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CLEAR Temp: 55 °F Wind: S at 6 mph Friday, October 11, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 26, 2002 Feds seek to protect habitat of fairy shrimp Good communication helps minimize the economic impact By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune Some 7,500 acres of Jackson County’s Agate Desert — much of it surrounding the industrial plants of White City — has been proposed as critical habitat for the endangered vernal pool fairy shrimp. The proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will have little economic impact and is "one small cog in a big wheel," said Craig Tuss, of the agency’s Roseburg office, who will take public comment on it here in late October. A date has not yet been set. The Jackson County pools are part of 1.7 million acres proposed as critical habitat for 15 animals and plants listed as threatened and endangered. The remaining acres are spread over 36 California counties. The proposal was forced last year by a court decision in favor of a California environmental group that said the Fish and Wildlife Service had failed to designate critical habitat for the shrimp when they were listed as endangered in 1994. Two other endangered vernal pool species here, the Agate Desert meadowfoam and Cook’s desert parsley, are likely to be given the same critical habitat protection later, Tuss said. The tiny and ephemeral fairy shrimp emerge from soil when fall and winter rains create shallow pools. Such pools and accompanying wildlife once thrived through present-day Medford and Central Point to the Rogue River and east to Eagle Point, but development and farming have wiped out 90 percent of them, leaving a north county range roughly from Bear Creek to Antelope Creek, said Darren Borgias, director of the Nature Conservancy in southwestern Oregon. Stakeholders, such as farmers, ranchers and business and commercial representatives, have worked closely with government agencies and conservation groups in the listing process for the past two years, said Craig Harper, water resources planner for Rogue Valley Council of Governments, the local lead agency on the project. Extensive surveys, mapping and input from all sides have resulted in a surgical selection of areas to be set aside for vernal pools and for development, he said, thus minimizing economic impact. "There was a lot of fear that people would be told what they could and couldn’t do with their land," said Marilyn Rice, a rancher near Central Point. "People were up in arms." "They all sat down," said Borgias, "and arrived at an understanding about what was needed for the natural heritage for future generations and what was needed for development, all backed up by considerable data — and they forwarded it to the feds." The designation would not set up a refuge. Landowners in the critical habitat areas may continue to use their land, but may not take actions that require federal permits or funding without first getting approval from the Fish and Wildlife Service. "The designation doesn’t do a whole lot, except it raises the bar a small notch for land owners," said Borgias, "as they will have to prove they don’t have the endangered species on their land and that their land would still not be needed for recovery of the species." Under a "no net loss" rule, the federal government will work with landowners who mitigate development impact by restoring other degraded vernal pool areas at a 2-for-1 ratio, he said. "The economic effects, if any, would be so insignificant, compared to the effects already in place," said Borgias. For example, he said, the federal Clean Water Act requires permits from the Army Corps of Engineers for removal of any wetland soil. Vernal pools already fall in that category. "On the plus side, what it does is add a little more impetus to move the community toward a realistic and pragmatic solution to the vernal pool problem, which is a balance between the needs for preservation and development." Much of the land in the critical habitat area is in government ownership — the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Jackson County, the city of Medford (wastewater treatment) and the Eagle Point School District. The Nature Conservancy owns more than 250 acres in four parcels. See maps of Agate Desert and Vernal Pools at www.smartmap.org/vernal/default.cfm John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] . Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S