Almost all Guam Lands Removed from Final Rule
A final rule designating critical habitat for three endangered Mariana species ? the Mariana fruit bat, Mariana crow, and Guam Micronesian kingfisher ? was released today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in accordance with a lawsuit settlement. The final rule excludes almost all lands on Guam originally proposed for critical habitat status for these three species, but maintains most of the lands proposed as critical habitat for the Mariana crow on the of Rota.
"The Endangered Species Act allows us some flexibility to exclude lands from critical habitat," said Pacific Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dave Allen. "We developed a proposed rule based on existing scientific knowledge; now we have refined it based on biological reasons, exclusions of some military lands provided under an amendment to the Act, conservation benefits, and other considerations."
A total of 376 acres, all within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Ritidian unit of Guam National Wildlife Refuge, are being designated as critical habitat for the three species on the of Guam. Approximately 24,800 acres in two critical habitat units were originally proposed on Guam. On Rota, a total of 6,033 acres (out of 6,084 acres originally proposed) are being designated as critical habitat on private and government land. The Rota critical habitat is designated only for the Mariana crow since the fruit bat is not currently a listed species in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Guam Micronesian kingfisher is native only to the of Guam.
Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act. It 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.
This critical habitat designation was completed in response to a lawsuit filed by the Mariana Audubon Society and the Center for Biological Diversity.
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 locally managed conservation areas.
The Fiscal Year 2004 National Defense Authorization Act prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from designating critical habitat on Department of Defense lands if the Secretary determines that the existing Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan provides a benefit to the species for which critical habitat is proposed. Andersen Air Force Base updated its plan in December 2003, and all Air Force lands proposed as critical habitat (10,838 acres) were excluded from final critical habitat based on this amendment to the Endangered Species Act.
In addition, all U.S. Navy lands on Guam originally proposed as critical habitat (7,977 acres) were removed from the final rule in recognition of national security concerns expressed by the Navy. Private (1,941 acres) and governmental (2,989 acres) lands on Guam were excluded to maintain and enhance effective working relationships with these entities; to promote the conservation of the three species and their habitat; to allow continued meaningful collaboration on recovery projects; and to provide conservation benefits to Guam lands that might not otherwise occur.
"We look forward to continued and improved cooperation between the Service and Guam toward the conservation and recovery of these three species as well as other native species on the island," Allen said. "A critical habitat designation will not control brown tree snakes, but cooperative efforts between the federal government and the government and people of Guam to control the snakes and improve wildlife habitat may allow future generations to enjoy many native Mariana bird and bat species."
On Rota, the final critical habitat includes 463 acres of private lands (8 percent) and 5,570 acres of government land under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (92 percent). These lands include the Afatung Wildlife Management Area, I Chenchon Bird Sanctuary, and forested areas on public and private lands around the Sabana and Sinapalu plateaus. They include the known breeding territories of at least 63 Mariana crow pairs and possibly as many as 88 pairs, and were identified by the Mariana crow recovery team as important conservation areas.
The final rule to designate critical habitat for the Mariana fruit bat, Mariana crow, and Guam Micronesian kingfisher was published in the Federal Register today and will take effect in 30 days. The rule as submitted to the Federal Register is available on the Internet at http://pacificislands.fws.gov or by calling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Honolulu office at 808/792 9400. Copies will also be available at Guam National Wildlife Refuge within a week after publication.
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 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 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.
