Critical Habitat

PRC Critical Habitat Efforts:

On November 20, 2004, the National Marine Fishers Service released its proposed critical habitat designation for 20 Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU) of salmon and steelhead.

Read PRC's comments on the proposal, which address the important role that critical habitat plays above and beyond existing regulatory and legal frameworks, such as the NW Forest Plan. The comments also address the need to protect riparian and upland areas as well as unoccupied habitat.

Read about the work we have done to ensure an effective designation for bull trout.

Read more about our efforts to secure an adequate critical habitat designation for red legged frogs.

Read about our Economics Workshop designed to examine the role of economic analyses in critical habitat designation.

Critical habitat is a little understood component of the Endangered Species Act's approach to protecting and recovering imperiled species. The overall purpose of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is "to provide a means whereby the ecosystem upon which endangered and threatened species depend may be conserved." (16 U.S.C. § 1531(b)). In order to better fulfill this goal, Congress amended the ESA in 1978 by adding a provision requiring the designation of critical habitat at the time a species is listed (except under specific, limited circumstances).

Critical habitat is defined as the areas currently or historically occupied by the listed species that are "essential to the conservation of the species" and "which may require special management considerations or protection." (16 U.S.C. § 1532(5)). Critical habitat includes currently occupied habitat but also can include historically occupied habitat that is presently unoccupied but where restoration of the species would assist recovery efforts.

Unlike a listing determination (which must be based solely on the best available science), the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service must take into consideration economic and other factors in determining whether and where to designate critical habitat. Once critical habitat is designated, federal agencies are prohibited from adversely modifying it, adding an extra layer of protection for listed species.

PRC believes that defending critical habitat is important for the long term survival of listed species. The ESA, as currently implemented by the federal agencies, generally protects species that are present in specific locations. It has not been implemented with a focus on recovery. Critical habitat may provide the necessary element that will enable species to not only persist but also to rebound to the point that they no longer need ESA protections.