Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Socorro County included in flycatcher habitat plan

Submitted to El Defensor Chieftain

In compliance with a court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has re-proposed 1,556 miles within the 100-year floodplain of waters in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico as critical habitat for an endangered migratory bird, the southwestern willow flycatcher. The re-proposal identifies the stream- and lake-edge habitats that are believed essential to avoid the bird's extinction.

The habitat includes the length of the Rio Grande through Socorro County.

The Service has already solicited extensive preliminary public input through the NEPA scoping process and incorporated it into the re-proposed critical habitat.

The Service designated 599 river miles of flycatcher critical habitat in New Mexico, Arizona and California in 1997. Since the initial designation, the existence of additional breeding locations in southwestern Colorado, and southern Nevada and Utah has been recognized.

In 2001, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals set aside designated critical habitat within New Mexico — the only state under the court's jurisdiction where critical habitat was originally proposed. The court found the economic analysis of the designation to be inadequate. The service then set aside critical habitat designated for the species in all three states until a reassessment of the economic effects of designation could be completed.

"We used all the expanding body of scientific information available on flycatcher conservation to lay out the areas essential to the species' survival," said Dale Hall, director of the service's Southwest Region. "Now we need input from local residents, area industries and the conservation and scientific community to refine our strategy and the proposed designation.

"We're asking if our rationale for designating critical areas needs to be refined. Are adequate protections already in place? Have essential areas been omitted? What are the anticipated costs of designating various areas?"

The service is nearly finished with an associated draft economic analysis and environmental assessment. When those documents are available, the Service will schedule eight public hearings in five states.

Information supplied by either individuals or groups during the comment period will be essential in evaluating and finalizing critical habitat areas and determining where the "costs" of designating an area might outweigh the "benefits" of including it — an evaluation required under the Act in shaping critical habitat. All comments collected during the comment period will be examined and addressed in a final rule anticipated in a year.

The proposal identifies locations that support 10 or more flycatcher territories and is designed to maintain those nesting birds' access to other flycatcher populations in order to provide population stability, assure that birds can expand into other locales, and ensure genetic flow among populations. The proposal includes areas within broad floodplains, to accommodate the shifting and flooding nature of Southwest rivers.

The 5-1/2-inch flycatcher breeds and rears it chicks in late spring and through the summer in dense vegetation along streams, rivers, wetlands and reservoirs in the arid Southwest. The flycatcher migrates to Mexico, Central America, and possibly northern South America for the non-breeding season.

The flycatcher was added to the endangered species list in 1995 as its populations declined due to habitat loss resulting from river and water management practices; agricultural, residential and urban development; recreation; and livestock and wild, hoofed animals overgrazing in breeding habitat; as well as the threat of the expanded range of the cowbird which parasitizes songbird nests.

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 that 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. It does not allow government or public access to private lands.

This critical habitat proposal was completed in compliance with a Sept. 30, 2003, opinion issued by the District Court of New Mexico (Center for Biological Diversity v Norton, (iv. No. 02-1067 LH/RHS (D.N.M)). The court assigned a schedule whereby the Service has proposed critical habitat today and will arrive at a final determination by Sept. 30, 2005.

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.

All comments should be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to the service by Dec. 13. Send to Field Supervisor, Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, 2321 W. Royal Palm Rd., Ste. 103, Phoenix, AZ 85021; or e-mail to WIFLcomments@fws.gov; or fax to (602) 242-2513. Documents relevant to flycatcher critical habitat and recovery planning are available at http://arizonaes.fws.gov or by contacting the address above.

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