(a)The Secretary shall not disclose information regarding the specific location of threatened or endangered species sites or habitats except:
(1)to the owner of land upon which the species is located;
(2)to a potential buyer of land upon which the species is located who has a bona fide contract to buy the land and applies to the Secretary for disclosure of threatened or endangered species information;
(3)to qualified individuals or organizations, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations for scientific research or for preservation and planning purposes when the Secretary determines that the preservation of the species is not further endangered by the disclosure; or
(4)during regulatory processes with the exception of threatened or endangered species listed under subsection (b) of t
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(a) The Secretary shall not disclose information regarding the specific location of threatened or endangered species sites or habitats except:
(1) to the owner of land upon which the species is located;
(2) to a potential buyer of land upon which the species is located who has a bona fide contract to buy the land and applies to the Secretary for disclosure of threatened or endangered species information;
(3) to qualified individuals or organizations, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations for scientific research or for preservation and planning purposes when the Secretary determines that the preservation of the species is not further endangered by the disclosure; or
(4) during regulatory processes with the exception of threatened or endangered species listed under subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The Secretary shall maintain a subset list of threatened and endangered species whose specific names shall not be included in regulatory planning. The subset list shall include threatened or endangered species for which the species names and locations shall not be disclosed because of the risk that the species will be significantly harmed by unauthorized take, such as illegal collection, commercial trade, human-caused mortality, or destruction of habitat. The list shall be based on the rarity of the species, known collection and commercial trade activities in Vermont and other states or countries, incidents of human-caused mortality or destruction of habitat, and other factors that present a threat to the continued existence of the species.
(c) When the Secretary issues a permit under this chapter to take a threatened or endangered species or destroy or adversely impact critical habitat and when the Secretary designates critical habitat by rule under section 5402a of this title, the Secretary shall disclose only the municipality and general location where the threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat is located. When the Secretary designates critical habitat under section 5402a of this title, the Secretary shall notify the municipality in which the critical habitat is located and shall disclose the general location of the designated critical habitat. (Added 1995, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 2015, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 28; 2025, No. 47, § 18, eff. July 1, 2025.)