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., I 4 t?G Usk, ?-a c? dv LQ?v ril L ?ZS 1?2?• The Fish and Wildlife Service has done very nearly all that it can administratively in regard to UCRB. They've gone as far out on the limb as they can or should. You must never forget that our account". ability is to the American public and that includes you and the environmental community. That's been demonstrated time after time, and I can assure you that all of our actions in the UCRB are being scrutinized thoroughly. There may be a few individuals or special- interest groups who might benefit from knock-down, drag-out litigation. But you can bet it would not include the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation -- or even the citizens of the UCRB. We, there- fore, have an obligation to comply with the letter of the law. Indeed, it would be a disservice to you if we didn't. You've all heard of Windy Gap. For fear of getting a tomato on my face over that, I'd like to talk briefly about another situation that you probably haven't heard about, but that you should have. San Bruno Mountains. As most of you know, land around the greater San Francisco area is some of the most desirable and expensive real estate-on this continent. And because of the overall nature of the terrain in the Bay area, good develop- ment sites are now pretty few and far between. We could say that land is to the Bay area what water is to the UCRB. Several years back, a major development interest proposed a bold and far-reaching growth effort in the San Bruno Mountains just to the south of the area. It was some of the last close-in and highly developable land in the area. It was also the only know habitat of an endangered butterfly, the Mission Blue butterfly. Needless to say, the endangered species aspect arose. There was a good deal of controversy initially, but ultimately -- out of a potentially collision situation -- there emerged a very promising idea, Habitat Conservation Planning. I'll talk more about that in just a moment. But first, I want to mention that - yes, there is now a major development in the San Bruno Mountains. And yes, there are still butterflies and a goodly portion of their home range is well protected. Overall, there was and is the promise for future success stories. Environmental needs and development needs can be creatively addressed and balanced. Man's environ- ment doesn't have to be hostile to wildlife. Humans can cooperate for their own benefit and pro ress, and still fulfill mandates under law. The San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan is a model of what can be accomplished when everybody involved sits down and really starts to talk to each other. It's what can result when folks start to cooperate in their planning. San Bruno is not some kind of pie-in-the-sky type model. It's a real-world plan involving many interested parties, all of them concerned about the long-term good of their area -- and tens of millions of dollars. I think that the basic theme of habitat conservation planning of long-term, multi-party cooperation, can be of lasting benefit to the UCRB. I want to call your attention for a moment to the handout materials. They deal with the Endangered Species Act and changes in the law. As you will see, they deal in processes and timetables. The point I'm making here is that we're not stonewalling because of some vague Federal requirement.