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Wednesday, 02 December 2009 06:44 |
 The federal National Marine Fisheries Service today took an important step toward protecting critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act for the Cook Inlet beluga whale in Alaska by proposing to designate more than 3,000 square miles of the imperiled whale’s habitat for protection. The overdue proposal comes on the heels of a formal notice of intent to sue by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Once habitat is designated, federal agencies are prohibited from taking any actions that may “adversely modify” it. Species for which critical habitat has been designated have been found to be more than twice as likely to be recovering, and less than half as likely to be declining, as those without it.
In October 2008 the Fisheries Service listed the whale as endangered over the objections of then-governor Sarah Palin. The listing occurred following petitions and litigation by the Center and other organizations. However, rather than designate critical habitat for the beluga at the time of listing as required by the Endangered Species Act, the Fisheries Service stated that it would defer habitat protection for a year. That year came and went with no action by the Fisheries Service, and on October 29, 2009 the Center formally notified the agency that it would file a lawsuit to force the overdue designation.
Source: Center for Biological Diversity
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