I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3707
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to improve protections for
endangered species habitats.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 7, 2002
Mr. POMBO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to improve
protections for endangered species habitats.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. IMPROVED PROTECTIONS FOR ENDANGERED
SPECIES HABITATS.
(a) SURVIVAL HABITAT DEFINED.—Section 3 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(22) The term ‘survival habitat’ for a threatened
species or endangered species means the specific areas
within the geographical area occupied by the species, at
the time it is listed under section 4(c), on which are found
those physical or biological features that—
‘‘(A) are essential to the conservation of the
species; and
‘‘(B) may require special management consider-
ations or protection.’’.
(b) REQUIREMENTS TO DESIGNATE HABITAT.—Sec-
tion 4 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1533) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph
(3) to read as follows:
‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary, by regulation promul-
gated in accordance with subsection (b), shall—
‘‘(i) concurrently with making a determina-
tion under paragraph (1) that a species is an
endangered species or threatened species, des-
ignate survival habitat of the species; and
‘‘(ii) concurrently with adoption of the
final recovery plan for a species under sub-
section (f), designate critical habitat of the spe-
cies.
‘‘(B) A final regulation implementing the deter-
mination that a species is an endangered species or
threatened species shall not be published in the Fed-
eral Register unless the Secretary has determined
and published in the Federal Register the survival
habitat for such species.’’; and
(2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph
(2) to read as follows:
‘‘(2)(A)(i) The Secretary shall designate critical
habitat, and make revisions thereto, under sub-
section (a)(3) on the basis of the best scientific and
commercial data available and after taking into con-
sideration the economic impact, and any other rel-
evant impact, of specifying any particular area as
critical habitat.
‘‘(ii) Survival habitat designated for a species at
the time of listing the species under subsection (c)
shall be revised and finalized as critical habitat con-
currently with the adoption of the final recovery plan
under this section for the species.
‘‘(iii) The Secretary may exclude any area from
critical habitat if the Secretary determines that the
benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benefits of
specifying such area as part of the critical habitat,
unless the Secretary determines, based on the best
scientific and commercial data available, that the
failure to designate such area as critical habitat will
result in the extinction of the species concerned.
‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall designate survival
habitat of a species based only on the basis of the
best scientific and commercial data available and
after taking into consideration the economic impact,
and any other relevant impact, of specifying any
particular area as survival habitat.
‘‘(ii) The Secretary may exclude any area from
survival habitat if the Secretary determines that the
benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benefits of
specifying such area as part of the survival habitat,
unless the Secretary determines, based on the best
scientific and commercial data available, that the
failure to designate such area as critical habitat will
result in the extinction of the species concerned.’’.
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