Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Eastern Hellbender

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis), a salamander subspecies from Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This determination also serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to list the eastern hellbender. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the subspecies is warranted. If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add this subspecies to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and extend the Act's protections to the subspecies. We have determined that designation of critical habitat for the eastern hellbender is not prudent.