Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office

Section 7 Section 7
Section 7 Consultation 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 Act. Section 7 of the Act, 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.

Learn more about Section 7 Consultation with the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office

The purpose of section 7 consultation is to ensure a project is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of an endangered or threatened species (collectively, listed species) or destroy or adversely modify designated critical habitat. If your project may affect listed species or designated critical habitat and is permitted, funded, or carried out by a federal agency, that agency is responsible for complying with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Our project review process will allow you to determine whether or not federally listed species may be present near your project. The IPaC website will assist you in obtaining a list of species and critical habitat near your project. If your project does not involve a federal agency and may affect listed species and/or critical habitat, please contact the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office (IFWO) to discuss your project. We can provide information and options for implementing your project.  

In order to improve efficiency in project reviews, the IFWO uses the online planning tool IPaC to provide species lists, provide determination keys for some commonly consulted on actions and recommends using IPaC to develop a consultation package for other actions that may affect listed species or their critical habitats. Instruction for completing a Section 7 consultation or obtaining a species list using IPaC are available at this link. For more information see the Service's national consultation web page and Consultation Handbook (PDF).  

If you have a project and are concerned about impacts to listed species or require a consultation due to a Federal nexus, please contact the IFWO before starting a consultation package in IPaC at: Fw1Idahoconsultationrequests@fws.gov. Instruction for completing a Section 7 consultation or obtaining a species list using IPaC are available at this link.

Official Species List

The first step in informal consultation is a delineation of the action area action area
All areas to be affected directly or indirectly by the federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action.

Learn more about action area and a determination of whether the action may affect listed species or critical habitat. The Service encourages agencies to use the digital project planning tool, Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), to get a list of species and critical habitats that may be present in the action area.

Determination Keys (Dkeys)

IPaC can also be used to streamline consultations for projects that may affect listed species or critical habitats through determination keys (Dkeys). IPaC automatically provides any available determination keys that overlap the project area entered into IPaC. Dkeys are developed for some of the more commonly consulted on actions in Idaho and provide a series of questions to evaluate if a project qualifies. If a project qualifies, IPaC will provide a letter that either concludes the consultation process or explains any further communication needs with IFWO.

Consultation Package Builder (CPB)

IFWO also recommends using the IPaC Consultation Package Builder (CPB) tool for other actions that do not qualify for a Dkey and may affect listed species or their critical habitats (see Consultation Package Builder Resources tab for more information). 

For more information see the Service's national consultation web page and Consultation Handbook (PDF). 

Consultation Package Builder Resources

The below documents are guides that walk users through the steps used in Consultation Package Builder (CPB). CPB is a new tool in our IPaC IPaC
Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) is a project planning tool that streamlines the USFWS environmental review process

Learn more about IPaC system if section 7 consultation is required. CPB provides an interactive, step-by-step process to help prepare a full Biological Assessment (BA) or Biological Evaluation (BE) using information from IPaC. Use of the CPB tool is not required. 

Whether or not the CPB tool is used, we recommend following the steps in these user guides when writing a BA or BE in Idaho. This format ensures consistency across our consultations and enables faster evaluation by the Service consultation biologists. 

Conservation Measure Documents

The below documents include example conservation measures for some species in Idaho. Conservation measures are optional techniques or activities that can be included when developing and implementing their proposed actions to proactively avoid or minimize impacts from action activities to affected listed species or critical habitats. These lists are not exhaustive, and the Service does not require the adoption of these measures in the project design; however, any proposed conservation measures included in a final BA or BE must be implemented as described and analyzed. Conservation measures should be selected as appropriate and implementable for each proposed action.

Energy Projects

Acoustic Effects Calculator 

The purpose of the Acoustic Sound Calculator is to evaluate the effects of underwater sound on bull trout from using an impact pile driver to drive piles into lake and riverine substrates. Although this calculator is most frequently used to evaluate the effects on bull trout from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dock and pier permitted projects in Lake Pend Oreille, it can be used to evaluate the underwater effects of other projects across Idaho. For effects to other species, such as Kootenai River white sturgeon, reach out to the Idaho field office to discuss how to appropriately analyze effects.