U.S. Fish and Wildlife targets 7,015 acres in Mississippi and Louisiana for habitat
The Federal Land Grab is alive and well in Mississippi with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife poised to take nearly 3,000 acres of privately owned land in Mississippi and Louisiana along with 4,000 acres of federal and state land to designate it as a 'protected' habitat for the Gopher frog! But...WAIT FOR IT...the proposed critical habitat includes land that doesn't have any of the frogs living on it! Read it yourself below. I'm not making this up!
I LOVE the term 'SET ASIDE'. Why don't they just call it what it is...STEALING OUR LAND! This abuse of private property is going on across the country in massive federal and state land grabs and YOU and I and YOUR NEIGHBORS and EVERYONE you know must stand up to this abuse of power or it will continue until they have abolished the right to own private property in our country, which is the source of our wealth, our strength and our success as a free market economy.
Here's a summary of what puts the gopher frogs at risk (namely human activity if you read between the lines):"The features essential to the conservation of this species may require special management considerations or protection to reduce threats posed by:
- Land use conversions
- primarily urban development and
- conversion to agriculture and pine plantations
- stump removal and other soil-disturbing activities that destroy the belowground structure within forest soils
- fire suppression and low fire frequencies
- wetland destruction and degradation
- random effects of drought or floods
- off-road vehicle use
- use of gas, water, electrical power, and sewer easements; and
- activities that disturb underground refugia used by Mississippi gopher frogs for foraging, protection from predators, and shelter from the elements."
You may not believe this, but there are only 250 of these little creatures. DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT SOMEWHERE OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING USED TO PAY SOMEONE TO COUNT FROGS! On top of that, they are using federal power to rob US of our HUMAN HABITATS! What about that!! Who's looking out for the humans! They want to give 250 frogs 7,000 acres...that's 28 acres per frog! I've never had the luxury of owning 28 acres or even 1 acre for that matter, although it is certainly a goal!
Please READ THE ARTICLE BELOW and then SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE INFORMATION ABOUT PUBLIC COMMENT and PLEASE COMMENT using the acceptable manner so that it will be counted to stop this intrusion on the rights of property owners in Mississippi by an over zealous federal government who wants us to live in cubicles along transportation corridors! And please forward this to your entire mailing list!
COMMENTS POSTMARKED BY NOVEMBER 28, 2011 WILL BE ACCEPTED. (See comment information below article)
Agency wants to set aside land for gopher frogs
By NICOLE DOW -
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed designating 7,015 acres in Mississippi and Louisiana as critical habitat for the endangered Mississippi gopher frog. Critical habitat designation protects the important characteristics that make an area hospitable for threatened and endangered species.
The Mississippi gopher frog was listed as an endangered species in 2001, but a critical habitat has not officially been designated, said USFWS public affairs specialist Connie Dickard. The gopher frog has an estimated population of 250 adults with most living in Glen’s Pond in the DeSoto National Forest in Harrison County.
The proposed critical habitat includes land that doesn’t have any of the frogs living on it, said USFWS wildlife biologist Linda LaClaire. Twelve units spread throughout Harrison, Jackson, Forrest and Perry counties and St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana are proposed as critical habitat. The units include 3,746 acres of federal-owned land, 287 acres of state-owned land and 2,983 acres of private-owned land.
PHOTO COURTESY SAVANNAH RIVER ECOLOGY LABORATORY The Mississippi gopher frog is a rare amphibian whose historic geographic range once extended throughout the southeastern longleaf pine forests of Mississippi and Louisiana. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed 7,015 acres of land in Mississippi and Louisiana to be designated as critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog.
It's 49 pages / 22,726 words long.
Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director from the Center for Biological Diversity, said the critical habitat proposal is a substantial step forward in protecting the survival of the species. The 7,015 acres of proposed critical habitat was expanded from 1,957 acres of land, which was initially proposed in 2010, Greenwald said.
“Without habitat protection and restoration, the frog will be lost forever,” he said.
USFWS is seeking public comment on the Mississippi gopher frog critical habitat proposal through Nov. 28. The agency has until May 30, 2012, to establish final rule on the subject.
