Contact: Jane Hendron, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, (760) 431-9440
ext. 205

Critical Habitat Proposed for Peirson's Milk-Vetch

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to designate critical
habitat for the threatened Peirson's milk-vetch (Astragalus magdalenae
var. peirsonii) on approximately 52,780 acres of sand dunes in
AlgodonesDunes in Imperial County, California. The area is managed by
the Bureau of Land Management. For frequently asked questions click
here.

A draft economic analysis is underway to identify impacts associated with
the proposed ciritical habitat designation. It will be released separately
for public review and comment.

To determine the areas essential to the conservation of the Peirson's
milk-vetch, the Service relied on the best available scientific and
commercial information about the species and its habitat, including multiple
years of survey data collected by Bureau of Land Management and
other entities.

Primary habitat components that provide for the conservation of the plant
and its seed bank include intact, active sand dune systems, soils that
discourage the growth of creosote bush, and wind-formed slopes of less
than 30 degrees.

"The Service is actively soliciting public comments on the proposal," said
Steve Thompson, Manager of the California/Nevada Operations Office. "In
addition, we will also be submitting the proposal for independent peer
review in accordance with our commitment to ensuring the best science is
used in designating critical habitat."

Peirson's milk-vetch is a perennial member of the legume family. It has a
long tap root that can penetrate deep into the sand to reach moisture and
functions as an anchor for the plant in shifting sands. The plant has
delicate pale purple flowers and produces large fruits that each contain 11
to 16 flattened black seeds. Plants may flower in their first year and
produce between one and five fruits, while older plants produce
significantly more fruits.

On October 6, 1998, the Service listed the plant as a threatened species
under the Endangered Species Act. The primary threat cited in the listing
of the plant was the impact of off-highway vehicle use.

The Algodones Dunes is one of the most popular areas for off-highway
vehicle (OHV) recreation in the United States. In April 2003, the Service
completed consultation on BLM's draft Recreation Area Management Plan
(RAMP) for the dunes. The BLM has indicated it will monitor the species
over the next four years to determine the extent to which vehicle use
affects the plant and its habitat.

As an additional safeguard for the plant, consultation with the Service may
occur before the end of the four-year study period if populations of the
plant in any of the management areas covered by the RAMP drop below 50
percent of an established baseline. Based on the review of the draft RAMP
and the provisions to conduct monitoring and study efforts, the Service
determined that implementation of the RAMP over the next four years is
not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of Peirson's milk-vetch.

Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act identifying
geographic areas that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or
endangered species and may require special management considerations.
The designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or
establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation
area. It does not allow government or public access to private lands.

This critical habitat proposal was completed in response to a lawsuits filed
by the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Native Plant Society,
and the Building Industry Legal Defense Fund.

In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, the Service has
found that the designation of critical habitat provides little additional
protection to most listed species, while preventing the Service from using
scarce conservation resources for activities with greater conservation
benefits.

In almost all cases, recovery of listed species will come through voluntary
cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures such as critical habitat.
Habitat is also protected through cooperative measures under the
Endangered Species Act including Habitat Conservation Plans, Safe Harbor
Agreements, Candidate Conservation Agreements and state programs. In
addition, voluntary partnership programs such as the Service's Private
Stewardship Grants and Partners for Fish and Wildlife program also restore
habitat.

Habitat for endangered species is provided on many national wildlife
refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife
management areas The proposed rule to designate critical habitat for
Peirson's milk-vetch was published in the Federal Register on August 5,
2003. A copy of the proposed rule and other information about the
proposal is available on the Internet at http://carlsbad.fws.gov
Comments may be submitted in writing to the above address, or may be
submitted electronically to FW1PMV@r1.fws.gov If you wish to submit
comments electronically, please avoid the use of special characters or
encryption. Also, please include "Attn: RIN 1018-AI77" in the subject line
and your name and return address in the body of your message.

Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on
October 6, 2003. Written comments on the proposed rule should be
submitted to the Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 6010
Hidden Valley Road, Carlsbad, California 92009. Written requests for a
public hearing on the proposal must be received by the Service by 5:00
p.m. on September 19, 2003.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System
which encompasses 542 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70
national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological
services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws,
administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird
populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program
that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing
and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
visit our home page at http://pacific.fws.gov

I'm trying to locate a map to find out exactly where the 52,000 acres will be.

Please read this paragraph carefully:

QUOTE

Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act identifying   geographic areas that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or   endangered species and may require special management considerations.   The designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or establish   a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation area. It does   not allow government or public access to private lands.

Designation of critical habitat does not necessarily mean closure.

OK, I need some help here. What are they saying? :?

This is a direct shot at the CBD and California Native Plant Society:

QUOTE

In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, the Service has found that the designation of critical habitat provides little additional protection to most listed species, while preventing the Service from using scarce conservation resources for activities with greater conservation benefits.

I thought the habitat
was on the North side of the highway?

So they are saying that the closed areas will be re-opened? With the new regulations that are in the RAMP? Limits, etc...

QUOTE

OK, I need some help here. What are they saying? :?

