A draft report analyzing the potential impacts that would result from the designation of critical habitat for three native endangered California plant species in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties is available for public comment.
To give the public the opportunity to comment on both the critical habitat proposal and the draft economic analysis, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reopening the public comment period on the proposed critical habitat. About 44,315 acres of critical habitat are being proposed for the La Graciosa thistle (Cirsium loncholepis), 8,495 acres for the Lompoc yerba santa (Eriodictyon capitatum), and 14,020 acres for the Gaviota tarplant (Deinandra increscens ssp. villosa). Comments on the draft economic analysis and the critical habitat proposal will be accepted until June 6, 2002.
The Endangered Species Act requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider potential economic impacts when determining whether or not to a designate critical habitat. If the economic benefits of excluding an area as critical habitat outweigh the benefits of including it, the Service may exclude the area unless the exclusion would lead to the extinction of the species.
The draft economic analysis identifies the potential incremental economic benefits and costs of the proposed critical habitat designation above the impacts associated with the listing of the three plants as endangered species.
The economic analysis
