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(1)2696 W AIS Document Retrieval Service's Assistant Director estimated that economic analyses alone for the designation of critical habitat for the marbled murrelet (quoted above) and Mexican' spotted owl cost in excess of $100,000 each. The total cost of other recent designations, as those for the ~esert tortoise and Colorado River fishes, have been estimated at approximately $1,000,000 each. The Service currently has on hand information sufficient to propose nearly 200 candidate species for listing, and several hundred other species are known to require status surveys to determine whether they qualify. The resources required to designate a critical habitat typically are ten times what would be required to list a backlogged candidate species. On conservation grounds, the Service cannot justify devoting resources to a critical habitat designation that would otherwise be available to afford basic protection to ten or more candidate species. Critical habitat designations have too little effect on the way land and water is managed for the conservation of species to justify the drain they represent on Federal resources. Public Perception of Designation Controversy over critical habitat designation arises in substantial part from public misunderstanding of the effects designation has on potential resource uses. The common public perception is that critical habitat is an inviolate preserve within which human activities are excluded entirely or drastically curtailed. It is not difficult to understand this misperception given the common-sense meaning of "critical habitat. " In fact, the designation of critical habitat may provide some benefits to a species by identifying areas important to the species' conservation, particularly until a recovery plan is adopted, including habitat that is not presently occupied and that may require restoration efforts to support recovery. However, these benefits are minor, apply only where there is Federal agency involvement, and consume considerable. funds that could be spent elsewhere to much greater benefit. Identification of Critical Habitat for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Empidonax traillii extimus is endangered by extensive loss of nesting habitat and is now extirpated across much of its former breeding range. A neotropical migratory bird, E. t. extimus is present in its breeding habitat from late April until August or September. It then migrates to wintering grounds in Mexico, Central America, and perhaps northern South America (Gorski 1969, McCabe 1991). Little is known about threats in its wintering grounds. However, even during the nonbreeding season when the species is not present, nesting habitat and especially potentially recoverable nesting habitat remain vulnerable. Conserving and enhancing the constituent elements of current and potential nesting habitat is necessary to facilitate recovery of the species. The Service may designate as critical habitat areas outside the geographical area presently occupied by a species when a designation limited to its present range would be inadequate to ensure the conservation of the species (SO CFR 424.12(e)). Such a situation exists for the southwestern willow flycatcher, for which recovery of the physical and biological features and constituent elements of nesting habitat and space for population growth are needed to ensure the conservation and recovery of the species. Primary Constituent Elements The Service is required to base critical habitat determinations on the best available scientific information (SO CFR 424.12). In determining what areas to designate as critical habitat, the Service considers those physical and biological features that are essential to Tuesday, July 22, 1997 Page 7 of21 2:0S PM