The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is listing the Peñasco least chipmunk as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Service is also designating 4,385.94 acres of critical habitat in Lincoln County, New Mexico.

The Service is listing the Peñasco least chipmunk as endangered because of its small population size and isolation of its single remaining known population. Additional threats to the subspecies include changes in plant communities due to forest encroachment into its sub-alpine meadow habitat, impacts from non-native wildlife, and land use practices such as grazing, recreation and development. 

To support the recovery of this subspecies, the Service is also designating approximately 4,386 acres of critical habitat in Lincoln County, New Mexico. None of the designated critical habitat is on private land and it has no impact to private landowners.

This final rule is based on the best available scientific and commercial information. The Service proposed listing the Peñasco least chipmunk as endangered with critical habitat on Sept. 28, 2021, with a 60-day comment period. Today’s final listing decision complies with a court-ordered settlement to submit a final rule to the Office of the Federal Register by Dec. 2, 2024.

In September 2021, the Service proposed 6,574 acres in three units in New Mexico as critical habitat for the Peñasco least chipmunk. Based on Mescalero Apache Tribal expertise and input, the final critical habitat will exclude Mescalero Apache Reservation land and the Ski Apache Resort (a business of the Mescalero Apache Tribe operated under a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service). The Service is excluding the Reservation land and the Ski Apache Resort from Unit 3 – Sierra Blanca, a net decrease of 2,189 acres from the proposed rule. The final designated critical habitat is 4,385.94 acres.

No, the wildfires do not change the critical habitat designation. Critical habitat is a term defined and used in the Endangered Species Act. It is specific geographic areas that contain features essential to the conservation of an endangered or threatened species and that may require special management and protection.

The June 2024 wildfires occurred within the Peñasco least chipmunk’s historic range and habitat. However, most of the critical habitat area was not impacted by the recent fires. Less than 6 acres of the outer edges of the critical habitat burned. This area is a sub-alpine meadow that burned quickly and at a low intensity. Survey work will be conducted to determine any impacts to the subspecies and its habitat.

More information will be available after surveys are conducted of the burned area. Although wildlife is resilient, high-severity wildfires can be devastating, severely impacting the habitat and surrounding communities. Many habitats, including this subspecies’, need wildfires to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

No. The Peñasco least chipmunk’s final listing and critical habitat designation will not hinder or impact any community recovery and rebuilding efforts in response to the recent fires. 

Much of the Peñasco least chipmunk’s critical habitat acreage is in designated wilderness and overlaps significantly with Mexican spotted owl critical habitat. The Service is already working with the U.S. Forest Service on conservation efforts in Lincoln National Forest, including resource and habitat management of the Ski Apache Resort.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe plans to develop their own management plan for surveying, protecting and improving habitat for this imperiled subspecies on Tribal land. At their request, the Service will continue to provide support for Tribal land conservation actions. 

The designation of critical habitat supports recovery and conservation of the species by guiding cooperation within the federal government. Designations affect only federal agency actions or federally funded or permitted activities. Critical habitat designation does not change land ownership or create conservation areas. 

Critical habitat is a term defined and used in the Endangered Species Act. It is specific geographic areas that contain features essential to the conservation of an endangered or threatened species and that may require special management and protection. 

A critical habitat designation does not mean that no development or activities can occur. However, activities that would require a federal permit (such as cattle grazing on federal lands, mine development on federal lands, or federally funded highway improvements) must be reviewed with consideration of how the activity would affect the physical and biological features comprising the species’ critical habitat. More information about critical habitat is on the Service’s website Critical Habitat | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (fws.gov)