8111

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8111
• Author: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service.
• Title: Endangered Species Consultation Handbook
• USFW Year: 1998.
• USFW - Doc Type: Procedures for Conducting Consultation and Conference Activities Under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
• Copyright Material: NO

* * * * * * Final ESA Section 7 Consultation Handbook, March 1998
• -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------•
with mayor consultation processes, including Informal, Formal, Emergency, and Special
Consultations; and Conferences.
Standardized language is provided for incorporation into Biological Opinion documents to
achieve consistency and to ensure that all consultation documents are complete from a
regulatory standpoint. Background information and example documents are provided in
Appendices. Although primarily targeted towards employees of the Services, other groups
participating in the consultation process, including other Federal agencies; State, local, and
tribal governments; and private individuals, consultants, and industry groups should find the
handbook helpful in explaining section 7 processes and providing examples of various types
of consultations.
This handbook will be updated periodically as new regulations and policies are developed
affecting implementation of the section 7 regulations, or as new consultation or assessment
techniques evolve, and as additional examples or graphics become available.
The Washington Offices of the Services have the lead for preparation of the handbook.
Regional offices are encouraged to develop example documents appropriate for their
geographical area and individual situations, and to coordinate with other Federal and State
agencies in distributing these documents.
• Consultation Framework
Use of Sound Science
An overriding factor in carrying out consultations should always be the use of the best
available scientific and commercial data to make findings regarding the status of a listed
species, the effects of a proposed action on the species or critical habitat, and the
determination of jeopardy/no jeopardy to listed species or destruction or adverse
modification/no destruction or adverse modification to designated critical habitats.
The Services have jointly published a policy on Information Standards Under the Endangered
Species Act [59 FR 34271 (July 1, 1994)]. This policy calls for review of all scientific and
other information used by the Services to prepare biological opinions, incidental take
statements, and biological assessments, to ensure that any information used by the Services to
implement the Act is reliable, credible, and represents, the best scientific and commercial data
available.
Flexibility and Innovation
The section 7 process achieves greatest flexibility when coordination between all involved
agencies and non-Federal representatives, and the Services, begins early. Often, proposed
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