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_-- -- -- _ _ ___ • ,,,. • PAC£ 28/30 Lti' to Sec. Perla s Sec. Babbitt .` 60-Day Notice Letter May 13, 1998 Page 2 species to the point at which the measures provided pursuant Co this chapter are no longer necessary." 16 U.S.C. § 1532(3). As defined, federal agencies must take action to provide for the recovery of listed species. The DOG has nOt met their obligation to conserve the Prel~le's meadow jumping mouser under section ~(a)(1) of the ESA, even though Lhe DOE's Rocky Flats property supports one of the largest known populations of the Preble's mouse. In particular, the DOE is not conserving the riparian habitat and associated wetland within the Rock Creek drainage, which is known to supFort the Preble's mouse. See 63. Fed. Reg. 26517, 26525 (May 13, 1998). Violation of ESA Section 7(a)(2) Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA states that (ejach Federal agency shall, in consultation with and with the a3sislance of the Secretary [of the Department of Interior], insure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by such agency. is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species. 16 0_S.C. § 1536(al(2). The DOE is violating this provision in two respects. First, the DOE has not consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regarding actions within the Stocky Flats buffer zone_ Title 50 C.F.R. § 402.02 defines "action" very broadly to include the granting of licenses and easements, and "actions directly or indirectly causing modifications to the land, water, and air." The DOG's actions at Rocky Flats concerning the proposed strip-mine meet this definition. Among othec actions, the DG?E has_ granted a 25 'year road easement to Western A99reyates, Inc. (WAI) to enable the expansion of a strip-mine adjacent to mouse habitat; granted a license Co WAI for arr ' The EWS officially listed the Preble's meadow jumping mouse as a threatened species under the ESA in a final rule published in the Federal Register on May 13, 1998. 63 Fed. Reg. 26517. 1'he F1dS stated t)iat "(h)abitat Loas and degradation caused by . commercial, and industrial development imperil its continued existence." Id.