[PCA] NEWS: U.S. FWS Seeks Public Comment on New Conservation Program

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Jo Meyerkord" <Jo.Meyerkord at mobot.org>
Date: 11/12/2007 09:44 AM

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comment on an
innovative new program designed to help federal agencies conserve imperiled
species on non-federal lands. The recovery crediting system gives federal
agencies flexibility to offset the impact of their actions on threatened
and endangered species found on federal lands by undertaking conservation
actions on non-federal lands, as long as the affected species receive a net
conservation benefit.

President Bush announced the new recovery crediting system during his
October 20 visit to Patuxent Research Refuge to discuss the steps the
Administration is taking to preserve habitat for migratory birds and
imperiled species. The recovery crediting system is another cooperative
conservation tool that provides incentives for private landowners to
conserve endangered species and foster environmental stewardship of the
nation's natural resources.

"Conservation success resides in nurturing a Nation of citizen stewards,"
said Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett.  "The recovery
crediting system creates incentives for federal agencies to join with local
communities to conserve federally protected species-and give them a helping
hand on the road to recovery."

Under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), federal agencies are
required to use their existing authorities to conserve threatened and
endangered species and, in consultation with the Service, ensure that their
actions do not jeopardize listed species or destroy or adversely modify
critical habitat. Section 7 applies to management of federal lands as well
as other federal actions that may affect listed species, such as federal
approval of private activities through the issuance of permits and
licenses, or through other actions.

Federal agencies will be able to use a recovery crediting system to create
a "bank" of credits accrued through beneficial conservation actions
undertaken on non-federal lands.  A federal agency can develop and store
these conservation credits for use at a later time to offset the impacts of
its actions on federal lands. Credits must be used to benefit the same
species for which they were accrued. The Service will review each recovery
crediting system to ensure the net conservation benefits outweigh any
potential impacts that could occur during project implementation. Each
proposal will be evaluated on its own merit, and some activities related to
particular listed species may not be appropriate for the new credit system.

The program is modeled on a successful pilot program developed at Fort Hood
in Texas involving the Service, the Department of Defense, the Texas State
Department of Agriculture and other agencies. Using the pilot recovery
crediting system, the U.S. Army has been able to fund habitat conservation
and restoration projects with willing local landowners on more than seven
thousand acres of private land surrounding the military base to benefit the
endangered golden-cheeked warbler. Fort Hood provides important training
areas for troops deploying to Iraq and is also home to the largest known
population of golden-cheeked warblers in its breeding range. The credits
accrued through these off-base conservation efforts ensure that the Army
can conduct mission-critical training at Fort Hood while continuing to
benefit the warbler in its home range. Fort Hood has also been able to
build important partnerships through this pilot program that will continue
to benefit the golden-cheeked warbler and other imperiled species.

"So many of our nation's imperiled species live on non-federal land,"
said Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall. "This system will
make it easier for other federal agencies to reach out to the American
people and work with other landowners to do what we can't do alone."

This announcement on the recovery crediting system is draft guidance, and
the Service will be soliciting public comments on it for 30 days.  A notice
of the availability of the draft guidance was published in the Federal
Register on November 2, 2007. The draft guidance may also be downloaded
from the Service's web site at
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/policy/oct.2007.html.   Comments must be
submitted by December 3, 2007 via mail to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Attention Recovery Crediting, 420 ARLSQ, Washington, DC 20240.
Comments may also be faxed to 703/358-2175 or emailed to
recovery_crediting at fws.gov.

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 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 548 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources 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 and Native American tribal 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.


                                    -FWS-


            For Questions and Answers go to:<http://www.fws.gov/
        home/feature/2007/EndangeredspeciesRecoveryQsandAsVF1107.pdf>


************************************************************************
***
News releases are also available on the World Wide Web at
http://news.fws.gov

Questions concerning a particular news release or item of information
should be directed to the person listed as the contact. General comments or
observations concerning the content of the information should be directed
to Malcomb Barsella (malcomb_barsella at fws.gov) in the Office of Public
Affairs.

To unsubscribe from the fws-news listserver, send e-mail to
fws-news-request at lists.fws.gov. Enter "unsubscribe" in the subject field.
.
************************************************************************
***