Sunherald.com encourages an open exchange of affirming and dissenting opinions on our stories, and we consider it an important element of the user experience on sunherald.com. We invite you to comment on our content as part of our interactive community, but please keep the discourse civil and refrain from profanity, obscenity, spam, name-calling or attacking others for their views. Read more
I posted a comment below the article in the Sun Herald. You can, too.
IMPORTANT PUBLIC COMMENT INFORMATION (BETWEEN THE LINES) BE SURE TO READ
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before November 28, 2011.
We must receive requests for public hearings, in writing, at the address shown in the ADDRESSES section by November 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. In the Keyword box, enter Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2010-0024, which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Then, in the Search panel on the left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, click on the Proposed Rules link to locate this document. You may submit a comment by clicking on ``Send a Comment or Submission.''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R4-ES-2010-0024; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will not accept e-mail or faxes.
We will post all comments on
http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any personal information you provide us (see Public Comments section below for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Ricks, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Office, 6578 Dogwood View Parkway, Jackson, MS 39213; telephone: 601-321-1122; facsimile: 601-965-4340. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Comments
We intend that any final action resulting from this proposed rule will be based on the best scientific and commercial data available and be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, we request comments or information from other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested party concerning this proposed designation of critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog, the DEA of the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog, and the amended required determinations provided in this document. We will consider information and recommendations from all interested parties. We are particularly interested in comments concerning:
(1) The reasons why we should or should not designate habitat as ``critical habitat'' under section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), including whether there are threats to the species from human activity, the degree of which can be expected to increase due to the designation, and whether that increase in threat outweighs the benefit of designation such that the designation of critical habitat may not be prudent.
(2) Specific information on:
(a) The amount and distribution of Mississippi gopher frog habitat,
(b) What areas, that were occupied at the time of listing (or are currently occupied) and that contain features essential to the conservation of the species, should be included in the designation and why,
(c) Special management considerations or protection that may be needed in critical habitat areas we are proposing, including managing for the potential effects of climate change, and
(d) What areas not occupied at the time of listing are essential for the conservation of the species and why.
(3) Land-use designations and current or planned activities in the subject areas and their possible impacts on proposed critical habitat.
(4) Information on the projected and reasonably likely impacts of climate change on the Mississippi gopher frog and proposed critical habitat.
(5) Any probable economic, national security, or other relevant impacts of designating any area (especially Unit 1 in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana) that may be included in the final designation; in particular, any impacts on small entities or families, and the benefits of including or excluding areas that exhibit these impacts.
(6) Whether any specific areas we are proposing for critical habitat designation should be considered for exclusion under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, and whether the benefits of potentially excluding any specific area outweigh the benefits of including that area under section 4(b)(2) of the Act.
(7) Whether we could improve or modify our approach to designation of critical habitat in any way to provide for greater public participation and understanding, or to better accommodate public concerns and comments.
(8) The appropriateness of the taxonomic name change of the Mississippi gopher frog from Rana capito sevosa to Rana sevosa.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning this proposed rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We will not accept comments sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not listed in ADDRESSES.
We will post your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--on http://www.regulations.gov. You may request at the top of your document that we withhold personal information such as your street address, phone number, or e-mail address from public review; however, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting documentation used in preparing the proposed rule and DEA, will be available for public inspection on
http://www.regulations.gov, or by appointment, during normal business[[Page 59775]]hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
You may obtain copies of the proposed rule and the DEA on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS-R4-ES-2010-0024 or by mail from the Mississippi Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2011/11-064.html
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking comment on a revised proposal to designate critical habitat for the endangered Mississippi gopher frog. A total of 7,015 acres have been proposed as critical habitat within one parish in Louisiana and four southern Mississippi counties.
Twelve units (three of which are divided into two subunits each) are proposed as critical habitat including ones in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana; and Forrest, Harrison, Jackson, and Perry counties, Mississippi. These units include a total of 3,746 acres in federal ownership, 287 acres in state ownership, and 2,983 acres in private ownership. Occupied habitat and currently unoccupied habitat have been determined to be essential for the conservation of the Mississippi gopher frog and, as such, both are being proposed as critical habitat.
