Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Ranks and Statuses

Global Ranks

• G1: critically Imperiled; at very high risk of extinction or elimination due to very restricted range, very few populations or occurrences (five or fewer known populations), very steep declines, very severe threats, or other factors
• G2: imperiled; at high risk of extinction or elimination due to restricted range, few populations or occurrences (six to 20 extant populations), steep declines, severe threats, or other factors
• G3: vulnerable; at moderate risk of extinction or elimination due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences (21 to 100 extant populations), recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors
• G4: apparently secure; at fairly low risk of extinction or elimination due to an extensive range and/or many
  populations or occurrences (100 to 1,000 known extant populations) but with possible cause for some concern as a result of local recent declines, threats, or other factors
• G5: secure; at very low risk or extinction or elimination due to a very extensive range, abundant populations or occurrences (1,000+ extant populations], and little to no concern from declines or threats
• G#G#: range rank; range used to indicate uncertainty about the exact status of a taxon or ecosystem type (e.g. G2G3)
• GU: unrankable; species may be imperiled, but lack of information or substantially conflicting information about status or trends makes ranking impossible
• GNR: not ranked; global rank not yet assessed
• G#?: inexact numerical rank
• G#Q: questionable taxonomy; distinctiveness of element questionable
• GX: presumed extinct (species) or presumed eliminated (ecosystems); element demonstrably no longer occurs on the landscape
• GH: possibly extinct (species) or possibly eliminated (ecosystems); known from historical occurrences and not detected for 20 or more years, but rediscovery may be possible
• G#T#: infraspecific taxon (trinomial) status; global rank of subspecies or variety (e.g. G5T2 – species globally secure, but subspecies is globally imperiled)

State Ranks

• S1: critically imperiled; at very high risk of extirpation in Louisiana due to very restricted range, very few populations or occurrences (five or fewer known populations), very steep declines, severe threats, or other factors
• S2: imperiled; at high risk of extirpation in Louisiana due to restricted range, few populations or occurrences (6 to 20 extant populations), steep declines, severe threats, or other factors
• S3: vulnerable; at moderate risk of extirpation in Louisiana due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences (21 to 100 extant populations), recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors
• S4: apparently secure; at a fairly low risk of extirpation in Louisiana due to an extensive range and/or many populations or occurrences (100 to 1,000 known extant populations) but with possible cause for some concern as a result of local recent declines, threats, or other factors
• S5: secure; at very low or no risk of extirpation in Louisiana due to a very extensive range, abundant populations or occurrences (1,000+ extant populations), with little to no concern from declines or threats
• S#S#: range rank; range used to indicate uncertainty about the exact status of a taxon or ecosystem type (e.g. S1S2)
• SU: unrankable; species may be imperiled, but lack of information or substantially conflicting information about status or trends makes ranking impossible
• SH: possibly extirpated (species) or possibly eliminated (ecosystems); known from historical occurrences and not detected for 20 or more years, but rediscovery may be possible
• SX: presumed extirpated (species) or presumed eliminated (ecosystems); believed to be extirpated or eliminated from the Louisiana landscape (equivalent to “Regionally Extinct” in IUCN Red List4 terminology)
• State Rank Qualifiers B, N, and M: if a species’ occurrence or abundance in Louisiana is seasonal or otherwise temporally dependent, State Ranks may contain qualifiers to designate separate ranks; this is most commonly found in birds or other migratory elements. Resident populations of species that are not augmented by migrant populations and migrant species in which abundance remains the same for both
  breeding and nonbreeding will not have qualifiers; instead, those species receive a single rank applicable the entire year (e.g. Greater Roadrunner, a resident species not augmented by migrants, is ranked S3)
• S#B: breeding; numerical rank refers to the breeding population of the species; if not followed by “S#N,” then the species is only found in Louisiana during its breeding season (e.g. Swainson’s Warbler breeds in Louisiana but is absent from the state in nonbreeding season; its State Rank is S4B)
• S#N: non‐breeding; numerical rank refers to the nonbreeding population of the species; if not preceded by “S#B,” then the species is only found in Louisiana during its nonbreeding season
• S#B, S#N: breeding, non‐breeding; numerical ranks refer to breeding and non‐breeding populations, respectively (e.g. Grasshopper Sparrow is a critically imperiled breeding species, but the species occurs in greater abundance in non‐breeding season; its State Rank in Louisiana is S1B, S3N)
• S#M: migrant; migrant species occurring regularly on migration at particular staging areas or concentration spots where the species might warrant conservation attention; rank refers to the aggregating transient population of the species in Louisiana

Federal Protection Status (aka U.S. ESA Status)

• LE: listed endangered (at risk of extinction without immediate conservation action; take or harassment is a
  violation of state and federal laws)
• LT: listed threatened (at risk of becoming endangered without conservation action; take or harassment is a violation of state and federal laws)
• PE: proposed endangered (proposed to be federally listed as endangered under the ESA)
• PT: proposed threatened (proposed to be federally listed as threatened under the ESA)
• C: candidate for listing (not yet federally listed but under consideration for such action)
• XE: essential experimental population (a reintroduced population without which a species may become extinct; take or harassment is a violation of state and federal laws)
• XN: nonessential experimental population (a reintroduced population not required for species’ persistence; take or harassment is a violation of state and federal laws)
• LE, PT: Listed Endangered, Proposed Threatened – currently listed as federally endangered but proposed for downlisting to federally threatened; LT, PE is also a possible combination (i.e. an uplisting)
• LE, PDL: Listed Endangered, Proposed for Delisting – currently listed as federally endangered but proposed for delisting (i.e. will no longer be federally listed under the ESA); LT, PDL is also a possible combination
• Field blank (i.e. null): element has no ESA status as of the most recent update published in the U.S. Federal Register; beware of lag time in the Federal Register and associated updates to databases

State Protection Status

State statuses are found in Title 56 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes as well as relevant rules and regulations adopted by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission and the Secretary of LDWF. The Secretary is authorized to implement additional restrictions in emergency situations in order to protect fish and wildlife resources.

• Endangered: at risk of extinction; take or harassment of this species is a violation of state and federal laws
• Threatened: at risk of becoming endangered; take or harassment of this species is a violation of state and federal laws
• Prohibited: possession of this species is prohibited; no legal harvest or legal possession allowed without valid Scientific Collecting Permit issued by LDWF
• Restricted Harvest: harvest restrictions regarding the take and possession of this species exist; see current seasons and regulations
• Delisted: no longer listed as State threatened or endangered
• Field blank (i.e. null): usually indicates that the taxon does not have any state status; note that this does not preclude protection under other possible applicable federal protections (e.g. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, etc.) or municipal or other local protections (e.g. bird sanctuary designations)