Two sessions September 30 at Doubletree Hotel
Residents, local agencies and landowners will be able to obtain information and offer comments at two public hearings September 30 in Bakersfield, CA, on a proposal to designate five critical-habitat units for the endangered Buena Vista Lake shrew
The two sessions will be at the Doubletree Hotel, 3100 Camino del Rio Court -- 1 p.m. until 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Registration for the hearings will begin at 12:30 p.m. for the afternoon session and at 5:30 p.m. for the evening session.
The primary purpose of the hearings is to provide people with an opportunity to obtain information on the proposal and comment on it. People can submit their comments orally or in writing. At each session, representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will provide overviews of the critical habitat proposal, and they will also be available to answer questions one-on-one.
The critical-habitat proposal was published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2004. The public-comment period will close at 5 p.m. October 18, 2004.
The five proposed units, all in Kern County, CA, cover a total of 4,649 acres. Under a court order, the Service must make a final decision on critical habitat for this species by Jan. 12,2005.
Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act that identifies geographic areas that contain features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations. The designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation area conservation area
A conservation area is a type of national wildlife refuge that consists primarily or entirely of conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements support private landowner efforts to protect important habitat for fish and wildlife and major migration corridors while helping to keep agricultural lands in production.
Learn more about conservation area . It does not allow government or public access to private lands.
The Buena Vista Lake shrew, listed as endangered in March 2002, is a mouse-sized animal that weighs about the same as a quarter and is a prolific eater of insects. It has a long snout, small eyes, and ears that are concealed or nearly concealed by soft fur. The species has lost about 95 percent of its historic habitat -- the marshes and wetlands that covered a large part of the Tulare Basin. The few remaining populations are threatened by habitat alteration, uncertain water supplies and toxic chemicals.
In the past decade, biologists have documented only about 50 of these rare animals.
The proposed critical-habitat units encompass the only locations where the Buena Vista Lake shrew is currently documented -- the former Kern Lake Preserve, Coles Levee Ecological Preserve, the Kern Fan Recharge Area, the Goose Lake Bottoms Wetland project, and the Kern National Wildlife Refuge..
In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, the Service has found that the designation of critical habitat provides little additional protection to most listed species, while preventing the Service from using scarce conservation resources for activities with greater conservation benefits.
In almost all cases, recovery of listed species will come through voluntary cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures such as critical habitat. Habitat is also protected through cooperative measures under the Endangered Species Act including Habitat Conservation Plans, Safe Harbor Agreements, Candidate Conservation Agreements and state programs. In addition, voluntary partnership programs such as the Service's Private Stewardship Grants and Partners for Fish and Wildlife program also restore habitat. Habitat for endangered species is provided on many national wildlife refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife management areas.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 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 Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.
