The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published today a final rule designating approximately 597 acres of land in Los Angeles and San Diego counties as critical habitat for the federally threatened thread-leaved brodiaea (Brodiaea filifolia). Areas designated as critical habitat include portions of Los Angeles and San Diego Counties.
Costs associated with conservation activities for thread-leaved brodiaea are estimated to range from $1.0 million to $3.3 million over the next 20 years, and include costs associated with the listing of the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the designated areas.
Thread-leaved brodiaea, a purple-flowered member of the lily family, is generally found at elevations between 100 and 2,500 feet above sea level in clay soils or soils with clay subsurface. In 1998, the plant was listed as threatened under the ESA.
Approximately 2,801 acres of the 4,690 acres of land included in the original proposal were removed from consideration because the Service could not verify an occurrence of the species on the site or there were very few plants on a site and they would not likely contribute significantly to the long-term conservation of the species. Other areas were removed because of more refined mapping that eliminated some developed portions of proposed critical habitat.
Some lands supporting significant occurrences of thread-leaved brodiaea that were proposed as critical habitat are being excluded from final designation because the areas are covered by an approved Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Other areas are being excluded because they will be covered by a pending HCP that has demonstrated substantial progress and will likely reach a successful conclusion.
Lands containing habitat proposed for designation that are owned by Orange County and Rancho Mission Viejo are being excluded because they are formally addressed in a signed Settlement Agreement pertaining to the Ranch Plan, a comprehensive land use and open space plan in Orange County.
This final designation also excludes Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton from critical habitat designation. Camp Pendleton was proposed to be excluded from draft critical habitat pursuant to section 4(b)(2) of the ESA, based on potential impacts to national security. In this final rule, the Secretary determined that Camp Pendleton's Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan (INRMP) provides a benefit to thread-leaved brodiaea, therefore, these lands are being exempted under section 4(a)(3) of the ESA which prohibits designation of critical habitat on Department of Defense lands that are covered by an INRMP, providing a benefit to the species. Even in the absence of the INRMP, national security impacts would have been considered in developing the final critical habitat designation.
Areas designated as critical habitat for the thread-leaved brodiaea include 597 acres of land identified in four units of both Federal and privately owned land. Two of the units are in Los Angeles County and two other units are in San Diego County.
* Unit 1a (Glendora) includes 96 acres of land containing a significant occurrence of thread-leaved brodiaea that represents the northernmost occurrence of the species. The land in unit 1a is owned by the Glendora Community Conservancy.
* Unit 1b includes 198 acres of land straddling the cities of Glendora and San Dimas in Los Angeles County. A portion of land in this unit (20 acres) is managed by the Angeles National Forest, with the remainder being privately owned.
* Unit 5b covers 249 acres in northern San Diego County managed by the Cleveland National Forest. Although this area is reported to contain some hybrids of thread-leaved brodiaea and orcutt's brodiaea, there are a significant number of pure thread-leaved brodiaea on the site. This area is also at the uppermost boundary of the elevation range for the species.
* Unit 8d in San Diego County includes 54 acres of land in the City of San Marcos. This unit supports an estimated 1,000 thread-leaved brodiaea plants.
Critical habitat is a term in the ESA. It identifies geographic areas that contain features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations or protection. 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 or wildlife management 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. There are 15 conservation areas and nine wildlife management areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Learn more about conservation area . It does not allow government or public access to private lands. Federal agencies are required to consult with the Service for actions they undertake, fund or authorize that may affect designated critical habitat.
Where listed plants occur on Federal lands, consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service is required when projects or activities may affect the species. For private and non-federal landowners, however, consultations come into play only in cases where activities involving plants require Federal funding or permitting or the use of an Environmental Protection Agency-registered pesticide. The ESA does not provide any greater protection to listed plants on private lands than they already receive under State law. The ESA also does not prohibit "take" of listed plants on private lands, but landowners must still comply with State laws protecting imperiled plants. Landowners who may have these plants on their property are encouraged to contact the California Department of Fish and Game for further guidance.
In 30 years of implementing the ESA, 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 ESA including Habitat Conservation Plans, Safe Harbor Agreements, Candidate Conservation Agreements and state programs. In addition, voluntary partnership programs such as the Services 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.
A copy of the final rule, economic analysis and other information about thread-leaved brodiaea is available on the Internet at http://carslabd.fws.gov, or by contacting the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office at 760-431-9440.
