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* * * * * * Final ESA Section 7 Consultation Handbook, March 1998 * * * * * * <br />that action. These effects are considered along with the environmental baseline and the • <br />predicted cumulative effects to determine the overall effects to the species for purposes of <br />preparing a biological opinion on the proposed action. [50 CFR §402.02] The <br />environmental baseline covers past and present impacts of all Federal actions within the <br />action area. This includes the effects of existing Federal projects that have not yet come in. <br />for their section 7 consultation. <br />Endangered species - any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a <br />significant portion of its range. [ESA §3(6)] <br />Environmental baseline - the past and present impacts of all Federal, State, or private <br />actions and other human activities in an action area, the anticipated impacts of all proposed <br />Federal projects in an action area that have already undergone formal or early section 7 <br />consultation, and the impact of State or private actions that are contemporaneous with the <br />consultation in process. [50 CFR §402.02] <br />ESA - the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. <br />FWS - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. <br />Federal agency - any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States. [ESA <br />§3(7)] • <br />Fish or wildlife - any member of the animal kingdom, including without limitation any <br />mammal, fish, bird (including any migratory, nonmigratory, or endangered bird for which <br />protection is also afforded by treaty or other international agreement), amphibian, reptile, <br />mollusk, crustacean, arthropod or other invertebrate, and includes any part, product, egg, or <br />offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof. [ESA §3(8)] <br />Formal consultation - a process between the Services and a Federal agency or applicant that: <br />(1) determines whether a proposed Federal action is likely to jeopardize the continued <br />existence of listed species or destroy or adversely modify designated critical habitat; (2) <br />begins with a Federal agency's written request and submittal of a complete initiation package; <br />and (3) concludes with the issuance of a biological opinion and incidental take statement by <br />either of the Services. If a proposed Federal action may affect a listed species or designated <br />critical habitat, formal consultation is required (except when the Services concur, in writing, <br />that a proposed action "is not likely to adversely affect" listed species or designated critical <br />habitat). [50 CFR §402.02, 50 CFR §402.14] <br />Habitat Conservation Plan - Under section I0(a)(2)(A) of the Act, a planning document <br />that is a mandatory component of an incidental take permit application, also known as a <br />Conservation Plan. <br />xiv is