The pygmy rabbit is a cute, one-pound, one-foot-long mammal that likes to hang out in tall, dense sagebrush.

But the tiny animal could be the latest addition to the list of creatures covered by the Endangered Species Act in a large swath of Nevada.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in the Jan. 8, Federal Register, the beginning of a 60-day comment period to list the pygmy rabbit, Brachylagus idahoensis, as threatened or endangered under the 1973 act.

The notice sets in process a review to determine if listing the species is warranted. A rough outline of the habitat for the pygmy rabbit includes much of western Nevada roughly north of Beatty, into central Oregon and Idaho, but excluding much of eastern and southern Nevada. It would include areas like Tonopah.

Interested parties are invited to provide information on the historical and current population, its distribution, biology, habitat selection, potential threats, destruction of habitat, diseases, inadequacy of existing regulations, natural or man made factors affecting its existence and management programs to conserve the rabbit.

The Endangered Species Act requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to make a finding on whether a petition to list, de-list or reclassify a species presents substantial scientific or commercial information to indicate it's warranted.

The Fish and Wildlife Service received a petition April 21, 2003, from various environmental groups including the High Desert Western Watersheds Project, American Lands Alliance, Oregon Natural Desert Association, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and the Center for Native Ecosystems. It asks to critical habitat be designated as well as listing the species as endangered or threatened.

The organizations claim the pygmy rabbit has lost critical habitat due to agriculture, grazing, fires, mining, recreation, hunting, disease, predators and off-road vehicles.

The listing of the species was delayed due to court orders and settlement agreements for other requests to list species, the Fish and Wildlife Department states.

On May 3, 2004, the department received a 60-day notice of intent to sue over lack of action, and March 2, 2005, Fish and Wildlife reached an agreement with the groups to submit a finding on the rabbit.

Then, May 20, 2005, the Fish and Wildlife Service published a 90-day finding in the Federal Register that the petition didn't present substantial information indicating that listing the pygmy rabbit may be warranted. March 28, 2006, a complaint was filed over that finding.

On Sept. 26, 2007, a court issued a judgment stating the Fish and Wildlife Service improperly imposed a higher standard than required when it reviewed the petition and found the agency's denial of the petition was contrary to applicable law.

The federal court found the Fish and Wildlife Service inappropriately disputed the accuracy and reliability of the information in the petition without a rationale based on more accurate evidence of the range of the species and reduction of population or habitat.

"I'm assuming the county has some comments they're going to submit," said Nye County Commissioner Joni Eastley, whose northern Nye County district includes much of the designated pygmy rabbit habitat.

Eastley said one of the questions the county may ask is whether the Fish and Wildlife Service has adequate benchmarks to determine the existing population of the rabbit or is it just guessing.

"I was told they don't have the data," she said.

Commissioner Peter Liakopoulos said any listing of a new species involves losing land. "It impedes ranching and any of the other outdoor activities," he said.

A question and answer posting on the Fish and Wildlife Service's Web site states the pygmy rabbit is a member of the Leporidae family, the smallest North American rabbit, weighing between a half to 1.2 pounds and between 9.1 inches to a foot in length. It is believed to be one of only two Leporids in North America that dig its own burrows. Pygmy rabbit burrows are typically found in relatively deep, loose soils of wind-borne or water-borne origin.

The Columbia Basin district population segment of the pygmy rabbit was listed as endangered in the state of Washington by the Fish and Wildlife Service March 5, 2003.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also found there's sufficient evidence to indicate a petition to list another animal found in Southeastern California, the Amargosa River population of the Mojave fringe-toed lizard, as a distinct population.

The finding means the Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct a one-year study of all the biological information on the species to determine whether it warrants listing under the Endangered Species Act.

The decision on the lizard, announced Jan. 10, is based on scientific information provided in a petition submitted in May 2006 by the Center for Biological Diversity and a private citizen.

Part of the habitat of the Amargosa population of the Mojave fringe-toed lizard includes an area near the Amargosa River at Dumont Dunes, a popular destination for recreational all-terrain vehicles about 60 miles southwest of Pahrump. The Mojave fringe-toed lizard is widespread geographically across Inyo, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Riverside counties in California and La Paz County in Arizona.

The notice from the Fish and Wildlife Service states, "The petitioners cite extensive off-highway vehicle traffic at Dumont Dunes, and to a lesser extent Ibex Dunes and Coyote Holes, as posing a substantial threat to the Amargosa River population of the Mojave fringe-toed lizard."

Anyone wanting to comment on the proposed listing of the pygmy rabbit may write to: Public Comments Processing, Attention FWS-R8-ES-2007-0022, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 222, Arlington, Va., 22203. The notice in the Federal Register states e-mails and faxes won't be accepted.

Anyone who wants more information is asked to call Bob Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Nevada office, at 775-861-6300 or by fax, 775-861-6301.

Vendor workshop

The Town of Pahrump code enforcement division will hold an informational workshop for any vendors who want temporary sales licenses, at 10 a.m., Monday, Feb. 25, in the Bob Ruud Community Center.

A handful of different speakers will be on hand to provide information on licensing requirements including the Nevada Division of Health.