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<br />l> <br /> <br />**v. HAS THE FWS CHANGED THE PRIORITY SYSTEM CREATED IN THE <br />1981 SOLICITOR'S OPINION M-369238, 88ID903? <br /> <br />On August 27, 1981 the Solicitor's Office issued an <br />opinion concerning the "Cumulative Effects to be Consid- <br />ered Under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act." The <br />opinion basically established a form of "first-come, <br />first-served" approach. The FWS was to determine an <br />environmental baseline against which new projects would be <br />measured. The Solicitor's Opinion concludes: <br /> <br />...a project passing muster under Section 7 is <br />in effect allocated the right to consume [and <br />is presumed to utilize] a certain portion of <br />the remaining natural resources o'f the area. <br />It is this "cushion" of remaining natural <br />resources which is available for allocation to <br />projects until the utilization is such that <br />any future use may be likely to jeoparcize a <br />listed species or adversely modify or destroy <br />its critical habitat. At this point, any <br />additional federal activity in the area <br />requiring a further consumption of resources <br />would be precluded under Section 7. <br /> <br />While the FWS is not following this approach, neither the <br />actual method used by FWS nor the 1981 Solicitor Opinion <br /> <br />-36- <br />