Safe harbor agreements for private landowners

              U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Our Endangered Species
Program and How It Works
with Landowners
The Endangered Species Act (ESA)
defines endangered species as species
in danger of extinction throughout
all or a significant portion of their
range. Threatened species are likely to
become endangered in the foreseeable
future.
In cooperation with public and private
partners, the Endangered Species
Program conserves endangered and
threatened species and the ecosystems
upon which they depend. Conservation
helps ensure functioning ecosystems,
preserve our natural heritage for
future generations, and maintain long-term
economic prosperity. For more
information, visit the Program’s Web
site at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/
Our Program’s priorities are:
n Conserving imperiled species
n Recovering listed species
n Providing quality customer
service to Federal, State, and local
governments, Tribes, and private
citizens to assist in conserving listed
species while meeting their social and
economic objectives.
The Endangered Species Act defines
an endangered species as in danger
of extinction throughout all or a
significant portion of its range. A
threatened species is likely to become
endangered in the foreseeable future.
Endangered Species Program Elements
n Through the Candidate
Conservation program, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (Service), in
partnership with State and Federal
agencies, Tribes, private organizations,
and landowners, works to reduce the
threats to declining species and thus
prevent the need for listing. By acting
early before a species requires ESA
protection, the Service can maintain
management flexibility for landowners
and reduce the costs of recovery.
n Through the Listing program, the
Service follows Federal rulemaking
procedures and specific Endangered
Species Act requirements to determine
whether to list species. A formal peer-review
process and an opportunity for
public comment ensure that the Service
obtains the best available scientific
information in making its decisions.
When it is prudent to do so, the
Service protects essential habitat
through designating critical habitat
at the time a species is listed or soon
afterwards. Once a species is listed, it
is afforded the full range of protection
under the Act, including prohibitions
on unauthorized killing, harming, or
otherwise taking and restrictions on
importing and exporting to prevent
trade-related declines.
n Through the Consultation program,
the Service works with Federal
agencies as they ensure that the
activities they authorize are compatible
with species conservation. The Service
also encourages Federal agencies to
involve their applicants, such as private
landowners, in the consultation process
through opportunities to provide
information and review documents.
n Through the Recovery program,
the Service develops partnerships
with Federal, State, and local agencies,
Tribes, researchers, conservation
organizations, businesses, landowners,
and private citizens to conserve listed
species. Recovery efforts include
a range of management activities,
such as breeding species in captivity
and protecting habitat or restoring
it. Beneficial activities may include
addressing threats such as removing
introduced predators to stabilize listed
species so they will increase. A species
is considered for delisting once it
recovers to the point where it is secure
in the wild and no longer needs the
protection of the ESA.
Assistance to Landowners
Approximately half of listed species
have at least 80 percent of their
habitat on private lands. Thus, the
participation of private landowners is
critical to successful species recovery.
Several programs provide incentives
for private landowners, Tribes, State
and local governments, industry, and
agricultural interests.
n The Safe Harbor Policy encourages
voluntary management for listed
species to promote recovery on non-
Federal lands by providing assurances
to property owners that no additional
management activities will be required
for the species.
n The Candidate Conservation
Agreements with Assurances Policy
provides incentives for non-Federal
property owners to conserve candidate
species, with the goal of making listing
Dr. Michael Forstner, Texas State University
© John Rae NYC 2004
Contact Us
Want more information? Please
contact the appropriate office below:
Washington D.C. Office
Endangered Species
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 420
Arlington, VA 22203
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/
Acting Chief, Division of Conservation and
Classification: Nicole Alt, 703-358-1985
Chief, Division of Consultation, HCPs,
Recovery, and State Grants: Rick Sayers,
703-358-2171
Chief, Division of Partnerships and
Outreach: Claire Cassel, 703-358-2390
Region One — Pacific
Eastside Federal Complex
911 N.E. 11th Avenue
Portland OR 97232-4181
http://www.fws.gov/pacific/
Chief, Division of Endangered Species:
Patrick Sousa, 503-231-6158
Region Two — Southwest
P.O. Box 1306, Rm 4012
Albuquerque, NM 87102
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/
Chief, Division of Endangered Species:
Susan Jacobsen, 505-248-6641
Region Three — Great Lakes, Big Rivers
Bishop Henry Federal Building
One Federal Drive
Ft. Snelling, MN 55111-4056
http://www.fws.gov/midwest
Chief, Ecological Services Operations:
T. J. Miller, 612-713-5334
Region Four — Southeast
1875 Century Boulevard
Atlanta, GA 30345
http://www.fws.gov/southeast/es/
Acting Assistant Regional Director for
Ecological Services:
Jack Arnold, 404-679-7311
Region Five — Northeast
300 Westgate Center Drive
Hadley, MA 01035-9589
http://www.fws.gov/northeast
Chief, Division of Endangered Species:
Martin Miller, 413-253-8615
Region Six — Mountain Prairie
134 Union Boulevard
Lakewood CO 80228
http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov
Chief, Division of Endangered Species:
Bridget Fahey, 303-236-4258
Region Seven — Alaska
1011 East Tudor Road
Anchorage, AK 99503-6199
http://alaska.fws.gov
Regional Endangered Species Coordinator:
Sonja Jahrsdoerfer, 907-786-3323
Region Eight — California and Nevada
2800 Cottage Way, Suite W2606
Sacramento, CA 95825
http://www.fws.gov/cno/
Assistant Regional Director for Ecological
Services:
Mike Fris, 916-414-6464
Office Boundaries
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered Species Program
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420
Arlington, VA 22203
703-358-2171
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/
July 2009
8
unnecessary. This includes assurances
that no additional management
activities will be required even if the
species becomes listed.
n Habitat Conservation Planning
allows private landowners to develop
land supporting listed species provided
they undertake conservation measures.
The No Surprises Policy assures
participating landowners that they
will incur no additional mitigation
requirements beyond those agreed to
in their Habitat Conservation Plans,
even if circumstances change.
n Conservation Banks are
permanently protected privately or
publicly owned lands that are managed
for endangered, threatened, and other
at-risk species. A conservation bank is
like a biological bank account. Instead
of money, the bank owner has habitat
or species credits to sell.
Grants Program
n The Cooperative Endangered
Species Conservation Fund (section
6 of the ESA) provides funding to
States and Territories to participate
in a range of conservation projects
on non-Federal lands for candidate,
proposed, and listed species. Because
more than half of all listed species
spend at least part of their life-cycle
on privately owned lands, the Service
recognizes that conservation success
depends on working cooperatively
with landowners, communities, and
Tribes to foster voluntary stewardship.
States and Territories play a key
role in this work. Although eligibility
in the grant program is limited to
States and Territories, individual
citizens or groups—for example,
land conservancies, community
organizations, and conservation
organizations—may work as
subgrantees with a State or Territorial
agency on conservation efforts that are
mutually beneficial.
Funding is available:
• to implement conservation
projects for listed and species at-risk
(Conservation Grants);
• to integrate habitat conservation
into local land use planning through the
development of Habitat Conservation
Plans (Habitat Conservation Planning
Assistance Grants);
• to further species conservation
through land acquisition and easements
associated with approved Habitat
Conservation Plans (HCP Land
Acquisition Grants); and
• to acquire lands essential to the
recovery of listed species (Recovery
Land Acquisition Grants).
Looking Ahead
By building strong partnerships and
initiating early and collaborative
conservation efforts, the Service
can best conserve endangered and
threatened species and the ecosystems
upon which they depend.