Endangered parsley causing critical habitat designation
From our weekly issue dated July 01, 2009
Because of some 24 Illinois Valley locations where Cook’s Desert Parsley (Lomatium cookii) is found, those areas will be recommended as critical habitat.
The proposal will be published in the Federal Register, and there will be a public comment period. “The critical habitat proposal will be revised as appropriate and the final designation will be made by July 15, 2010,” said U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Roseburg and Portland staff from USFWS presented a wealth of information during a public meeting, attended by a thimbleful of valleyites, in the Junction Inn on Wednesday evening, June 24. It was noted that the parsley is found in Josephine and Jackson counties, but that Large-Flowered Woolly Meadowfoam (found only in Jackson County) are components of the vernal pool ecosystem.
The meadowfoam also is to be recommended for critical habitat. Both were listed as endangered species in November 2002. The designation, said the USFWS staff, is “required under the Endangered Specials Act when a species is listed as endangered or threatened.
“It ensures that applicable federal agencies protect the habitat within the geographical area that the species occur on.” An economic analysis will be conducted.
Designation as critical habitat “prevents federal agencies from damaging or destroying necessary habitat.”
It does not mean, said the staffers, that the areas will be locked up or fenced. They also noted that critical habitat is “not national park, national wildlife refuge, national monument, or a preserve.”
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