I just got off the phone with the FWS. Bottom line --

THIS DOES NOT CHANGE OUR SITUATION AND DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH THE RAMP OR THE OPENING OF THE CLOSURES FACILITATED BY THE RAMP.

Phew!

Okay, here's what we've learned:

1) Don't bother going to the FWS website yet, since the documents we want aren't posted on there (yet).
2) They are sending me a copy of the proposed rule which will include maps and more information.
3) Any "request for public hearing" we make will be very formal and will not have a question and answer period included... there is no interaction... but perhaps we can get a less formal venue arranged.

QUOTE

I thought the habitat was on the North side of the highway?

Some is, but because of where the little weed likes to grow, some critical habitat exists in the open areas also.

But not along the out edges of the dunes system.

QUOTE

So they are saying that the closed areas will be re-opened? With the new regulations that are in the RAMP? Limits, etc...

Yes, if no lawsuits interfere, the closed areas will be re-opened (but the adaptive management area will still be permit-only).

When the biological opinion came out, it included several very strong suggestions for how to manage the dunes in such a way as to keep the PMV from closing dune areas, and yes, they knew they'd most likely be designating critical habitat when they issued the biological opinion. By the way... this is exactly the kind of thing that prompted that sign project I mentioned last night... that little project alone will fulfill some of those strong suggestions and help keep more drastic measures for protection of the PMV off our doorstep.

Vicki

Here is the proposed rule:

Proposed Rule

And here is a handy little question and answer file:

Q&A

Thank God, she is on our side. Thanks for all the info you continue to provide.

So, if there is going to be "critical habitat" then what is the reason/point of the Adaptive Management Area with all of it's limitations...


Only 75 permits issued
Required environmental education
No night riding

Vor

Link to ACTUAL RULING


[img]http://www.usaplaza.com/thechurch/ch/map1.gif[/img]
Vor

QUOTE

CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY   PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY   CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY   SIERRA CLUB NEWS RELEASE:  for immediate release Tuesday, August 5, 2003     Wildlife Agency Proposes 52,780 of Algodones Dunes for Critical Habitat Protection   Biologists' science-based approach recognizes off-road threats and BLM plan failures Contact:   Daniel R. Patterson, Desert Ecologist, CBD  520.623.5252 x 306  or  520.906.2159   Illene Anderson, Botanist, California Native Plant Society  818.915.2658   Karen Schambach, California Director, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility  530.305.0503   Elden Hughes, Chair, Sierra Club Desert Committee  562.941.5306   ALGODONES DUNES, CA -- Using a proven recovery tool provided by the Endangered Species Act, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) today proposed that 52,780 acres of the 160,000 acre Algodones (Imperial) Dunes be designated critical habitat for the survival and recovery of the Peirson's milkvetch (Astragulus magdalenae var. peirsonii), an endangered attractive flowering plant threatened by off-road vehicle use, and found only on these Sonoran desert dunes.   \"It's been shown that species with critical habitat less likely to decline and twice as likely to be recovering as those without.\" said Daniel R. Patterson, Desert Ecologist with CBD.  \"This proposal is a fair start and should be expanded, not gutted by Bush administration anti-environmental appointees in Washington DC.\"   \"It's a modest proposal from an agency under the thumb of an administration that is environmentally clueless. This makes it remarkably courageous.\" said Karen Schambach of PEER.   \"We generally support the proposal because of its firm basis in all of the best available science and current conservation biology tenets.\" said Ileene Anderson, Botanist with the California Native Plant Society.  \"We still have concerns about fragmentation of habitat in the south dunes, the lack of connectivity between critical habitat areas, and a failure to include habitat for recovery purposes.\"   The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which administers the dunes, is set to finalize a plan (RAMP) later this summer that would open 50,000 acres of currently protected dunes habitat.  Parts of that plan are already being challenged in court by conservationists.  FWS stated in today's proposed rule, \"Species specific management needs and measures for Astragulus magdalenae var. peirsonii are not addressed in the RAMP.\"   The State of California OHV Commission weighed in on the RAMP last December, denying BLM $1.1M in state funding due to repeated failures to protect the dunes and manage for sustainability.   Located in the Sonoran desert of southeastern California's Imperial County, the Algodones Dunes are the largest dune ecosystem in the U.S.  They harbor at least 160 different animal and plant species, many of which are endemic.  The dunes also are heavily impacted by as many as 240,000 off-roaders on some weekends.  This intensive use destroys vegetation and wildlife habitat, pollutes the air, and creates criminal problems that stress law enforcement.   \"Is the critical habitat proposal perfect? No. Some portions are too small or fragmented. Is it the right first step for protecting the Peirson's milkvetch?  Absolutely.\" said Elden Hughes, Chair of the Sierra Club Desert Committee.   FWS must finalize the rule and designated critical habitat within a year.   View the proposed rule and map: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14...df/03-19670.pdf   Background on critical habitat: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/p...FactSheetII.pdf     *** CBD / PEER / CNPS / SC ***

QUOTE

So, if there is going to be \"critical habitat\" then what is the reason/point of the Adaptive Management Area with all of it's limitations...

The Adaptive Management Area was just one of the considerations taken into account for a favorable biological opinion. And the AMA isn't there just because of the PMV.