Identifying the habitat essential to the Mississippi gopher frog is an important milestone along the road to recovery. The identification process was greatly benefited by the Service's existing partnerships with the U.S. Forest Service, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, and private landowners, who are currently working to conserve this unique species and its habitat. The Service looks forward to continuing and strengthening these partnerships and associated habitat conservation efforts.
In addition, the proposal recognizes recent peer-reviewed research reclassifying the Mississippi gopher frog as its own species, Rana sevosa. Originally, the Mississippi gopher frog was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act on December 4, 2001 as a distinct population segment (DPS) of the dusky gopher frog (Rana capito). This DPS was defined as those populations of gopher frogs in the lower coastal plain ranging from the Mississippi River in Louisiana to the Mobile River delta of Alabama. The Service will revise the species' scientific name on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. However, this change will not alter the protections currently in place for the species or add additional regulatory burdens to public or private land-owners.
A draft economic analysis of the revised proposed critical habitat has been completed and is available. This draft economic analysis estimates that incremental impacts from the designation would range from $102,000 to $37.7 million. Almost all of the estimated economic impacts center on the newly proposed Louisiana Unit (Unit 1). The broad range in estimated economic impacts stems from uncertainty about whether any new federally-sponsored projects will be pursued in Unit 1, and the conservation measures the Service may recommend if consultation does occur.
The Mississippi gopher frog is a darkly colored, moderately sized frog with warts covering its back and dusky spots on its belly. It lives underground in pine forests that were historically dominated by longleaf pine and breeds in small temporary ponds.
With this revised proposed critical habitat designation, the Service is seeking comments, suggestions, and any additional information on biology, threats, range, distribution, population size, or current or planned activities and their possible impacts on the Mississippi gopher frog or its proposed critical habitat. A final decision on the designation of critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog will consider all comments and information received by November 28, 2011.
The complete proposal appears in the Federal Register September 27, 2011, and can be obtained by visiting the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS–R4–ES–2010 -0024. A copy also can be obtained by contacting U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View Parkway, Suite A, Jackson, Mississippi 39213; phone 601-321-1121.
Public comments on the proposed rule and associated economic analysis will be accepted through November 28, 2011. Comments are accepted in one of two ways: (1) online at http://www.regulations.gov or (2) mail or hand delivery to Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R4–ES–2010 -0024; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042–PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
Requests for a public hearing must be made in writing by November 14, 2011, to the Arlington, VA, address shown immediately above.
The Service prepared the proposed rule per a court-approved settlement agreement resulting from a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of Mississippi Public Lands. The 2008 lawsuit alleged the Service and the Secretary of Interior failed to designate critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog in a timely manner. In the settlement agreement, the Service agreed to re-evaluate the need for critical habitat for the species and if prudent, submit a proposed designation of critical habitat to the Federal Register by May 30, 2010, and a final designation by May 30, 2011. A proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog was published on June 3, 2010 (75 FR 31387).
New information was received during the comment period for the proposed rule which indicated that the amount of critical habitat proposed was insufficient for the conservation of the Mississippi gopher frog. Based on this new information, the Service requested an extension of the settlement agreement from the plaintiffs in order to conduct an assessment of the new data and to write a revised proposed critical habitat determination. In a settlement agreement signed May 4, 2011, the court agreed with the Service’s timeline of submission of a revised proposed critical habitat rule to the Federal Register by September 15, 2011, and a final critical habitat rule to the Federal Register by May 30, 2012.
Critical habitat is a term defined in the Endangered Species Act. It refers to specific geographic areas that are essential to the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and which may require special management considerations or protection. The designation of critical habitat will help ensure federal agencies and the public are aware of the Mississippi gopher frog’s habitat needs and proper consultation is conducted by federal agencies when required by law.
