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habitat designation and redesignate critical habitat in accordance with the statutory and <br />regulatory requirements. Our comments, and more extensive comments submitted on <br />behalf of the Nebraska Habitat Conservation Coalition (of which Central Platte NRD is a <br />member), can readily be made available if desired. <br />Our comments submitted on January 28, 2002, pointed out several key points. For <br />example, the proposed critical habitat designation fails to comply with the mandates of <br />the ESA. The FWS's designation of unsuitable habitat as critical habitat is arbitrary and <br />capricious. As in the southwestern willow flycatcher case (New Mexico Cattle Growers <br />Association et al v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), the FWS is claiming that entire river <br />reaches in Nebraska must be designated based solely on their potential for suitability. <br />This directly flies in the face of the recent decision in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of <br />Appeals. <br />When the FWS listed the species, it got out of designating critical habitat by claiming that <br />the nesting of the species is "ephemeral," i.e. the birds are always moving around and the <br />habitat is always changing, thus, it is not possible to designate critical habitat. Now, the <br />FWS wants to designate critical habitat on the exact same basis. The record does not <br />square FWS's about -face. It is arbitrary and capricious. <br />The FWS's draft Economic Analysis of the affects of critical habitat designation also <br />fails to comply with the mandates of the ESA. The piping plover critical habitat <br />designation documentation claims to analyze both the incremental impact of designation <br />and the impacts co- extensive to listing and critical habitat designation, but it <br />accomplishes neither. <br />The proposed critical habitat designation constitutes a significant threat to the present and <br />future economic well being of many central Platte River valley communities. The FWS's <br />proposal notes a variety of activities (both public and private) which may adversely <br />modify critical habitat. The FWS notes that these activities include such common and <br />necessary practices as road and bridge construction and maintenance, operation and <br />maintenance of dams, bank stabilization projects, dredging operations, and construction <br />of dwellings. Most disturbing, the FWS specifically note that "water development <br />projects such as ground water withdrawal for water supply and other river depletions" <br />could comprise an adverse modification of critical habitat and taking under ESA. Central <br />Platte River regional economies are critically tied to municipal, agricultural, industrial <br />and domestic water supplies provided by and associated with groundwater and with the <br />Platte River. The designation of critical habitat will adversely affect the economic and <br />social health of the region and must be fully evaluated. <br />The FWS's environmental assessment fails to comply with the mandates of the National <br />Environmental Policy Act. The FWS claims to analyze the environmental, economic, <br />social, historical and "custom and culture" impacts of the proposed critical habitat <br />