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Vermilion Darter Receives Critical Habitat Designation From USFWS


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#1 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 09 December 2010 - 09:00 AM

The Fish & Wildlife Service found in favor of designating critical habitat for the vermilion darter on Dec. 7. Below is a summary of the decision. A much longer full decision can be found in the Federal Register following the information below. I copied this blurb from the independent ESA blawg which carries useful summaries of decisions such as this.

75 Fed. Reg. 75913 (Tuesday, December 7, 2010) / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2009–0079; MO 92210–1117–0000–B4 / RIN 1018–AW52
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Vermilion Darter
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Final rule
.
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the vermilion darter (Etheostoma chermocki) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We designate as critical habitat approximately 21.0 kilometers (km) (13.0 miles (mi)) of stream in 5 units within the Turkey Creek watershed in Jefferson County, AL. DATES: This rule becomes effective on January 6, 2011.

The vermilion darter is a narrowly endemic fish species, occurring in sparse, fragmented, and isolated populations. The species is only known in parts of the upper mainstem reach of Turkey Creek and four tributaries in Pinson, Jefferson County, Alabama. Suitable streams have pools of moderate current alternating with riffles of moderately swift current, and low water turbidity. The vermilion darter was listed as endangered (66 FR 59367, November 28, 2001) because of ongoing threats to the species and its habitat from urbanization within the Turkey Creek watershed. Photo by Steve Barnett/Birmingham News file, available at Alabama.com

EXCERPTS RE: WATER QUANTITY AND QUALITY: Much of the cool, clean water provided to the Turkey Creek main stem comes from consistent and steady groundwater sources (springs) that contribute to the flow and water quantity in the tributaries (Beaver Creek, Dry Creek, Dry Branch, and the unnamed tributary to Beaver Creek). Flowing water provides a means for transporting nutrients and food items, moderating water temperatures and dissolved oxygen levels, and diluting nonpoint- and point-source pollution. Impoundments within Turkey and Dry Creeks not only serve as dispersal barriers but also have altered stream flows from natural conditions... Factors that can potentially alter water quality are decreases in water quantity through droughts and periods of low seasonal flow, precipitation events, nonpoint-source runoff, human activities within the watershed, random spills, and unregulated stormwater discharge events. These factors are particularly harmful during drought conditions when flows are depressed and pollutants are concentrated. Impoundments also affect water quality by reducing water flow, altering temperatures, and concentrating pollutants. Nonpoint-source pollution and alteration of flow regimes are primary threats to the vermilion darter in the Turkey Creek watershed.\

#2 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 09 December 2010 - 10:51 AM

Glad to hear it. Does this designation really have teeth? For example, if locals start pumping enough water from wells to lower the water table and decrease stream flow, will USFWS have legal recourse to stop them?

#3 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 09 December 2010 - 10:59 AM

I think the short answer is yes, although it would likely be a convoluted process going through federal court.

Edit:

Here is a brief description from the ruling:
"Critical habitat receives protection under section 7 of the Act through the requirement that Federal agencies insure, in consultation with the Service, that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out is not likely to result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. The designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation area. Such designation does not allow the government or public to access private lands. Such designation does not require implementation of restoration, recovery, or enhancement measures by non-Federal landowners. Where a landowner seeks or requests Federal agency funding or authorization for an action that may affect a listed species or critical habitat, the consultation requirements of section 7(a)(2) would apply, but even in the event of a destruction or adverse modification finding, the obligation of the Federal action agency and the landowner is not to restore or recover the species, but to implement reasonable and prudent alternatives to avoid destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat."

#4 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 09 December 2010 - 11:04 AM

Here is a link to the html version of the decision in the Federal Register: Federal Register.

#5 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 09 December 2010 - 12:46 PM

Thanks for the additional info.

#6 Guest_wargreen_*

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Posted 10 December 2010 - 05:50 PM

Good news, thanks for the article.

#7 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 12 December 2010 - 01:10 PM

I had business yesterday in Pinson, Alabama, from where Turkey Creek originates and flows westward into Locust Fork of the Warrior River. I took pictures of a tributary to Dry Creek, a Turkey Creek tributary which in part is designated as Critical Habitat for the Vermilion Darter. This area is in a northeastern suburb of Birmingham which has grown very fast in the past 20 years. The threat to the darter is in land use changes that degrade water quality. These changes include road, bridge and culvert construction that alter and impede the steady flow of clean water the species needs (not surprisingly). I wasn't able to go the 3 km and get a picture of the designated area, but these two pictures show the condition of much of Turkey Creek and why the Center for Biological Diversity filed suit against the Fish & Wildlife Service in 2007 for the designation of critical habitat. The water looks clean, but the area has been built up and overrun with exotic plants like the tons of privet in the pictures. For those of you familiar with north Alabama, Pinson is pretty much where Sand Mountain begins as a long ridge running to the northeast.
TurkeyCreekDec2010_01.jpg
TurkeyCreekDec2010_02.jpg



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