Section 7:
Project
Review Process for Projects WITH Federal Agency Involvement:
The
Endangered Species Act (ESA) directs all Federal agencies to work to conserve
endangered and threatened species and to use their authorities to further
the purposes of the ESA. Section 7 of the ESA, called "Interagency
Cooperation," is the mechanism by which Federal agencies ensure the
actions they take, including those they fund or authorize, do not jeopardize
the existence of any listed species.
Candidate
species are species for which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
has on file sufficient information on the biological vulnerability and
threat(s) to support issuance of a proposal to list, but issuance of a
proposed rule is currently precluded by higher priority listing actions.
Candidate species do not receive substantive or procedural protection
under the ESA; however, the Service does encourage Federal agencies and
other appropriate parties to consider these species in the project planning
process.
More
Information on the Section 7 Project Reviews Process is Available on our National
Webpage
The
following steps to determine whether you may have a listed species within
your project action area apply to project sponsors or their representatives,
as well as any appropriate Federal agency.
Step 1. Determine
whether any listed, proposed, or candidate species (T/E species) are likely
to occur within the proposed project action
area based on location of the proposed project:
A. NEW: Choose
your county for a list of Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Species and List of Extirpated
Species.
B. Contact the New
York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP) and any appropriate New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Regional
Offices for additional information on Federally- and State-listed
species. Please note that the NYNHP provides information on known occurrences; this information does not replace field surveys as most project
sites have not been previously surveyed specifically for listed species.
If
the proposed project occurs in a county with no known listed or candidate
species present, no further coordination with the Service is needed. However,
until the proposed project is complete, we recommend that you check our
species lists every 90 days to ensure that listed species presence/absence
information for the proposed project is current.
If
the proposed project occurs in a county with known occurrences of T/E
species, proceed to Step 2.
Step 2. Determine
whether any T/E species are likely to occur within the proposed project
area based on the habitat present within the proposed
project action area.
Review
the information we have provided, information from the NYNHP and NYSDEC,
and any other sources of information available to you to determine types
of habitat the species use.
Determine whether your proposed project action area has any potential
for listed species habitat (e.g., are trees present - Indiana bats, are
wetlands present - bog turtles). After this initial coarse review, determine
whether any more detailed surveys may be appropriate (e.g., Phase 1 survey
for bog turtles).
You will find that survey protocols are available for some species, but
not for others. Follow the steps provided for each species. If you have
any questions regarding species that do not have specific protocols, please
contact our office for technical assistance.
If the NYNHP does not identify any listed species for the proposed project
AND there is no potential habitat for any listed species within the action
area, no further coordination with the Service is required (*NOTE - this
does not mean that no potential habitat is impacted by the footprint of
the project; this means no potential habitat is present. Once you have
documented potential listed species habitat, further coordination with
the Service is recommended, further coordination with the involved Federal
agency(ies) is required). However, you can also submit your findings to
the Service for a “second look” at your analysis and we recommend
this for species with defined habitat survey protocols (e.g., bog turtles,
Karner blue butterflies). Please note that if we agree that listed species
are unanticipated within the project action area, we will simply document
this for our files.
If there is potential habitat for any listed species, send the results
of the habitat surveys to the Service and the appropriate NYSDEC Regional
Office for further coordination, as well as:
•
A detailed description of the proposed project, including approximate
proposed project construction schedule and project activities (e.g.,
land clearing, utilities, stormwater management).
• A description of the natural characteristics of the property
and surrounding area (e.g., forested areas, freshwater wetlands, open
waters, and soils). Additionally, please include a description of surrounding
land use (residential, agricultural, or commercial).
• A description of the area to be impacted by the proposed project,
including trees to be removed.
• The location of the above-referenced property and extent of
any project-related activities or discharges clearly indicated on a
copy of a USGS 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle (Quad) with the name
of the Quad(s) and latitude/longitude clearly labeled.
• A description of conservation measures to avoid or minimize
impacts to listed species.
*Why does this matter?- In a case where no habitat is
present, a quick and easy call can be made that further coordination is
not necessary. In a case where habitat is present, but you believe that
the project activities will not impact listed species, it is important
to coordinate with us to ensure that all project activities and all potential
direct and indirect impacts have been considered.
Based on the results of the
habitat survey and a description of the proposed project (including information
as to whether any potential habitat may be directly or indirectly1 affected), the involved Federal agency may determine:
•
The proposed project will result in no effect to any T/E species and
no further coordination or Project Reviews with the Service is required;
• Additional information (e.g., surveys) is required to determine
whether any T/E species are likely to occur within the proposed project
area; or
• The proposed project “may affect” a T/E species
and Project Reviews with the Service is required.
Here is a direct link to the Section
7 Project Reviews Handbook
______________________________
1. Indirect effects are effects that are caused by or will result from
the proposed action and are later in time, but still reasonable certain
to occur [50 CFR §402.02]. For further discussion of effects analyses,
please review pages 4-25
– 4-31 in our Section 7 Project Reviews Handbook.
FWS Endangered Species Home Page • FWS Endangered Species Northeast Region
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