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6586 --.-J Federal Register I Vol. 58. No, 18 I Friday, January 29. 1993 I Proposed Rules ---J proposed in the Colorado, Green, and Yempa Rive" in the Upper Basin, and the Colorado River in the Lower Basin. The approximate mileage of critical hebitat by landownership of shoraline for the bon)~ail chub is prasented in table 2, Effects of Critical Habitat Designation Section 7(a)(2) of the Act requires Federal Agencies to insure that activities they aut;horize. fund. or CarT}" out are not likely to destroy or adversely modify critical habitat, This Federal responsibility accompanies. and is in addition to. the requirement in section 7(a)(2) of the Act that Federal Agencie. insure that their ections are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species, Jeopardy is defined at 50 CFR 402,02 as any ection that would be expected to eppreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of a sp~des in the wild by reducing its numbers. reproduction. or distrIbution. Destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat is defined at 50 CFR 402.02 as a direct or indirect alteration that appreciebly diminishes the value of ctitical habitat for both the survival and recovery of e listed species, The reguletions also state that such alteretions include, but are not limited to. alterations adversely modifying any of those physical or biological features that were the basis for determining the h.bitat to be critical, The requirement to consider potentialadve"e modification of critical habitat is an incremental consideraticn ebova and beyond the review necessary to evaluate the likelihood of jeopardy and of incidentel take in a section 7 consultation. Section 4(b)(B) of the Act requires, for any proposed or fillal regulation that designates critical habitat, e brief description and evaluation of those activities (public or private) that may adversely modify such habitat or may be affected by su~h designation, As required oy 50 CFR 402,14. a Federal Agency must consult with the Service if it determines that an action may affect either a listed species or its critical habitat, Federal ection agencie. are responsible for determining whether or not to consult with the Service. The Service will review action agencies' determinations on a case.by-case basis and mayor :-:.ay not concur with the action agencies' detennination of "no effect" or "may affect" for critical habitat. as appropriate, , , Survival IDa recovery, mentioned In the definitions of adverse modjfication and jeopardy, are conceptually related, The survival or a species may be viewed. in PID. as a progression between exUnction and recovery of the species. The closer a species is to recovery. the gmater the certainty of its continued survival Thus, terms "survival" and "recovery" differ by the degree of confidence about the ebility of a species to persist in natura over a given time period, The purpose of critical habitat is to contribute to a species' conservation. which by definition leeds to recovery and delisting, Section 7(e)(2) prohibitions against the destruction or edverse modification of critical habitat apply to ections thet would impair survival and recovery of a listed species, As a result of the link between critical habitat and recovery. these prohihltions should protect the value of critical hebitat until recovery, In section 7 consultations. the Service will consider effects of proposed ections on the primary constituent elements in view oftha value of that particular area to the species. Section 7 consultation is initieted by a Federal Agency when its actions may affect critical habitat by impacting eny of the primery constituent elements or reduce the potentiel of criticel habitat to develop these elements, This is independent from any other Federal action thet may affect the species, The consultation also wou1d take into consideration Federal action. outside of critical hebitat that also may impact a critical habitat reach (e.g,. water management. water quality. water depletions, and nonnative fish stocllng or introductions), The consultation should consider the effects of Federal actions within a critical hahitat reach relative to other critical habitat reeches, Though an action may not adversely modify critical habitat. it still may affect ana or more of the Colored 0 River endangered fish and, therefore, be subject to consultation under section 7 of the Act to determine the likelihood of jeopardy to the species, Federel Agencies are required to confer on any of their discretionary actions which are likely to result in the adverse modification or destruction of proposed critical habitat, The confereoce is designed to identify and 1"esolve potential conflicts. Conferences are different than formal consultations in that they involve informal discussions and the Service only makes advisory recommendations on ways to minimize or avoid adverse effects. Agencies are not precluded from making irreversible and irretrievable commitments of r.esoutCes while critical habitat is merely proposed: they ere, however. precluded by section 7(d) from making such commitments efter a final designation is effective. Considerations of Economic and Other Factors The ecanomic. environmental. and other impact. of a designation also must be evaluated and considered, Thus. the Service must identify presant and anticipated activities that may adversely modify the proposed critical habitat or be affected by its designation, The Secretary mey exclude any area from critical habitat should it be determined that the benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benefits of specifying such an area as part of the critical habitat unle.. it is determined. basad upon the best scientific and commercial data evailable, that the failure to designate such an area as critical habitat wiil result in the extinction of the species concerned. The economic analysia will only consider Impects that result from critical habitet designation, These impacts are in eddition to existing economic and other imoacts which are attributable to listing of the species, Impacts attributable to listing include those resulting from the taking prohibition. under section 9 of the Act and essocieted regulations. "Taking" as defined in section 3(18) of the Act include. harm to a listed species, "Harm" means: An ect which actually kills or injures wildlife, Such an ect may include significant habitat modification or degmdation where it actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential hehavioral patterns. including breeding, feeding or sheltering, (50 CFR 17,3), Impacts ettributeble to listing also include those resulting from the responsibility of Federal Agencie. under section 7 to insure that their actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species, An action could be likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species through the destruction or modificetion of its habitat regardless of whether that habitat has been formally designeted es critical. The Act provide. significant protection to species. including hebitat. a. a result of listing, Therefore, the direct economic and other impacts resultillg from additional habitat protection through critical ' habitat designation may be minimal: In general, the designation of critical habitat reinforces the substantive protection resulting from listing, To complete an economic analysis for the four Colorado pjver endangered fishes, costs and benefits that may result from designating critical hebitat must be analyzed, The most time consuming and complex portion of this analysis is developing a range of flow scenarios for