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HOW WILL THIS CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATION AFFECT LOCAL <br />ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? <br />Approximately 99.9% of all economic projects that require a consultation with the U.S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Service proceed with little or no modification. In most cases, resolutions aze iidentified <br />that will avoid harm to the species and habitat and the projects are allowed to proceed forward. <br />Because the Platte River Cooperative Agreement already takes into account species' h.abita.t <br />needs, there should little effect beyond that wluch is already being considered. <br />DOES THE ACT REQUIRE AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AS PART OF DESIIsNATING <br />CRITICAL HABITAT? <br />Yes. The Service must take into account the eronomic impact of specifying any particular area as <br />critical habitat. The Service may exclude any area from critical habitat if it determine:, that the <br />benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benef;its of specifying the area as part of critical habitat, <br />unless it determines that failure to designate ttie azea as critical habitat will result in th.e <br />extinction of the species. <br />WHAT IS THE SERVICE'S POSITION REGARDING CRITICAL HABITAT <br />DESIGNATIONS? <br />The Service believes that protection of habitat: is paramount to successful conservation and <br />recovery of endangered species. However, in the 25 yeazs of implementing the Endangered <br />Species Act, we have found that the designation of critical habitat has provided little additional <br />protection to most listed species while consuming significant amounts of funding, sta:ff time, and <br />other resources. We believe we need to improve the process and are examining methods that <br />could streamline and simplify the critical habitat determination and designation process. <br />WHY DID THE COURT ORDER THE SF:RVICE TO DESIGNATE CRITICAL <br />HABITAT FOR THE PIPING PLOVER? <br />Section 4(a)(3) of the Endangered Species Act states that when the Service adds a spe;cies to the <br />endangered species list, it must designate criti.cal habitat "to the maximum extent prudent." This <br />section makes it clear that Congress expected the Service to routinefly designate critical habitat. <br />History shows that judicial decisions have beE;n based on a strict interpretation of this section of <br />the Act resulting in a requirement that the Service complete critical habitat designations. <br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - January 2000