Public comment on the proposal and the economic analysis
will be accepted until October 22, 2009
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released a draft analysis of the potential economic impacts of a proposal to designate critical habitat for the Oregon chub, a small fish native to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The Oregon chub (Oregonichthys crameri) was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1993.
The draft economic analysis, prepared by Industrial Economics Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., estimates the additional cost of the proposed critical habitat designation would total $108,000 over 20 years. This cost is expected to be entirely the administrative costs of additional consultations required for critical habitat under 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 of the Endangered Species Act. The total costs of Oregon chub conservation including consultation and other already-ongoing efforts is predicted to be between $2.74 million and $11.1 million over 20 years.
These impacts are low in comparison to the conservation costs for other species in the Pacific Northwest because the proposed critical habitat for the chub totals only 132.1 acres, mostly in small disconnected habitat units which are isolated from economic activity. Also, the long history of protection for the chub has created a baseline of ongoing conservation efforts.
A public information session and public hearing will be held on the economic analysis and the proposal on Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 in the Plaza meeting room of the Benton Plaza, 408 S.W. Monroe Ave., Corvallis, Ore. The information session will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and will include a short presentation and a question and answer session. The public hearing will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and will be an opportunity for the public to record oral comments for the record. Written comments also will be accepted.
A copy of the critical habitat proposal is available on the Internet at: http://www.fws.gov/policy/library/E9-4528.pdf . The draft economic analysis is available on the Internet at: http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/Species/Data/OregonChub/Documents/DEA3.10July.09.pdf
Both documents are available by contacting the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office at 503-231-6179.
Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2009-0010.
- U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R1-ES-2009-0010; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
- Oral and written comments will be taken at the public hearing.
All comments and the public hearing transcript will be posted on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that any personal information provided will be posted.
The critical habitat proposal would designate 26 units totaling 132.14 acres as critical habitat for the Oregon chub, including land under state (30.1 acres), federal (66.3 acres), other government (2.8 acres), and private ownership (32.9 acres). As provided under the Endangered Species Act, all or portions of these units may be considered for exclusion from critical habitat when this rule is finalized. Exclusions are considered based on the relative costs and benefits of designating critical habitat, including information provided during the public comment period on potential economic impacts and other relevant impacts of this proposed critical habitat designation.
Oregon chub have an olive colored back grading to silver on the sides and white on the belly. Young of the year range in length from 0.25 to 1.25 inches, and adults can be up to 3.5 inches in length. Oregon chub are found in slack-water, off-channel habitats with little or no water flow, silty, organic bottoms, and plenty of aquatic vegetative cover that the fish use for hiding and spawning. Oregon chub can be relatively long-lived, with males living up to seven years and females up to nine years, although less than 10 percent of fish in most Oregon chub populations are older than three years.
The Oregon chub is native only to the Willamette River Valley and was formerly distributed in a constantly changing network of off-channel habitats such as beaver ponds, oxbows, backwater sloughs, low gradient tributaries and flooded marshes. Oregon chub were found in the Willamette River as far downstream as Oregon City, as far upstream as Oakridge, and in a number of tributaries. Historically, Oregon chub would be dispersed and their habitat regularly altered by winter and spring flooding. The dispersal created opportunities for interbreeding between different populations. Installation of flood control projects in the Willamette River basin altered the natural flow regime and flooding no longer creates Oregon chub habitat or provides opportunities for genetic mixing of populations. Floods now threaten Oregon chub populations by spreading non-native species that compete with or prey on Oregon chub.
The Oregon chub’s population numbers and range are greater today than at the time it was listed as endangered, but it will take further conservation measures and time for the species to reach full recovery. Based on the recovery goals for Oregon chub outlined in the 1998 Recovery Plan, as well as the extensive data collected through annual surveys for the species from 1992 through 2008, the Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that this critical habitat designation proposal will enhance and expedite the recovery of the species.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing this proposal in response to a lawsuit filed by the Institute for Wildlife Protection. A settlement agreement requires the critical habitat proposal to be submitted to the Federal Register by March 1, 2009, and a final rule submitted to the Federal Register by March 1, 2010.
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. Federal agencies are required to consult with the Service on actions they carry out, fund or authorize that might affect critical habitat. However, 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.
