Critical habitat designation smaller than proposed; 2 mussels endangered, threatened
Posted: Friday, May 1, 2015 7:15 am |
Staff Report news@harrisondaily.com |
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has dedicated more than 1,900 miles of river in 12 states as critical habitat for two types of freshwater mussels, but the area is smaller than originally proposed and the impact on people in the Daily Times’ coverage area was reduced to a small part of the Buffalo National River.
The Service reported Wednesday that habitat for Noesho mucket and rabbitsfoot mussels has been degrading, and they were designated as endangered and threatened, respectively, under the Endangered Species Act on September 2013.
Chris Davidson with the Endangered Species Program of the Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office said in a Wednesday conference call that the mussels are in peril, having lost some 60 percent of habitat.
Only a small portion of the Buffalo National River was designated Wednesday as critical habitat for rabbitsfoot mussels. Davidson said Neosho muckets’ designation is limited in Arkansas to the Illinois River in far northwest Arkansas.
He said the designation for the Buffalo covers only that part of the river below the high water mark and not the entire watershed.
In addition, the designation means that only activity funded by the federal government would require consultation with the Service for those activities, such as building a dam or bridge, according to Rob Tawes, the Service’s acting chief of the Division of Conservation and Classification Southeast Region.
In the case of the Buffalo, the National Park Service would be the action agency required to consult with the Service because it owns and regulates the river.
Tawes estimated the economic impact for the Buffalo could be as much about $280,00 a year, but the average person shouldn’t encounter any financial impact beyond the initial designation.
He went on to say that there were some misconceptions realized during the comment period on the proposed critical habitat designation: People feared there would be an impact on property owners or that “no-touch” zones could be created.
The designations do not affect land ownership nor do they allow government or public access to private land, Tawes said. Designating critical habitat has no impact on landowner activities that do not require federal funding or federal permits.
When asked why the actual designated area was smaller than the area originally proposed, Tawes said comments from the Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Association of Arkansas Counties came into play for the decision.
“We are pleased with the Service’s reduction in proposed critical habitat designations for the Neosho mucket and rabbitsfoot mussels in the state of Arkansas,” said Chris Villines, Association of Arkansas Counties executive director. “The final decision on critical habitat areas for these two fresh water species will now be less broad and more appropriate. However, we still have concerns and support the modernization of the Endangered Species Act.”