Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Determination of Threatened Status for the Koala

The Service determines threatened status for the Australian koala under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) as amended. The eucalyptus forest and woodland ecosystems on which this arboreal marsupial depends have been greatly reduced. Despite several conservation actions by the Government of Australia and State governments, the limited koala habitat continues to deteriorate. The species also is threatened by fragmentation of the habitat that remains, disease, loss of genetic variation, and death by dogs and motor vehicles due to development. Although differences occur in the health status of local populations, we are not able to designate either the current subspecies or the koalas of particular States as distinct vertebrate population segments. Koalas are no longer exploited for their fur, and it is habitat loss and its secondary effects that now threaten the species. This rule extends the Endangered Species Act's protection to koalas throughout Australia.