as critical habitat for the Shenandoah salamander. As the salamander requires very specific habitat conditions, and is restricted to the high-elevation mountains in Virginia, it is under an increasing threat from climate change, invasive species, pollution, and human activities. Designating this area as a critical habitat would address potentially incompatible Park Service management and would be beneficial for the conservation of the salamander species. Current conservation efforts Original 1994 Recovery Plan The 1994 recovery plan explained that due to the interspecific competition, the Shenandoah salamander differs from other listed species. Because of this competition, it would not be advisable to attempt to increase population numbers, transplant individuals, or reduce naturally occurring competitors. Attempts to repopulate the salamander on talus areas between or adjacent to known populations would be unfeasible, costly, and unnecessary. Instead, recovery attempts should focus on minimizing human-related impacts on the Shenandoah and red-backed salamander populations. The actions needed for the recovery of the Shenandoah salamander included determining the boundaries of occupied habitat and to determine if additional populations exist, monitoring the known salamander populations on a long-term basis, determining and minimizing the impact of human-related factors such as herbicides and air-pollutants on the salamander, investigating aspects of the salamander’s life history, ensuring compatibility of park maintenance and management activities with the salamander populations, and promoting information exchange on the salamander. This recovery plan was estimated to take 3 fiscal years with a total cost of $155,000. 5-Year reviews In both 2008 and 2012, a 5-Year Review of several species, including the Shenandoah salamander, was conducted. These reviews aimed to find whether these species were properly classified under the Endangered Species Act. In both reviews the Shenandoah salamander retained the status of “endangered". Biological Opinion by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service In 2012, the USFWS submitted a Biological Opinion on the National Park Service’s (NPS) management activities, which highlighted some proposed actions to protect the areas of the Shenandoah National Park. This proposed action in fire management, natural resource protection, and natural resource monitoring and research. A policy that would specifically impact the Shenandoah salamander was the proposed aerial spraying of Bacillus thuringiensis as a pest management technique to reduce the impact of gypsy moths. Supplemental Finding for the Shenandoah Salamander Recovery Plan An additional resource to the Shenandoah salamander recovery plan was published in July, 2019. This resource explained why it remained impractical, as of 2019,