Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Findings for Two Petitions To Reclassify the West Indian Manatee

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We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce two 90-day findings on petitions to reclassify the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), or populations thereof, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Two valid subspecies of the West Indian manatee, the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus), are currently protected under the Act as part of the threatened West Indian manatee species-level listing. One petition requests the Puerto Rico population of the Antillean manatee be listed as an endangered distinct population segment (DPS) and critical habitat be designated for this entity under the Act. The second petition requests to reclassify the West Indian manatee, including its subspecies the Antillean manatee and Florida manatee, as endangered species under the Act. Based on our review, we find that the petitions present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this document, we announce that we plan to initiate a status review to determine whether the petitioned actions are warranted. To en