[PCA] FWS & NMFS: Open comment period for regulatory definition of habitat (Closes September 4, 2020)

[De Angelis, Patricia]

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) propose to add a definition of “habitat” to regulations that implement section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). FWS & NMFS are proposing a regulatory definition of “habitat,” as that term is used in the context of critical habitat designations under the Act. The Act defines “critical habitat” in Section 3(5)(A), establishing separate criteria depending on whether the relevant area is within or outside of the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing, but does not define the broader term “habitat.”

PROPOSED DEFINITION OF HABITAT:

FWS & NMFS propose to add the following definition of the term “habitat” to § 424.02:

"The physical places that individuals of a species depend upon to carry out one or more life processes. Habitat includes areas with existing attributes that have the capacity to support individuals of the species."

In addition, FWS & NMFS have provided, and solicit comment on, an alternative definition of “habitat” as follows:


"The physical places that individuals of a species use to carry out one or more life processes. Habitat includes areas where individuals of the species do not presently exist but have the capacity to support such individuals, only where the necessary attributes to support the species presently exist."

Comments may be submitted electronically and by hard copy, as explained at the link below.

Comment Period Closes: 9/4/2020

Read more and how to submit comments in the Federal Register Notice:
<https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1063679175/search?keyword=habitat+definition>
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/08/05/2020-17002/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-regulations-for-listing-endangered-and-threatened
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