A draft economic analysis for proposed plant critical habitat on Maui and Kahoolawe has been released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a 30-day public review period. The document analyzes potential economic effects of designating critical habitat for 61 endangered species of plants.
The proposed critical habitat consists of 126,531 acres in 13 units on Maui and 18,953 acres in 2 units on Kahoolawe. Fifty-three percent of the acreage is owned by the State, 45 percent by major private landowners, and 15 percent by the federal government in Haleakala National Park. The proposed critical habitat rule was published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2002.
Required by the federal Endangered Species Act, the economic analysis identifies and analyzes the potential economic effects and benefits of the critical habitat designations for the 61 plant species over the next 10 years. The report focuses on the costs related to the requirement that federal agencies must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service whenever they propose a project that may destroy or appreciably diminish the value of critical habitat for the survival and recovery of the species.
The draft analysis predicts that most of the proposed critical habitat designations on Maui and Kahoolawe would have modest economic impacts, mainly because most of the land in the proposal is mountainous and rugged and unsuitable for development, farming, or other economic uses, and few projects are planned over the next 10 years within the proposed critical habitat. More than 80 percent of the land is within the State Conservation District, which limits opportunities for development or other economic activities.In addition, some existing and planned projects and land uses within the proposed critical habitat designations require no federal involvement such as permits or funding, so they would not be restricted by Endangered Species Act requirements.
However, some direct and indirect expenses could occur if the proposed critical habitat designations are finalized. The draft report estimates costs of from $310,000 to $2,095,500 over a 10 year period. The largest potential costs identified in the report are associated with possible project modifications for activities within critical habitat. The draft report suggests projects on agricultural lands funded through the Natural Resources Conservation Service may be affected, as well as new communications facilities and water improvement projects.
These costs represent, in the worst case, less than 0.1 percent of the total personal income of Maui County for 1999.
The draft economic analysis also looks at indirect impacts beyond those associated with the Endangered Species Act and outside the federal government
