The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency on Wednesday previewed its biennial review of the state’s threatened and endangered species list and recommended one elevation, two removals and several nomenclature updates.

“Most importantly for this year, we adopted a set of standard nomenclature,” Josh Campbell, chief of biodiversity, told the commission as he summarized the review. The changes are focused in the fisheries list: TWRA staff recommended elevating the teardark darter to endangered citing sparse recent detections, and removing two taxa (the clench dace and the squashy darter) because they are not recognized as standalone species by the American Fisheries Society.

Campbell said field surveys found very low observed abundance for the teardark darter at historic sites; one recent survey located the species at a new site upstream from historical locations and recorded only four individuals at that location. That lack of occurrences across Tennessee’s historical range drove the recommendation to elevate its conservation status.

The agency explained how the list is used: to prioritize conservation work, inform permit reviews and increase competitiveness for grant funding. Campbell said TWRA reviewed more than 1,300 permit applications in the past year and identified 518 projects within 1 mile of a listed species; agency staff determined 228 projects potentially impacted listed species and provided mitigation recommendations.

Campbell also described active conservation work for listed species, including eastern hellbender head‑start releases in the Buffalo River, crayfish relocation efforts for the hatchetbill burrowing crayfish, and discovery of live populations of the salamander‑dependent salamander mussel during a recent benthic blitz.

Ending: TWRA will seek formal adoption of the updated list at a future commission meeting after the public review period. Staff said the list helps prioritize monitoring and funding requests and will guide permit recommendations.