ST. THOMAS - After a five-year review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a recommendation to have the Virgin Islands tree boa's classification moved from endangered to threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Local wildlife officials strongly disagree with the federal report and are concerned about the future of the rare snake.

"The five-year review does not change the status right now," U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Lilibeth Serrano said.

The recommendation simply means that U.S. Fish and Wildlife could begin the process to reclassify the snake, but there are no plans to do so at this time, she said.

If the federal agency does decide to change the snake's listing, it would have to go through a separate rule-making process. The government would propose the new rule or listing, it would be published and a 60-day public comment period would follow.

After receiving comments, the listing may be withdrawn, changed or move forward as is. The agency would then publish again, including the plan for monitoring the species once the listing is changed. A final rule is then published, regardless of which decision U.S. Fish and Wildlife makes.

Serrano said the legal protections for a species listed as threatened are the same as one listed as endangered. Restrictions on habitat destruction and penalties for killing or harming an animal would remain in place.

"There's really no difference," she said. "What threatened does is it relaxes the limitations on permits for research and captive breeding."

There are five listing factors that are used by the federal government to determine a species' status. They look at the current or threatened destruction of the species' habitat or range; commercial, recreational, scientific or educational use of the species; threats of disease or predation; effectiveness of existing regulatory mechanism; and other natural or manmade factors affecting the species' existence.

The review found that the boas' habitat on St. Thomas may be declining with the development of resorts and condos on the East End of the island but the species as a whole - in other parts of the Caribbean - is making a recovery.

They found that the populations of the snake on Puerto Rico and its smaller offshore islands are protected from habitat destruction and because those populations are doing well, the report said the species as a whole is improving enough to change its protective classification.

Local officials disagree.

"There is no evidence that conditions have improved for the species as a whole," Department of Planning and Natural Resources' Division of Fish and Wildlife biologist Renata Platenberg said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that between several organizations about 51-75 percent of the objectives defined in the 1986 V.I. Tree Boa Recovery Plan have been implemented.

Peter Tolson had a grant to reproduce the V.I. tree boa in captivity at the Toledo Zoological Garden. Tolson used the snakes he reproduced to establish two new populations of V.I. tree boa, one on an offshore island in the Virgin Islands and another in Cayo Ratones, Puerto Rico.

The report states that the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources made significant progress by eradicating rats in Congo Cay to minimize predation of the snakes, but Platenberg said this information is wrong. She said Congo Cay was looked at as a potential site to introduce a tree boa population that had been bred in captivity through Tolson's program. However, she said the site was never used. There are no boas on the island but there are rats, she said.

Overall, the federal report estimates the total population of the V.I. tree boa is between 1,300 and 1,500 individuals in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The report states that the population is 18 times larger that what it used to be in 1985.

Platenberg said no one knew what the population was in 1985, so it is impossible to know if it has increased or decreased.

"I think there may be more than 1,500 just on St. Thomas alone," Platenberg said. "It's the largest single population and the most ignored."

Serrano said she would look into the matter of Congo Cay, but that overall, the report is accurate.

"My scientists stand by their science," Serrano said. "We looked at the most recent info and we used the best available science."

To download the 25-page report go to http://www.fws.gov/southeast/5yearReviews.

- Contact reporter Aldeth Lewin at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail alewin@dailynews.vi.