PLANS TO BROADEN PROTECTION.Byline: Associated Press The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expects 18 million acres of fish and wildlife habitat to be protected on private lands by the end of the year under habitat conservation plans. Three of the top five projects and half of the top 10 involve California real estate, including acreage in Orange and Riverside counties. Here's a look at the 20 largest plans, their location, size in acres or miles and the species affected. Combined, California has more than twice as many as any other state: 1. State of Washington; 1.6 million acres specified in management plan for state's 2.1 million acres of forestry lands; northern spotted owl The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is one of three Spotted Owl subspecies. A Western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a medium-sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. , marbled murrelet, salmon, steelhead, trout. 2. Balcones Canyonlands, Travis County, Texas Travis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. In 2000, the population was 812,280. Its county seat is Austin,6 the capital of Texas. ; 633,000 acres; golden-cheeked warbler, black-capped vireo, borianthos plant, cave bugs. 3. Riverside County; 540,000 acres; Stephens' kangaroo rat The Stephens' Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys stephensi) is a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family. It is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitat is temperate grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss. Source
4. Southern California and Clark County, Nev.; 525,000 acres; desert tortoise desert tortoise see gopherus agassizii. . 5. Simpson Timber Co., Northern California; 300,000 acres; northern spotted owl. 6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , working with U.S. Army Fort Bragg, six neighboring counties and private land owners; 300,000 acres; red-cockaded woodpecker. 7. Metropolitan Bakersfield; 262,000 acres; San Joaquin kit fox, blunk-nosed leopard lizard, Tipton kangaroo rat, Bakersfield cactus, San Joaquin wooly-threads. 8. Potlach Corp., Arkansas; 233,000 acres; red-cockaded woodpecker. 9. Weyerhaeuser Co., Coos Bay, Ore.; 210,000 acres; northern spotted owl. 10. Orange County; 200,000 acres; California gnatcatcher, Southern arroyo toad, American peregrine falcon. 11. State of Massachusetts, coastal counties; 200 coastal miles; piping plover plover (plŭv`ər), common name for some members of the large family Charadriidae, shore birds, small to medium in size, found in ice-free lands all over the world. . 12. Plum Creek Timber Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) is the largest private landowner in the United States. Most of its lands were originally purchased as timberland.[1] Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Plum Creek was spun off from Burlington Resources as a master limited Co., Kittitas County, Wash.; 170,000 acres; northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, grizzly bear, gray wolf. 13. Oregon Department of Forestry, Elliott State Forest; 94,000 acres; American bald eagle, northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet. 14. Coachella Valley, Riverside County; 70,000 acres, Coachella Valley fringe-toad lizard. 15. Gulf Coast Prairies 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. , Southern Texas; 64,000 acres; brown pelican, prairie chicken. 16. Alpomado Falcon Safe Harbor, Texas Gulf Coast; 64,000 acres; alpomado falcon. 17. Murray Pacific Corp., Lewis County, Wash.; 55,000 acres; northern spotted owl. 18. Volusia County, Fla.; 50,000 acres; nesting sea turtles. 19. Weyerhaeuser Co., Arkansas, Oklahoma; 40,000 acres; American burying beetle. 20. ARCO Western Energy, Kern County; 31,360 acres; San Joaquin kit fox, blunk-nosed leopard lizard, Tipton kangaroo rat, Glant kangaroo rat. |
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