``Safe Harbor'' Offers Landowners a Chance to Aid Rare Species; Prominent Wine Maker, Robert Mondavi, Joins List Of Landowners Pursuing Conservation Agreements.Business Editors, Wine & Environmental Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2002 Turning farmers and forest landowners from adversaries into allies for conserving rare species is the object of a unique conservation effort by Environmental Defense. Key to the effort is the Conservation Incentives Library, a virtual library of information about incentives for private conservation now available on-line at www.environmentaldefense.org. The library includes the most extensive collection anywhere of information on one of the most effective tools for enlisting landowner cooperation -- Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. agreements -- which allow landowners to create or improve habitat for endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. without fear of new restrictions on land use. The Robert Mondavi wine company is the first in its industry to pursue a Safe Harbor agreement. This week the prominent vintner's efforts to improve habitat at its vineyard in San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (săn l  `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. County moved forward with the publication in the Federal Register of a proposed Safe Harbor agreement. Mondavi plans to improve habitat for two rare bird species and for the California red-legged frog The California Red-legged frog (Rana aurora ) is a sub-species of frog within the family Ranidae also known as the "true frogs". It was earlier classified as a subspecies, Rana aurora draytonii , the subject of Mark Twain's famous short story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. "This Safe Harbor agreement will uncork Mondavi's ability to improve wildlife habitat at its vineyard, benefiting the California red-legged frog, which was immortalized by Mark Twain, and two important endangered bird species," said Michael Bean, chair of the Environmental Defense Wildlife program and a leading authority on the Endangered Species Act The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C.A. §§ 1531 et seq.) was enacted to protect animal and plant species from extinction by preserving the ecosystems in which they survive and by providing programs for their conservation. . Safe Harbor agreements have already been struck with several hundred landowners on approximately two million acres of land nationwide. The Mondavi agreement marks the first for a wine producer and is only the third developed in California. The agreement, which Environmental Defense helped to prepare, entails riparian riparian adj. referring to the banks of a river or stream. (See: riparian rights) restoration along a seasonal stream on the property to benefit the California red-legged frog and the least Bell's vireo vireo, small, migratory songbird of the New World. Some species nest in the United States, but the majority are tropical. Vireos (also called greenlets) range from 4 to 6 1/2 in. (10.2–16. and Southwestern willow flycatcher -- two local bird species. Nationally, the Safe Harbor concept is responsible for the reintroduction of the Hawaiian goose (the state's official bird) to the island of Molokai, after an absence of more than two centuries, and the return of the northern aplomado falcon, North America's rarest falcon, as a breeding bird in Texas after an absence of several decades. Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. based in New York, represents more than 300,000 members. Since 1967 we have linked science, economics, and law to create innovative, equitable, and cost-effective solutions to the most urgent environmental problems. www.environmentaldefense.org |
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