Federal agency finalizes yellow-billed cuckoo habitat
restrict activities suchas farmingor ranch- ing.” She saidprivate landowners need to consider critical habitat only if their activ- ities involve federal fundingor permitting, “and ongoing farming or ranching activi- ties would rarely fall into this category.” Snow said the number of California acres declined based on updated infor- mation fromthe public that “provided the scientific evidence needed to remove or exclude the lands based on existing con- servation activities, lack of suitable habi- tat, or interferencewith the operationand maintenance of critical infrastructure.”
Habitat designated for the species nationally totals 298,845 acres, and also includes land in portions of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. The rule takes effect 30 days after the publicationdate, whichwasApril 21. FWS said links to the legal boundaries and GIS shape files for the critical habitat will be available at www.fws.gov/sacramento. (Chr i s t ine Souza i s an ass i s tant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)
ByChristine Souza Fewer acres inCaliforniahavebeendes- ignated as critical habitat for the threat- ened yellow-billed cuckoo. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service re- leased its final critical-habitat designation for theWestern distinct population of the bird, which is protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. The final designation for California in- cludes36,580acresof critical habitat along the Sacramento and Kern rivers in Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Kern and Tehama coun- ties. Thedesignations couldaffect farmers along rivers and streambanks where the birds breed and raise young. Initially, theFishandWildlifeServicepro- posednearly twiceasmanyacres: 71,290. According to the FWS, the yellow-billed cuckoo has suffered population declines fromlossofriparianhabitatandhabitat frag- mentationdue toconversionof land for ag- riculture, impacts fromdams and river flow management, streambank erosion, over- grazingandcompetitionfromexoticplants. TheCaliforniaFarmBureau joinedother agriculturalorganizationsandwaterdistricts incommentstotheFWSabouttheproposal. Justin Fredrickson, environmental pol- icy analyst for the California FarmBureau, said formerly proposed critical habitat for the cuckoo had been reduced “by tens of thousands of acres in the southern part of the state,”with some acreage alsobeing re- movedalongtheSacramentoRiver, specifi- cally inButteCounty. Fredricksonsaidthehabitatdesignation could potentially affect dam operations, water diversions, levee work and other activities, adding that “layers of regulato- ry requirements and permitting hurdles” could make projects and activities “far more costly and time-consuming.” “Generally, any impacts onprivate agri- cultural landownersandwateruserswould
be indirect, where there is consultation on anactivity requiringa federal approval that affects their lands or general area,” he said. Noting that some private lands are in- cluded in the final designation, Meghan Snow, publ ic af fairs of f icer for the Sacramento FWS office, said, “A critical habitat designation does not necessarily
THE NEXT DROUGHT IS COMING, PROTECT YOUR WATER SUPPLY…
DEMAND A 100 YEAR WELL.
Roscoe Moss Well Screen • STRONGEST COLLAPSE STRENGTH • LEAST LIKELY TO CLOG • CORROSION RESISTANT STEEL OPTIONS • HIGHEST EFFICIENCY FOR MAX WATER • STOCK READILY AVAILABLE • MADE IN CALIFORNIA SINCE 1926
PVC Screen History of Cracking
www.californiabountiful.com
Vertical Mill Slot Screen Prone to Clogging
A Farm Bureau Production
KVPT/18
Fresno
Sun. 11:30 a.m.
KSBW-ABC/8.2
Monterey/Salinas Sun.
6:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 5:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.
KOVR/13 KSBY/6
Sacramento
Sat.
San Luis Obispo Sun.
RFD-TV: Dish Ch. 231, DirectTV Ch. 345 Sun.
8:00 a.m.*
*Times listed are Pacific Time
Now trending
LOS ANGELES 323.263.4111 • ROSCOEMOSS.COM • BAKERSFIELD 661.747.6908
@cabountiful
April 28, 2021 Ag Alert 5
Powered by FlippingBook