A critical habitat designation does not set up a preserve or refuge and only applies to situations where federal funding or a federal permit is involved. It does not allow government or public access to private land. Federal agencies that undertake, fund or permit activities that may affect critical habitat are required to consult with the Service to ensure such actions do not adversely modify or destroy designated critical habitat.
Since the Mississippi gopher frog is listed under the Act, it is already protected wherever it occurs. Federal agencies are required to consult on any action taken that might affect the species, whether critical habitat is designated.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfwssoutheast, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwssoutheast, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwssoutheast.
AP News Alabamas13.com - Sep 27, 5:26 PM EDT
Feds triple land seen crucial for endangered frogs
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- An endangered frog that lives only in Mississippi would have a lot more room to hop around under the latest land conservation proposal from the federal government.
The proposal made public Tuesday more than triples the area proposed as critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog, mostly in Mississippi but also including its last known Louisiana breeding ground.
The gopher frog is the only frog in the Southeastern United States listed as endangered or threatened. The frogs live in stump holes and burrows dug by other animals, laying their eggs in ponds so shallow they dry up for several months of the year, keeping them free of fish that would eat frog eggs.
The frogs, which once also lived in Alabama, are part of a whole ecology that needs regular fires to burn away brush and smaller trees from the longleaf pine forests where they live.
The timber industry all but eradicated the longleaf pine forests that once covered 90 million square miles of the South. People tend to fill in or deepen the ephemeral ponds in those that are left and resist the idea of regular managed fires.
Now only about 100 gopher frogs are believed to live in the wild. Zoos are raising about 1,500, thanks to a wildly successful breeding program last summer at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, said Steve Reichling, curator of reptiles and amphibians at the Memphis Zoo.
Most of the wild frogs are in the oldest and largest known colony, known as Glen's Pond in Harrison County, with smaller groups at three sites in Harrison and Jackson counties.
Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed nearly 2,000 acres in those counties and two others in Mississippi as critical habitat, which would tighten rules for work needing federal permits. Conservation groups and scientists protested that wasn't nearly enough. The agency is now proposing more than 1,600 acres in Louisiana and nearly 5,400 in Mississippi's Jackson, Harrison, Forrest and Perry counties.
The decision gives the frog "a shot at survival," said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. "There's only one viable population of these gopher frogs left in the world. Without habitat protection and restoration, the Mississippi gopher frog will be lost forever."
Scientists don't really have enough information to analyze whether any of the smaller groups of frogs is big enough to be self-sustaining, said Linda LaClair, the Fish and Wildlife Service's recovery coordinator for the frog. Numbers can be only estimated from egg masses found in ponds, because underground nose counts aren't possible.
Glen's Pond is the only one where eggs are regularly found, Greenwald said.
The Louisiana land, near the St. Tammany Parish town of Hickory, is private industrial timberland that includes five ephemeral ponds close enough for frogs to move between them, the proposal says.
The ponds are ideal, LaClair said. Forests can be managed and restored but it's very difficult to create temporary ponds, she said. "And creating ponds where there's a group of them together is really impossible."
About 4,000 acres of the Mississippi land is public.
LaClair said the private land in Mississippi includes a Jackson County tract where biologists have been bringing frogs for years. The owners work with the Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure it's managed properly. "They're very excited about it," LaClair said.
The captive frogs are at five zoos, but Reichling, whose zoo developed the breeding technique used in Omaha, said more are needed. "We want to spread our eggs out in many, many baskets."
He said genetic profiles showed that the frogs in Omaha "pretty much captured all the genetic diversity ... that exists in the world. We got most of those pairs to breed" and hatched about 1,200 frogs.
"Now we're trying to get these all distributed out," he said. "Who knows, maybe we'll have 20 zoos participating and holding nice-sized groups. Then we've got the foundation for a long-term captive effort."
"That's good news," Greenwald said. "Now if we can just get some habitat for them to live in and reproduce on their own. That would be quite a step forward."
LaClair said "The ball's back in our court to decide if we have a site where we can put them and when we can put them there."
Online: Mississippi gopher frog: http://1.usa.gov/mX42F
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/critical-habitats-faq.html
The Memphis Zoo: http://www.memphiszoo.org
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