The critical habitat has nothing to do with the AMA. It has everything to do with how the dunes lie and how the PMV grows.

And designating critical habitat will not have any effect on the implementation of the RAMP.

Vicki

The bad guys' press release makes it sound like they're very satisfied.

They'd better be satisfied with it! They won it in a legal battle!

Vicki

Here's the story from the Riverside Press Enterprise:

http://www.pe.com/localnews/desertpass/sto...nes06.f14e.html

Rare-plant habitat proposed

IMPERIAL SAND DUNES: Off-roaders protest a plan to designate a third of the area
for the milk-vetch.

08/06/2003

By JENNIFER BOWLES and BETTYE WELLS MILLER / The Press-Enterprise

Federal wildlife officials on Tuesday proposed designating about one-third
of a popular off-roading area in the California desert as land vital to the
survival of an endangered plant.

The move by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not affect a plan to
reopen parts of the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area that were closed
to protect the Peirson's milk-vetch, said Jane Hendron, an agency
spokeswoman, by telephone.

Fish and Wildlife already approved the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
plan, which calls for a four-year period of studying and surveying the
milk-vetch, found only in the dunes.

Information collected during the study period, Hendron said, "will identify
more precisely what the impacts to the plant are from off-highway use."

In May, the BLM unveiled plans to reopen about a third of the dunes,
closed in a legal settlement with environmentalists.

Lynette Elser, a BLM multiresources staff chief, said the agency is
reviewing protests and remains on schedule to reopen nearly 50,000 acres
by Halloween, the start of the off-roading season.

Off-roaders take on the sandy hills in 2002 at the Imperial Sand Dunes
Recreation Area. The sand dunes have been at the center of a tug-of-war
between off-roaders and environmentalists seeking to preserve the
Peirson's milk-vetch plant.

The dunes have been at the center of a tug-of-war between
environmentalists seeking to preserve the plant and off-roaders -- as
many as 100,000 on holiday weekends -- who descend on the sandy hills.

Gil George, who builds sand buggies in his Rialto shop, said the 32,240
acres of wilderness in the dunes is ample to protect the milk-vetch. The
American Sand Association contends the plant is not endangered.

"It doesn't need protecting," he said by telephone.

"When the wilderness was closed in the '70s, that was supposed to be the
trade-off" to balance recreational uses and environmental protection, he
said. "Now they (environmentalists) say it's not adequate."

The primary threat to the milk-vetch is off-road vehicles, said Daniel
Patterson, desert ecologist for the Center for Biological Diversity in
Idyllwild.

Designating critical habitat is important because the wilderness area is too
small to protect the endangered plant, he said.

"We know that critical habitat works," he said by telephone. "Endangered
species with critical habitat are less likely to decline and more likely to
recover. That's what it's about -- recovery, so it can be taken off the
endangered species list."

The Fish and Wildlife Service proposal calls for designating 52,780 acres of
the 160,000-acre dunes system as critical for the plant. Some of that land
is in a wilderness area that already bans motorized vehicles.

The plan will be finalized in about one year, Hendron said.

The habitat designation would not require the BLM to close the area, Elser
said. Federal agencies would have to consult with Fish and Wildlife on
actions that could affect the habitat, and the agency can recommend how
to minimize harm.

"For the next four years we will be monitoring the milk-vetch," she said.
"Right now, we're not sure if OHVs (off-highway vehicles) have an impact."

Reach Jennifer Bowles at (909) 368-9548 or jbowles@pe.com

Once again he can't get his facts straight...

Dano says:

QUOTE

Designating critical habitat is important because the wilderness   area is too small to protect the endangered plant, he said. \"We know that critical habitat works,\" he said by telephone. \"Endangered   species with critical habitat are less likely to decline and more likely to   recover. That's what it's about -- recovery, so it can be taken off the   endangered species list.\"

But the science and facts say this:

QUOTE

In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, the   Service has found that the designation of critical habitat provides little   additional protection to most listed species, while preventing the Service   from using scarce conservation resources for activities with greater   conservation benefits. In almost all cases, recovery of listed species will come through voluntary cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures such as critical habitat.

I wish the sheep that follow this creep would start seeing through his smoke and mirrors.

Vicki

QUOTE

But the science and facts say this:   Quote:   In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, the   Service has found that the designation of critical habitat provides little   additional protection to most listed species, while preventing the Service   from using scarce conservation resources for activities with greater   conservation benefits.   In almost all cases, recovery of listed species will come through voluntary   cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures such as critical habitat.

can you cite the source of the above quote?

In 30 years of implementing the ESA, how many species have recovered by using voluntary partnerships? Would duners voluntarily give up some land at G?

Bluesky is an Internet Troll

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The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others
not to respond to trolls.

Sailaway is afraid to discuss the issues or explain where she gets her info.


the questions and points I bring up are obvious ones that will be asked by officials and the public at the policy meetings that affect all users of the public lands.

If you can't answer them, you're just another ranting shill.

If no one else on this board can see the conflicts in the words Sailaway posted, it means no one is really reading them.

Bluesky is an Internet Troll

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The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others
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