Planning with Endangered Species in Mind
Few pieces of national legislation are as important to military land managers,
and to the biodiversity they conserve, as the Endangered Species
Act (ESA). Military lands may be scenes of recurring bombardment, fire,
troop maneuvers, and assorted other disturbances, but they also are
sanctuaries for species of plant and animal life whose very existence is threatened.
The Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies estimate that the
military's lands and waters harbor more than three hundred species classified as
endangered or threatened. Why? For security and safety reasons, military installations
are generally off limits to the sort of development pressures that produce
habitat loss elsewhere. And the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has given this protection
the force of law.
Congress enacted the esa in 1973. It replaced two much weaker endangered
species laws dating to 1966. (For the legislation's history, see http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esasum.html). The law charged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), part of the Department of the Interior, and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), part of the Department of Commerce, with
the job of administering the act and maintaining a record (commonly called the
"Endangered Species List") of the flora and fauna it protects (known as "listed
species"). The USFWS is responsible for terrestrial and freshwater species while
NOAA is responsible for marine species. As a federal agency, the DoD is required
to identify and protect the threatened or endangered species on its lands or in its
waters, as well as listed species it may impact elsewhere.
More information on ESA can be found in chapter 3, "The Legal and Policy
Context for Conserving Biodiversity on Military Lands," and on the Internet at
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/ or http://www.nmfs.NOAA.gov/pr/laws/esa/. In this
chapter, we discuss implementing an endangered species program on a military
installation, Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee.
Basic to the job of protecting endangered species is the idea of "critical habitat" –
the place where the endangered species live. Here, military land managers
have an important tool at their command: A thoughtfully-written and implemented
Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP), which installations
are required to produce and keep up to date, can allow the USFWS to forgo
designating critical habitat on a military installation, thus eliminating a significant
administrative burden for the military natural resources manager. (For more
on INRMPs, see chapter 11. For more on recent legislation affecting critical habitat
see chapter 3.) 1
Any installation with federally listed species must address their protection in
the INRMP. But, if properly prepared the INRMP can substitute for critical habitat
designation as long as the species of interest are addressed to the satisfaction of
USFWS.
It is especially important for military land managers to work with their local
USFWS ecological services field offices (http://www.fws.gov/offices) in the development
of this section of the INRMP. Natural resources managers should clearly
identify the status of any critical habitat designation, or exemption, in the endangered
species section of the INRMP (see box below).
Critical Habitat and the INRMP
What is "critical habitat?" Section 3
of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
defines the term this way:
. . . The term critical habitat, for a threatened
or endangered species means . . . the specific
areas within the geographical area occupied
by the species, at the time it is listed in accordance
with the provisions of section 4 of this
Act, on which are found those physical or biological
features (I) essential to the conservation
of the species and (II) which may require
special management considerations or protection;
and
- Specific areas outside the geographical
area occupied by the species at the time it is
listed in accordance with the provisions of
section 4 of this Act, upon a determination by
the Secretary [of the Interior] that such areas
are essential for the conservation of the
species.
- Critical habitat may be established for
those species now listed as threatened or endangered
species for which no critical habitat
has heretofore been established as set forth
in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
- Except in those circumstances determined
by the Secretary, critical habitat shall not include
the entire geographical area which can
be occupied by the threatened or endangered
species.
Section 4 of the ESA describes the relationship
between critical habitat and
the INRMP:
- The Secretary shall not designate as critical
habitat any lands or other geographical areas
owned or controlled by the Department
of Defense, or designated for its use, that are
subject to an integrated natural resources
management plan prepared under section 101
of the Sikes Act (16 u.s.c. 670a), if the Secretary
determines in writing that such plan provides
a benefit to the species for which critical
habitat is proposed for designation.
- Nothing in this paragraph affects the requirement
to consult under section 7(a)(2)
with respect to an agency action (as that term
is defined in that section).
- Nothing in this paragraph affects the
obligation of the Department of Defense to
comply with section 9, including the prohibition
preventing extinction and taking of endangered
species and threatened species.
Proceed to Next Section: Inventories are Critical
