The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed today to designate critical habitat for the Topeka shiner, a once common midwestern minnow. This proposal includes a total of 186 stream segments in the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The Service will hold informational meetings in the affected states this summer and early fall and take public comments before finalizing this proposal.
Proposed areas of critical habitat include only those streams currently occupied by the Topeka shiner that contain the physical and biological features essential to the conservation of the species.
Topeka shiners also occur in Missouri, but because the states Department of Conservation has developed a management plan for the species, the Service did not proposed to designate critical habitat there.
Critical habitat, under the Endangered Species Act, refers to geographic areas that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and that may require special management considerations or protection. A critical habitat designation does not create a preserve or a refuge, and only applies to situations where Federal funding or a Federal permit is involved. Designation of critical habitat does not affect private landowners undertaking a project on private land that does not involve Federal funding or require a Federal permit or authorization.
"Designating critical habitat helps us identify areas that are particularly important to endangered and threatened species," said Bill Hartwig, Regional Director for the Services Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region. "This allows the Service and our partners to focus management activities where they provide the most benefit to the species." The Service will be seeking public input and developing an economic analysis of the designation prior to finalizing the critical habitat proposal for the Topeka shiner," Hartwig added.
The Endangered Species Act requires that the Service evaluate the economic impacts of designating critical habitat before finalizing the boundaries. The Service may exclude areas from the critical habitat designation if the economic impacts would be too severe, as long as the exclusion will not lead to the extinction of the species. In the near future, a draft economic analysis and environmental assessment will be made available for public review and comment.
The Topeka shiner was listed as an endangered species in 1998. As a listed species, the Topeka shiner is already protected wherever it occurs and Federal agencies are required to consult on any action they take which might affect the species, regardless of critical habitat designation. Therefore, the Service anticipates that little additional regulatory burden will be placed on Federal agencies as a result of any designation of critical habitat.
While designation of critical habitat for the Topeka shiner adds little or no additional protection, it does contribute to its conservation by helping Federal agencies determine when and where they must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service before undertaking actions that may destroy or adversely modify the species habitat.
Topeka shiners live in small to mid-size prairie streams in the central United States. These fish inhabit streams, which usually run continually and that have good water quality and cool to moderate temperatures. Occasionally, Topeka shiner have been found in larger streams, downstream of larger populations. They usually live in pools and run areas of streams. In Iowa, Minnesota and portions of South Dakota, the species also lives in oxbows and off-channel pools. The streams that the Topeka shiner inhabits must have plenty of aquatic or invertebrate food sources, and few competitive non-native species present.
The Service proposed that Missouri be exempt from critical habitat designation for the Topeka shiner. This is possible under the Endangered Species Act when special management provided by critical habitat is not needed because other management programs are in place. In January 1999, the Missouri Department of Conservation approved an action plan that identifies conservation measures necessary to achieve recovery of the Topeka shiner in the state. These conservation measure include monitoring Missouris Topeka shiner populations; development and dissemination of public outreach and education materials; implementation of a landowner incentive program; and re-establishment or restoration of riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian corridors through tree plantings, natural regeneration, fencing to restrict livestock use of stream banks, creation of alternative livestock watering sources, establishment of warm season grass buffer strips, and streambank stabilization activities.
Once common in small prairie streams throughout Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota, the Topeka shiner is now primarily restricted to a few tributaries within the Missouri and Mississippi river basins. The Service attributes the population reduction to a variety of factors including a loss of habitat due to stream sedimentation and decreased water quality.
Biologists also believe activities that remove or damage the natural protective vegetation buffer along streams, including agricultural cropping, urban development and highway construction, may have contributed to the decline. Additionally, construction of dams on streams containing Topeka shiners has eliminated the species from those streams.
Many of the remaining populations of the species have declined sharply in numbers and have become geographically isolated, eliminating the possibility for genetic transfer between populations.
The Topeka Shiner Recovery Team has been working toward developing a recovery plan for the Topeka shiner which will describe the conservation actions needed to help the species survive and recover, Hartwig said. This fish is especially important because it serves as an indicator of the general health of the aquatic ecosystems upon which fish, wildlife and people alike depend.
Todays proposal is in response to a lawsuit brought by the Biodiversity Legal Foundation. As a result of that litigation, the Service agreed in a court settlement to propose critical habitat designations for the Topeka shiner by August 13, 2002, and to issue a final rule by August 13, 2003.
The Service will accept written comments from the public for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. Written comments on the Topeka shiner critical habitat proposal should be submitted to the Kansas Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 315 Houston Street, Suite E, Manhattan, Kansas 66502. Comments may also be sent electronically to fw6_tshiner@fws.gov
Public meetings regarding this critical habitat proposal will be held this summer and early fall. Scheduled meetings are: September 4 - Manhattan, Kansas; September 5 - Bethany, Missouri; September 9 - Fort Dodge, Iowa; September 10 - Pipestone, Minnesota and September 12 - Madison, Nebraska. Exact locations will be announced in local newspapers. All meetings will begin at 6 p.m. and end no later than 9 p.m.
For more information about the Topeka shiner and the critical habitat proposal, including public meeting locations, please visit the Services web site at http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/endspp/shiner or call the Manhattan, Kansas office at 785-539-3474.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 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.
For further information about programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, visit our website at " facehttp://midwest.fws.gov
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