Under pressure from a federal court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed critical-habitat zones for 76 threatened and endangered native plants on 60,000 acres of state and private lands on Kaua’i and Niihau. The proposed areas are
Under pressure from a federal court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
has proposed critical-habitat zones for 76 threatened and endangered native
plants on 60,000 acres of state and private lands on Kaua’i and Niihau.
The
proposed areas are concentrated on northwestern Kaua’i. They include the Alakai
Wilderness Preserve, parts of Koke’e State Park and Waimea Canyon State Park,
several state-owned natural areas and forest reserves, and land owned or leased
by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Two other habitat areas are located in
the northwestern corner of Niihau.
“Our ultimate goal is to restore healthy
populations of listed species within their native habitats so they can be
removed from the list of threatened and endangered species,” said Anne Badgley,
regional director of Fish and Wildlife’s Pacific region.
Wayne Souza, who
heads the state Department of Land and Natural Resources parks division on
Kaua’i, said the intent behind the proposal is good. But, he added, “How it is
implemented is another story,”
“We don’t know whether they are helping us
or setting up hurdles as far as the management of the planned community and
endangered species,” Souza said.
Through the Endangered Species Act, the
Fish and Wildlife has the authority to create rules to create the critical
habitat areas, said Barbara Maxfield, an agency spokeswoman.
The rule to
designate the safety zones for Kaua’i and Niiahu is one of seven rules that
would address critical-habitat areas for a 255 threatened or endangered species
in Hawai’i.
The species were listed for protection under the Endangered
Species Act between 1991 and 1999. At the time, the federal agency decided not
to identify the areas where the plant species are found due to the threat of
vandalism and other conditions.
The decision was challenged in a lawsuit
that resulted in an August 1998 decision by the U.S. District Court in Hawai’i
for the creation of the safety zones.
Excluding the creation of the zones
for the 76 plant species on Kaua’i and Niihau, safety zones were not designated
for three endangered palms because identifying their location could increase
the threat of people collecting or vandalising them, federal officials
said.
Zones also were not proposed for two other species because they are
believed to be extinct.
The proposed zones do not set up a preserve or
refuge. They only apply to situations in which federal funding or a federal
permit is involved. For instance, if a government agency wants to put a
structure in an area where endangered plants exist, the agency would have to
consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and produce a mitigation plan that
requires approval, Maxfield said.
The proposed zones also would not affect
the use of private land, unless federal funds or permits are involved.
The
federal agency planned to publish the rules – including maps of the designated
critical-habitat areas and background information on plants – in the Federal
Register by next Monday.
Public comments on the rules will be accepted
until Dec. 26. Officials said public hearings will be held if requested. The
rules are scheduled to be completed by April 30, 2002.
Staff writer
Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and [
HREF=”mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net”>lchang@pulitzer.net]
