Critics: Protection of Preble's mouse could slow growth

Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, which lives along creeks in northern El Paso County, could get a new level of federal protection.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday it is proposing to nearly double the area in Colorado designated as critical habitat for the mouse by adding 18,462 acres, including 3,419 acres along Monument Creek and its tributaries in El Paso County.

The proposal has touched off a new fight over the controversial protection for the mouse, and its impact here could be significant, since the areas proposed for critical habitat are some of the fastest-growing segments of the county.

The proposal also marks the latest move in the back-and-forth over the mouse’s protection, going back to 2003, when critical habitat was designated that did not include much of the Front Range. In 2005, a Bush Administration official, Julie MacDonald, tried to have the mouse removed from federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, a move reversed in 2008. The latest announcement is a result of a  Fish and Wildlife Service review of MacDonald’s attempts to influence endangered species decisions.

The reclusive, nocturnal mouse lives only on the Front Range of Colorado and Wyoming. Its habitat has been devastated by development, and it has been listed as threatened since 1998. But it is nearly identical to a more common jumping mouse, and critics have argued the protection is not worth the expenses and headaches it brings.

Critical habitat, according to the agency’s Federal Register notice, is land that is “essential for the conservation of the species.” If the additional habitat is approved, land owners, developers and government agencies that want to do projects in the area would have to submit to federal review, if their project receives federal funding or requires a federal permit, as most do, and it disturbs ground within 361 to 459 feet of the waterways — depending on the size of the creek.

They would have to “implement reasonable and prudent alternatives to avoid destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat,” according to the Federal Register notice. The Fish and Wildlife Service is taking public comment on the proposal through December and could hold public hearings.

Developers and some local officials blasted the proposal.

“It can’t help but have a chilling effect (on development) if somebody doesn’t know what’s going to happen on his property. Life is tough enough now with the economy in such shambles,” said local developer Steve Schuck, who developed a housing project along Beaver Creek, one of the designated streams. The proposal wouldn’t affect his project because it is completed. Schuck said he spent more than $1 million building separate roads into cul-de-sacs to avoid disturbing mouse habitat.

“The science doesn’t support extending critical habitat,” said El Paso County Commissioner Wayne Williams, whose district includes northern El Paso County. “Frankly the science didn’t support listing the mouse at all as an endangered species.” He said the county will submit a letter protesting the proposal, which he said  “essentially confiscates peoples’ property without any compensation.”

The Denver-based Mountain States Legal Foundation, which has fought other protections for the mouse, said it will challenge the critical habitat designation. Wildlife conservation groups, meanwhile, cheered the proposal.

“These are essentially the last best places that we need to keep intact, if we’re serious about making sure this or that species doesn’t slip into extinction,” said Josh Pollock, conservation director for the Center for Native Ecosystems.

Comment on preble’s

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments through Dec. 7 on the proposed critical habitat for Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. Submit comments at www.regulations.gov or by mail to Public Comments Processing, Attn:  FWS-R6-ES-2008-0026; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.

Visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Web site on the mouse.