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ENDANGERED SPECIES UPDATE

National Military Fish and Wildlife Association Meeting

Arlington, VAMarch 2013

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• Advanced notice of Proposed Rulemaking

• Regulatory Reform Efforts

• Multiple District Litigation Update

• Working Lands for Wildlife

• Partnership Tools & Opportunities

TOPICS

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Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR)

• ANPR in 2012- received input on how to create incentives for voluntary conservation actions

• Focus of options:

– Incentivizing voluntary pre-listing conservation actions– Off-setting adverse effects of species being listing– Federal agency credit for pre-listing conservation actions

• Responses:– Total of 95 responses received– Federal agencies (7), States (13), NGOs (40), other (35)

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Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

• Most supported using voluntary conservation incentives for candidate and at-risk species

• Most supported developing and using conservation credits and banks

• Priorities developed by FWS & State Agency Team

• FWS will develop guidance, policy or revise regulations to implement recommendations

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Regulatory Reform Efforts

• Significant portion of the range policy

• Impact analysis regulation (424.19)

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Significant Portion of Range Policy

• Proposed revised joint policy published December 2011.

• Reopened comment period- February 2012.

• Proposes to define phrase “significant portion of its range” in ESA definition of endangered and threatened species.

• Anticipate final policy in mid- 2013

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Impact Analyses-Critical Habitat

• February 28, 2012, Presidential Memorandum

• Draft economic analysis when designating critical habitat

• Published proposed joint revision to 50 CFR 424.19 in Aug. 2012

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Impact Analyses-Critical Habitat

• Proposed joint revised 424.19 regulation includes:

• Economic analysis-with proposed CH• Incremental approach-best way to measure

economic impact of CH designation• Sec Interior/Commerce -sole discretion to

exclude areas from CH

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Regulatory Reform Efforts

• Incidental take

• Definition of adverse modification or destruction of habitat

• Critical habitat process (424.12)

• Implementation of section 4(b)(2) of the ESA

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Anticipated Regulations / Policy Reform

• Incidental take – clarify how take is evaluated

• New definition-adverse modification or habitat destruction

• CH process (424.12) – clarify process meaning

• 4(b)(2) Implementation– provide policy on CH exclusions

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• FY 2011 > 2016 – proposed listing determination for the 253 candidate species (130 by end of FY 13)

• Plan provides clarity & certainty to state wildlife agencies, stakeholders, & other partners about when FWS will make specific species’ listing determinations.

• MDL agreements:• Reduced litigation-driven workloads • Allows FWS to focus resources on priority species

Multiple District Litigation (MDL)

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• MDL workplan for actions from FY 2013 through FY 2018 available online at:

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/improving_ESA/listing_workplan_FY13-18.html

• Listing Program backlog- mid FY 2013:• 168 candidate species• Approx 500 12-month findings• Petitions to list approx 60 species

Multiple District Litigation

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• FWS-NRCS partnership– provide landowners with technical and financial assistance

for conservation– Goal driven

• New England cottontail• Bog turtle (northern

pop.)• Golden-winged warbler• Gopher tortoise

• Southwestern willow flycatcher

• Greater sage-grouse• Lesser prairie-chicken

Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW)

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WLFW based on conference and Biological Opinions prepared for each of the listed or candidate species, FWS established an historic 30 year period of regulatory predictability for WLFW participating non-Federal landowners

Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW)

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• Landowner tools– CCA

• Opportunities for non-Federal lands– CCAA– SHA

• Conservation Tools Handout Available• Sikes Act. FWS OK with 10 year plans with

annual updates vs. current 5 year plans

Partnership Tools & Opportunities

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• Predictability / Minimize Uncertainty– Section 7 conferencing

• Coordination & resource leveraging– Readiness and Environmental Protection

Initiative-DoD– Military Services Buffer lands programs– Identify priority species for conservation– Apply tools to DoD buffer lands

Partnership Tools & Opportunities

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QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/DISCUSSION

DOUGLAS KROFTACHIEF, BRANCH OF ENDANGERED SPECIES LISTING

USFWS, ENDANGERED SPECIES-HEADQUARTERS703-358-2527

Douglas_krofta@fws.gov