened species, and seven (7) species of plants were added to the list as state endangered species. Replaces Bulletin Document at: 20230531-IR-312230424NRA