Responding to a court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today designated 165,211 acres along 1,798 miles of coastline in eight southern states as critical habitat for the wintering population of piping plover, a shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Under the Act, 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. A 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 regulatory impact on private landowners taking actions on their land that do not involve Federal funding or permits.
"As a listed species, the plover already is protected under the Act wherever it occurs," said Nancy Kaufman, the Service
