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50 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, November 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 19, 2004 Vernal pool recovery plan protects 20 species Federal plan requires no costs to affected property owners in the Agate Desert area By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune WHITE CITY — A proposed recovery plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for vernal pool species calls for voluntary cooperation from private landowners. The draft recovery plan released Thursday would protect the threatened fairy shrimp in seasonal pools located in the Agate Desert at no cost or effect on property owners unless they choose to participate. Vernal pools in Jackson County are the northernmost contained in the 683,000 acres covered by the plan. The vast area includes 30 counties in California, stretching to the southern reaches of that state’s Central Valley. Last year, the agency designated 7,574 acres of vernal pools in the Agate Desert as critical habitat for fairy shrimp. The regional economist with the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department last year estimated the designation would affect about 500 acres in the White City industrial corridor. Advertisement Voluntary assistance from the private sector is the best way to protect the fairy shrimp, said Jim Nickles, agency spokesmen in its Sacramento office. "When we list a species, one of things required in a plan to ultimately recover it is to have healthy populations of naturally occurring species," he said. "The only way we can really do that is with the cooperation of a lot of people." The agency says the vernal pools are vital to saving 20 threatened and endangered plants and animals from extinction or irreversible decline. The pricetag for saving those species is estimated to be $771.7 million. The proposal includes no funding itself, but once adopted would be used to seek and target money from federal, state, local and private sources, Nickles said. The uniquely adapted plant and animal species live only in shallow pools, coming to life each winter only to disappear come summer. "The plan will help restore these imperiled species, while enabling landowners to maintain compatible activities in their land," Steve Thompson, manager of the service’s California- Nevada office, said in a prepared statement. Property owners could continue "compatible activities" on their land, enter conservation agreements that would protect their land from development in perpetuity, and qualify for federal funding to protect and restore the vernal pools and their inhabitants, Thompson said. The plan would also monitor both the species’ populations and the effectiveness of protection efforts. Under the plan, most listed species would be recovered by 2062, officials said. The time-frame is based on historical drought patterns, and calls for a five-year monitoring period for species after a severe drought to evaluate their condition. Deadline for commenting on the plan is March 18. Comments should be sent to the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, attn.: Vernal Pool Species Draft Recovery Plan, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605, Sacramento, Calif., or by fax at (916)414-6713. A final plan is expected to be released late next year. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities