The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the publication of a final rule designating critical habitat for the federally endangered
"We received many helpful comments from the public, resource management agencies, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, and other organizations during the two public comment periods and one public hearing associated with this designation," Souza said. "These comments assisted us in fully considering the issues associated with designation, and we are grateful for the extensive input and shared commitment to Everglades restoration and imperiled species recovery.?
"We look forward to continuing to work with our partners at the Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve the sparrow and restore the Everglades. This critical habitat designation is consistent with our historic effort to restore this important ecosystem," said Dan Kimball, superintendent of Everglades National Park.
The final revised critical habitat designation includes lands owned and managed by the National Park Service, South Florida Water Management District, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act of 1973 identifying geographic areas containing features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species that may require special management considerations or protection. Federal agencies that undertake, fund, or permit activities that may affect critical habitat are required to consult with the Service to ensure such actions do not adversely modify or destroy designated critical habitat.
When determining areas to designate as critical habitat, the Service considers physical and biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species. These features may include space for individual and population growth and for normal behavior; cover or shelter; food, water, air; sites for breeding and rearing offspring; and habitats that are protected from disturbances or are representative of the historic geographical and ecological distributions of a species. As part of designating critical habitat, the Service also takes into account the economic impact, as well as any other relevant impacts, of specifying any particular area as critical habitat.
The Service may exclude any area from critical habitat if it is determined that the benefits of excluding it outweigh the benefits of specifying the area as a part of critical habitat, unless it is determined that the failure to designate the area as critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species.
The final Economic Analysis estimates potential future costs associated with conservation efforts for the sparrow in areas designated to be $32.2 million over the next 20 years. The present value of these impacts is $26.9 million, using a discount rate of three percent, or $22.2 million, using a discount rate of seven percent. The annualized value of these impacts is $1.8 million, using a discount rate of three percent, or $2.1 million, using a discount rate of seven percent. The final economic analysis also includes an evaluation of incremental impacts of critical habitat designation (those additional impacts that result from the designation above and beyond the impacts associated with other conservation efforts), and estimates these impacts to be $64,000 over 20 years. These incremental impacts result from additional administrative effort in considering adverse modification in Section 7 Section 7
Section 7 Consultation
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) directs all Federal agencies to work to conserve endangered and threatened species and to use their authorities to further the purposes of the Act. Section 7 of the Act, called "Interagency Cooperation," is the mechanism by which Federal agencies ensure the actions they take, including those they fund or authorize, do not jeopardize the existence of any listed species.
Learn more about Section 7 consultations.
The economic analysis identifies most of the total potential costs (58 percent) estimated are associated with species management efforts such as surveying and monitoring, research, exotic vegetation control, and similar activities. The remaining costs are associated with potential water management changes to conserve the sparrow, fire management, and administrative costs. Costs from this proposal associated with water management activities are calculated for only the next five years.
To see the final rule, maps of the final units, the final economic analysis, and additional information about the designation, visit: http://www.fws.gov.
