Project Reviews in Virginia
Step 2 - Official Species List
Use the Service's Information, Planning and Consultation system (IPaC)
(http://ecos.fws.gov/ipac/) to determine if any listed, proposed or candidate species may be present in the action area. Following the directions in IPaC, use the initial project scoping tool to generate a species list by selecting the map tool and drawing the delineated action area. After selecting the appropriate project type, request an Official Species List. The Official Species List will include all species that may occur in the vicinity of the action area and includes a map of the action area. IPaC will also generate a list of National Wildlife Refuges in the vicinity of your action area. Print the PDF version of this Official Species List and add it to your project review package. Do not use the state/county list tool for this review since it will list all species that may occur in that state / county and will not provide site specific information. After completing the steps in IPaC, exit that website and continue below.
(A). If the Official Species List species list indicates that there are no listed, proposed or candidate species found in the action area, add “ESA listed species” to your species conclusions table (MS Word Format), and put “species not present” in the conclusion column in the species conclusions table . Continue to Step 5. Until the proposed project is implemented, check IPaC every 90 days to ensure that listed, proposed or candidate species information for the action area is current. If any changes to the species list occur, you must complete this process for the newly identified species.
(B). If the Official Species List indicates that listed, proposed or candidate species may be present in the action area, add all of the species on the list to the species conclusions table (MS Word Format). Continue to Step 3.
NOTE: Proposed species are any species of fish, wildlife or plant that is proposed in the Federal Register to be listed under section 4 of the ESA. Candidate species are species of fish, wildlife or plants for which the Service has sufficient information to propose them as endangered or threatened under the ESA, but for which development of a proposed listing regulation is precluded by other higher priority listing activities. The Service encourages consideration of these species in the environmental review process by avoiding adverse impacts to these species. Until they are proposed for listing, candidate species are not legally protected pursuant to the ESA, therefore any actions undertaken to avoid impacts or provide protection for these species are optional. |
