COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED ON PROPOSED CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATION FOR SHOREBIRD

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended the public comment period till October 30 on its draft proposal to designate critical habitat for an imperiled shorebird, the piping plover. The extension gives people time to examine and respond to a recently released draft economic report that identifies potential economic impacts brought on by the designation of critical habitat.

An economic report is prepared for any proposed critical habitat designation. A critical habitat designation only applies to situations where Federal funding, Federal authorization or a Federal permit is involved. Even in cases where private lands are designated, it has no impact on private landowners taking actions on their land that do not involve Federal funding, authorization or permits.

Copies of the draft economic analysis are available on the Internet at http://southeast.fws.gov"> or by contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Field Supervisor at Ecological Services Field Offices, c/o TAMU-CC, Campus Box 38, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, Texas, 78412. Comments may also be sent electronically to winterplovercomments@fws.gov"> or by facsimile to (361) 994-8262.

A complete description of the proposed critical habitat designation for the wintering population of piping plovers was published in the Federal Register on July 6, and the notice of extension of the public comment period was published on August 30, 2000.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management assistance offices, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

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