December 17, 2004
News Release

Critical Habitat Units

Federal Register Notice
(PDF) (TEXT)

The western snowy plover is a small shorebird that weighs up to 2 ounces and is between 6 and 6½ inches long. It has a pale gray-brown back, white chest, and black legs and bill. Its average life span is about 3 years.

The Pacific coast population of western snowy plovers consists of those birds that nest on the mainland coast, peninsulas, offshore islands, bays, estuaries, or rivers of the Pacific coast from southern Washington to southern Baja California, Mexico. They are distinct from western snowy plovers that breed inland.

It is estimated that about 2,600 snowy plovers breed along the Pacific coast from early March to late September. They make their nests on sand spits, dune-backed beaches, beaches at creek and river mouths, and salt pans at lagoons and estuaries. Plover chicks leave the nest within hours after hatching to search for food, but are not able to fly for about a month.

Today, only 28 major nesting areas remain. In addition to loss of nesting habitat due to development, the size of the snowy plover population has also declined. Human activity on beaches, such as walking, jogging, walking pets, operating off-road vehicles, and horseback riding, during the plover breeding season can inadvertently cause destruction of eggs and chicks. Encroachment of exotic European beach grass into nesting areas and predation are other primary factors in the decline of the plover. 

Q. What is critical habitat?

A. Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act. It identifies geographic areas that contain features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations. The designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve or other conservation area. It does not allow government or public access to private lands.

Q. Why is the Service proposing critical habitat for the Pacific Coast population of the western snowy plover at this time?

A. The Service designated critical habitat for this species on December 7, 1999 . But that rule was remanded to the Service and partially vacated by the United States District Court for the District of Oregon on July 2, 2003, in order to conduct a new analysis of economic impacts ( Coos County Board of County Commissioners et. al. v. Department of the Interior et al., CV 02-6128, M Hogan). The court set a deadline of December 1, 2004 , for submittal of a new proposed critical habitat designation to the Federal Register.

Q. How is today's proposal different from the previous critical habitat designation?

A. On the whole the new proposed critical habitat designation has more but smaller units. The differences are based on, among other things, increased scientific knowledge about the species' habitat needs and better mapping, particularly the use of aerial and satellite photos in GIS format to more precisely define unit boundaries.

A summary of the differences is as follows:

1999 critical habitat Total :19,474 ac, 28 units......Today's:17,299 ac, 35 units

1999 WA: 2,278 ac, 2 units............................... Today's: 2,763 ac, 3 units

1999 OR: 4,779 ac, 7 units.................................Today's: 2,223 ac, 6 units

1999 CA: 12,419 ac, 19 units..............................Today's: 12,313 ac, 26 units

For more information on the 1999 designation, the Federal Register notice is available at http://policy.fws.gov/library/99fr68507.html 

Q. Why were certain areas excluded from this proposed critical habitat designation?

A. The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to take into account economic and other impacts resulting from designation, and it allows the Service to exclude areas with essential habitat features if the benefits of exclusion outweigh those of designation. Additionally, new amendments to the ESA require the exclusion of military lands subject to an Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP), if the plan benefits the species. The Service has excluded several units based on these provisions. Additionally, the Service considered, but is not proposing, several areas that were either unoccupied at the time of listing (1993) or are unoccupied now. Descriptions and maps of these areas are included in today's proposal, and the Service is soliciting public comment regarding the appropriateness of including any of these areas in the final critical habitat designation.

Q. When will the Service make a final decision on critical habitat for this species? 

A. The court-established deadline for submittal of the final designation is September 20, 2005.

Q. Isn't the Service considering removing the Pacific Coast population of the western snowy plover from the list of threatened species?

A. The Service is conducting a review of the status of this species.

In August 2002 the Service received a petition to delist the Pacific Coast population of the western snowy plover from the Surf Ocean Beach Commission of Lompoc, California. The City of Morro Bay submitted substantially the same petition dated May 30, 2003 . The petitions contend that the Pacific Coast population of the western snowy plover does not qualify either as a distinct population segment under the ESA or as a threatened species. The petitioners' primary support for their position is an unpublished 2001 master's thesis in which the researcher failed to find significant genetic differentiation between Pacific Coast plovers and plovers that breed in inland areas.

On March 22, 2004 , the Service published a notice that the petition presented substantial information to indicate that delisting may be warranted (69 FR 13326). Service biologists are currently conducting both a 12-month and 5-year status review of the population under sections 4(b)(3)(B) and 4(c)(2) of the Act. That review, which could recommend delisting or retaining the species' current status, is expected to be completed within a few months.

