BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reopened for comment a proposed plan to change the status of a herd of caribou in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington from endangered to threatened.

The agency on Tuesday opened the 30-day comment period based on new information. The agency made the initial proposal last May after deciding to lump the small herd into the Southern Mountain Caribou population that has another 14 herds in Canada. But Canadian officials recently determined those herds are faltering and should also be listed as endangered.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that new information requires a new comment period. The caribou herd in the lower 48 has been the focus of lawsuits by groups who want more protections and others who want less.

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