BANGOR (AP) – The National Marine Fisheries Service has agreed to a timeline for designating critical habitat in eight rivers with federally protected Atlantic salmon populations by the spring of 2009.
The critical habitat designation under the federal Endangered Species Act would require an additional layer of review for any development that requires a federal permit or receives federal funding.
For example, projects requiring a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit for wetlands alterations or pollution discharges covered by the Clean Water Act would be subject to an additional critical habitat review.
The agreement on a timeline settles a legal dispute between the fisheries service and the Conservation Law Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity. U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby signed off on the agreement Wednesday.
The eight affected rivers are the Dennys, East Machias, Machias, Narraguagus, Pleasant, Ducktrap and the Sheepscot rivers plus Cove Brook, a tributary of the Penobscot.
The fisheries service has agreed to publish a draft critical habitat determination by Aug. 30, 2008, and to issue a final rule by no later than April 30, 2009.
The federal government listed Atlantic salmon as endangered on eight Maine rivers in November 2000, saying the species is in danger of extinction.
The Conservation Law Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity filed suit last December to force the fisheries service to designate critical habitat. Under the agreement, the plaintiffs will be reimbursed $12,000 for legal expenses.
Sean Mahoney of the Conservation Law Foundation said including a species on the endangered list does not alone guarantee restoration success. That’s why critical habitat is so useful, he said.
“By designating critical habitat, you are protecting the habitat necessary for that recovery to take place,” he said.
The public will have a chance to comment on the proposed critical habitat designation before final rules are adopted in 2009, said Mary Colligan, regional endangered species chief for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com
AP-ES-10-04-07 1025EDT
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