SERVICE DESIGNATES CRITICAL HABITAT
FOR ARKANSAS RIVER SHINER
In response to a court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today designated 1,148 miles of rivers in four states, including 300 feet of habitat bordering both shorelines, as critical habitat for the Arkansas River shiner, a threatened native fish. The designation includes portions of the Arkansas River in Kansas, the Cimarron River in Kansas and Oklahoma, the Beaver/North Canadian River in Oklahoma, and the Canadian/South Canadian River in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Critical habitat refers to specific geographic areas that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations. These areas do not necessarily have to be occupied by the species at the time of designation, if they are considered essential to the recovery of the species. A critical habitat designation does not set up a preserve or refuge and only applies to situations where Federal funding or a Federal permit is involved. It has no impact on private landowners taking actions on their land that do not involve Federal funding or permits.
"As a threatened species, the Arkansas River shiner is already protected under the Endangered Species Act wherever it occurs within the Arkansas River Drainage Basin," said Nancy Kaufman, the Service