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DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT <br /> <br />SUMMARY <br />Proponents of land-use activities are responsible for determining potential impacts to raptors of <br />those activities. Appropriate management strategies for conservation and restoration of raptor <br />populations and their habitats associated with the proposed actions should be devised. The <br />following steps should become routine during initial project planning: <br />1. Coordinate with appropriate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), State wildlife <br />resources management agencies, and/or land management agency wildlife biologists at <br />the onset of project planning. <br />2. Identify species and distribution of raptors occurring within the project area by evaluating <br />existing data and/or conducting on-site surveys. <br />3. Determine location and distribution of important raptor habitat, raptor nests, and <br />available prey base associated with proposed developments and activities. <br />4. Ascertain the type, extent, timing, and duration of development or human activities <br />proposed to occur. <br />5. Consider cumulative effects to raptors of proposed projects when added to past, present, <br />and reasonably foreseeable actions. <br />6. Minimize, to the extent feasible, loss of raptor habitats and avoid long-term habitat <br />degradation. Mitigate for unavoidable losses of high-valued raptor habitats, including <br />(but not limited to) nesting, winter roosting, and foraging areas. <br />7. Plan and schedule short-term and long-term project disturbances and human-related <br />activities to avoid raptor nesting and roosting areas, particularly during crucial breeding <br />and wintering periods. <br />8. Post-project and post-mitigation monitoring are necessary to document stability of raptor <br />populations and their prey base, and to evaluate success of mitigation efforts. <br />PREFACE <br />The following raptor protection guidelines were prepared by the Service's Mountain-Prairie <br />Region (Region), in coordination with various Federal, State, tribal, and private entities with an <br />interest in raptor protection. These guidelines are intended to provide an advisory framework for <br />consistent raptor management approaches regionwide. <br />Incorporation of habitat management and nest/roost site protection measures into land use plans <br />is recommended to ensure project compatibility with the biological requirements of raptors and <br />regulatory statutes. These guidelines are not all inclusive of available mitigation strategies, nor <br />are all recommendations intended to apply to every project. Project proponents should select