Q. How will the designation of critical habitat affect non-Federal landowners?

A. The designation of critical habitat on non-Federal lands doesn't mean the government wants to acquire or control the land. Activities on private lands that don't require Federal permits or funding aren't affected by a critical habitat designation. Critical habitat doesn't require landowners to carry out any special management actions or restrict the use of their land.

The Act, however, prohibits any individual from engaging in unauthorized activities that will harm listed wildlife. That prohibition is in effect for any listed wildlife, with or without designated critical habitat.

If a landowner needs a Federal permit or receives Federal funding for a specific activity, the agency responsible for issuing the permit or providing the funds would consult with the Service to determine how the action may affect a listed species or its habitat.

Q. Do Federal agencies have to consult with the Service outside critical habitat areas?

A. Yes. Even when there is no critical habitat designation, Federal agencies must consult with the Service to ensure any action they carry out, fund, or authorize is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species.

Q. What is the impact of a critical habitat designation on economic development?

A. The vast majority of human activities that require a consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proceed with little or no modification.

Q. What impact will critical habitat designation have on beach use?

A. Outside of National Wildlife Refuges, the Service leaves beach management to other agencies that have direct responsibility for those areas, such as the California Department of Parks and Recreation. With or without critical habitat, however, the Service has consulted for several years with other Federal, state and local agencies on measures to protect this threatened species. Those measures vary from beach to beach and are subject to ongoing review by managers and biologists to ensure they meet the conservation needs of the species while being the least intrusive as possible for recreation and other uses.

Q. Is the Service seeking public comments on its proposal to designate critical habitat for the Pacific Coast population of the western snowy plover?

A. Yes. The Service is accepting comments from all interested parties until February 15, 2005.

Comments and materials may be submitted by any one of several methods:

1. Submit written comments and information to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W -2605, Sacramento , California 95825 .

2. Hand deliver written comments to the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, at the address above.

3. Submit comments by e-mail to WSP_pCH@fws.gov

The comments and materials received, as well as supporting documentation used in the preparation of this proposed rule, will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W -2605, Sacramento , California (telephone 916-414-6600).

Q. What types of information is the Service seeking during this public comment period?

A. The Service intends that any final action resulting from this proposal will be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, comments or suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested parties concerning this proposed rule are hereby solicited.

Q. Does the Act require an economic analysis as part of designating critical habitat?

A. Yes. The Service must take into account the economic impact of specifying any particular area as critical habitat. The Service may exclude any area from critical habitat if it determines that the benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benefits of specifying the area as part of critical habitat unless it determines, based on the best scientific and commercial data available, that the failure to designate the area as critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species.

Q. What protection does the western snowy plover currently receive as a listed species?

A. The Endangered Species Act forbids the import, export, or interstate or foreign sale of listed animals and plants without a special permit. It also makes “take” illegal – forbidding the killing, harming, harassing, possessing, or removing of listed animals from the wild. Federal agencies must also consult with the Service to conserve listed species on their lands and to ensure that any activity they fund, authorize, or carry out will not jeopardize the survival of a listed species.

Permits may be issued to carry out otherwise prohibited activities involving endangered and threatened wildlife species for scientific purposes, to enhance the propagation or survival of the species, or for incidental take in the course of certain otherwise lawful activities.

In addition, the Endangered Species Act requires that Federal agencies not only take action to prevent further loss of a species, but also pursue actions to recover species to the point where they no longer require protection and can be delisted.

Q. Has the Service prepared a recovery plan for this species?

A. Yes. The Service released a draft recovery plan in May 2001. The Service expects to release a final recovery plan early in 2005. The draft plan establishes recovery criteria and outlines actions that are needed to help conserve and recover the species. Since the draft plan was released, the Service has been working with other Federal, state and local agencies, landowners and volunteer groups to protect habitat along beaches while permitting human access for recreation and other uses. The draft plan can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF file at http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plans/2001/010501.pdf

Q. How does the Service determine what areas to propose for critical habitat?

A. Biologists consider physical or biological habitat features needed for life and successful reproduction of the species. These include, but are not limited to:

•  space for individual and population growth and for normal behavior;

•  food, water, air, light, minerals, or other nutritional or physiological requirements;

•  cover or shelter;

•  sites for breeding and rearing offspring;

•  habitats that are protected from disturbance or are representative of the historic geographical and ecological distributions of a species.

Q. For how many species has the Service designated critical habitat?

A. To date, the Service has designated critical habitat for 472 of the 1,264 species listed as threatened or endangered in the U.S.

More questions? 

Call or write:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office
2800 Cottage Way , Room W-2605
Sacramento , CA 95825
(916) 414-6600

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