Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reclassification of the Hawaiian Stilt (Kukuluae'o or Ae'o) From Endangered to Threatened With a Section 4(d) Rule

What it does

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are reclassifying the Hawaiian stilt (kukuluae[revaps]o or ae[revaps]o, Himantopus mexicanus knudseni; a subspecies of the black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)) from endangered to threatened (downlist) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This action is based on our evaluation of the best scientific and commercial data available, which indicates that the subspecies' status has improved such that it is not in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, but that it is still likely to become so within the foreseeable future. We also finalize protective regulations under the authority of section 4(d) of the Act that are necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the Hawaiian stilt. We recognize the Hawaiian names kukuluae[revaps]o and ae[revaps]o as additional common names.

The Fish and Wildlife Service's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

1 part of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

50 CFR 17

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Fish and Wildlife Service has published 29 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 13 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1018-BE02 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

This rule is effective August 19, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket FWS-R1-ES-2020-0079 on Regulations.gov
• Title 50 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register