9420

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9420
• Author: Maddux, H. R., J. A. Mizzi, S. J. Werdon and L. A. Fitzpatrick.
• Title: Overview of the Proposed Critical Habitat for the Endangered and Threatened fishes of the Virgin River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1995.
• USFW - Doc Type: Salt Lake City.
• Copyright Material: NO

determine if the biological threshold of extinction would be exceeded (Step 4)
if the specific area in question is dropped from consideration as critical habitat.
Those areas which exceed the economic threshold, but not the biological
threshold, may be dropped from the designation of critical habitat. The Act
prohibits removing those areas which would result in extinction of the species
regardless of impact.
Benefits And Costs of Designation
A public sector analysis examines the allocation of scarce resources with concern for two
basic objectives: (1) economic efficiency and (2) distribution or equity. The efficiency
criterion asks whether designating areas as critical habitat produces net benefits greater than
costs. The equity criterion looks at the resulting distribution of gains and losses. The
primary mandate of the Service under the Act is to protect threatened and endangered species
for all citizens, both now and in the future. This mandate mostly falls under the national
economic efficiency concern, where policy adjustments seek economic efficiency gains for
society by preserving endangered species.
The Service does not have a mandated requirement to conduct a strict efficiency-based
benefit-cost analysis when carrying out its resource protection activities. This is particularly
true for species listing activities under the Act where economic considerations are explicitly
prohibited. During critical habitat designation, however, consideration of benefits and costs
can occur when "economic and other relevant impacts" are specifically included as part of
the process of final determination.
The economic analysis only addresses market related benefits and costs. No attempt was
made to estimate non-mazket values associated with the preservation of the listed fishes. The
legislative history of the Act indicates that Congress believed that the non-market value or
"worth" of a species is incalculable and invaluable. The extant literature addressing the
value of wildlife resources demonstrates that for consumptive and non-consumptive uses of
wildlife species, these values aze unambiguously positive. The Service asserts that the
benefits of preservation of species and their ecosystems are positive. The Virgin River- Basin
represents a unique collection of flora and fauna much of which can be preserved by the
designation of critical habitat. Candidate and listed species which will be benefitted by the
designation of critical habitat are listed in Table 3.
Conservation And Extinction as Factors in Designating Critical Habitat
The Act defines "conservation" to include the use of all means necessary to bring about the
recovery of an endangered or threatened species. Becau''se critical habitat consists of areas
that contain elements that are essential to the conservation of a listed species, critical habitat
identifies areas that should be considered in the conservation effort and provides additional
protection to those areas through section ?consultation. Critical habitat is designated to
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