Analysis Topics: Natural Resources Special Status Species Special Status Species Affected Environment Special status species are plants and animals that are legally protected under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 or other regulations, and species that are considered sufficiently rare by the scientific community to qualify for such status. Additional federal regulations protect special status species, including the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934 (as amended), the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. These are discussed in more detail in the paragraphs that follow. The California ESA, administered by the California Department of Fish and Game [CDFG], does not supersede the federal ESA, but operates in conjunction with it to provide additional protection to threatened and endangered species in California, as well as species that are not protected through federal regulations. In addition to threatened and endangered state-listed species, the CDFG maintains an informal list of plant and wildlife species of special concern because of population declines and restricted distributions, and/or because they are associated with habitats that are declining in California. The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) has also developed lists of plants of special concern in California. The National Park Service (NPS) makes every reasonable effort to conduct its actions in a manner consistent with relevant state laws and regulations, per NPS policy. Regulations and Policies Pertaining to Special Status Species Federal Laws and Regulations Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has jurisdiction over species formally listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA (16 USC 1531–1544). An endangered species is one that is considered in danger of becoming extinct throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. In addition to endangered and threatened species, which are legally protected under the ESA, there are lists of candidate species for which the USFWS currently has enough information to support a proposal for listing as threatened or endangered species. Section 7 of the ESA outlines procedures for federal interagency cooperation to conserve federally listed species and designated critical habitat. The NPS is required to consult with USFWS to ensure that they are not undertaking, funding, permitting, or authorizing actions likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed species. This consultation may be either informal or formal consultation. Under a formal consultation, the USFWS issues a biological opinion. Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the “take” of federally listed species, which is broadly defined as “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such conduct.” The biological opinion generally describes some level of incidental take, and details reasonable and prudent measures that the action agency needs to implement to ensure that critical habitat is not destroyed or degraded and that a listed species is not jeopardized by the federal action. The USFWS has interpreted the definition of “harm” to include significant habitat modification. An activity may be defined as a take even if it is unintentional or accidental. Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan / DEIS 9-449 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which was first enacted in 1918, implements a series of treaties between the United States and Great Britain (on behalf of Canada), Mexico, Japan, and Russia, which provide for international migratory bird protection and authorize the Secretary of the Interior to regulate the take of migratory birds. There is a list of bird species that are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The act makes it unlawful, except as allowed by regulations, “at any time, by any means, or in any manner, to pursue, take, or kill any migratory bird, or any part, nest, or egg of any such bird, included in the terms of conventions” with certain other countries (16 USC 703). This includes direct and indirect acts, although harassment and habitat modification are not included unless they result in the direct loss of birds, nests, or eggs. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668c) prohibits anyone, without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior, from “taking” bald eagles, including their parts, nests, or eggs. The act defines “take” as “pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb.” In addition to immediate impacts, this definition also covers impacts that result from human-induced alterations initiated around a previously used nest site during a time when eagles are not present, if, upon the eagle’s return, such alterations agitate or bother an eagle to a degree that interferes with or interrupts normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering habits, and causes injury, death or nest abandonment. Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 USC 661–667e, March 10, 1934, as amended 1946, 1958, 1978, and 1995) requires federal agencies to consult with USFWS, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the CDFG before they undertake or approve projects that control or modify surface water. The consultation is intended to prevent the loss of or damage to fish and wildlife in connection with water projects and to develop and improve these resources. Compliance with this act is incorporated into a project’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Executive Order 13186—Responsibilities of Federal Agencies to Protect Migratory Birds. Executive Order (EO) 13186 directs executive departments and agencies to take certain actions to further implement the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. EO 13186 creates a more comprehensive strategy for the conservation of migratory birds by the federal government, and fulfills the government’s duty to lead in the protection of this international resource. EO 13186 also provides a specific framework for the federal government’s compliance with its treaty obligations to Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Japan and provides broad guidelines on conservation responsibilities and requires the development of more detailed guidance in memoranda of understanding. For example, EO 13186 aids in incorporating national planning for bird conservation into agency programs and provides the formal presidential guidance necessary for agencies to incorporate migratory bird conservation more fully into their programs. National Park Service Regulations and Policies. Servicewide NPS regulations and policies, including the NPS Organic Act of 1916, NPS Management Policies 2006 (NPS 2006), and the NPS Natural Resource Management Reference Manual 77, direct national parks to provide for the protection of park resources. The Organic Act directs national parks to conserve “wild life” unimpaired for future generations and is interpreted to mean that native animal and plant life is to be protected and perpetuated as part of a park unit’s natural ecosystem. 9-450 Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan / DEIS Analysis Topics: Natural Resources Special Status Species The NPS Management Policies 2006 state that the NPS “will maintain as parts of the natural ecosystems of parks all plants and animals native to park ecosystems.” The term “plants and animals” refers to all five of the commonly recognized kingdoms of living things and includes such groups as flowering plants, ferns, mosses, lichens, algae, fungi, bacteria, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, insects, worms, crustaceans, and microscopic plants or animals” (NPS 2006). The NPS will achieve this by: preserving and restoring the natural abundances, diversities, dynamics, distributions, habitats, and behaviors of native plant and animal populations and the communities and ecosystems in which they occur restoring native plant and animal populations in parks when they have been extirpated by past human-caused actions minimizing human impacts on native plants, animals, populations, communities, and ecosystems, and the processes that sustain them (NPS 2006) Section 4.1 of NPS Management Policies 2006 states that “natural resources will be managed to preserve fundamental physical and biological processes, as well as individual species, features, and plant and animal communities. The Service will not attempt to solely preserve individual species (except threatened or endangered species) or individual natural processes; rather, it will try to maintain all the components and processes of naturally evolving park ecosystems, including the natural abundance, diversity, and genetic and ecological integrity of the plant and animal species native to those ecosystems” (NPS 2006). According to section 8.2.2.1 of the NPS Management Policies 2006, “Superintendents will develop and implement visitor use management plans and take action, as appropriate, to ensure that recreational uses and activities in the park are consistent with its authorizing legislation or proclamation and do not cause unacceptable impacts on park resources or values” (NPS 2006). Overall, goal of the NPS is to minimize human impacts (including impacts on individual wildlife) and avoid significant effects from disturbance to the abundance,