How does this pygmy rabbit population meet the DPS definition?
Under Service policy, discreteness may be demonstrated by either, or both, of the following: a) physical, physiological, ecological, behavioral, morphological, or genetic differences between population segments; or b) international governmental boundaries between which differences in regulatory mechanisms exist that are significant with regard to conservation of the species. Since pygmy rabbits do not occur in Canada, the Service did not address the international boundary criterion in the recent listing actions. The Columbia Basin ecosystem extends from north-central Oregon, east of the Cascade Mountains, up through central Washington and into extreme southern British Columbia, Canada. The population segment of pygmy rabbits in central Washington is believed to have been physically separated from the remainder of the species’ range for the past 7,000 to 10,000 years. Based on this information, the Service concluded that this population segment of pygmy rabbits was discrete from the rem
