[PCA] NEWS: Secretary Kempthorne Announces New Conservation Mechanism for Threatened & Endangered Species

[Olivia Kwong]

PRESS RELEASE

July 31, 2008
Contact: Chris Tollefson 703/358 2222
Chris_Tollefson at fws.gov

Secretary Kempthorne Announces New Conservation Mechanism for Threatened 
and Endangered Species

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced that the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service has developed an innovative new tool designed to 
help federal agencies conserve imperiled species on non-federal lands. The 
recovery crediting system will give federal agencies greater flexibility 
to offset impacts to threatened and endangered species caused by their 
actions by undertaking conservation efforts on non-federal lands, with the 
requirement that there is a net benefit to recovery of the species 
impacted.

President Bush first announced this new recovery crediting guidance during 
his visit to Patuxent Research Refuge in Maryland with Secretary 
Kempthorne on October 20, 2007. A draft version of the guidance was later 
published in the Federal Register on November 2, 2007 for public comment.

"Federal agencies play a key role in the recovery of hundreds of 
threatened and endangered species, but they cannot succeed without the 
support of private landowners," said Secretary Kempthorne. "This recovery 
crediting system will make it easier for agencies to work with local 
communities and landowners to benefit imperiled plant and animal species 
across the nation."

"The recovery crediting system serves as an additional cooperative 
conservation tool that will provide incentives for private landowners to 
conserve endangered species," said Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary of the 
Interior.

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 the 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.

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. 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 benefits to recovery 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 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 field 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 landowners to do what we can't do alone."

A notice of the availability of the guidance was published in the Federal 
Register on July 31, 2008. The guidance may also be downloaded from the 
Service's web site at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/policy/june.2008.html.

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-