Habitat on the Edge

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. A look at the 20 largest plans, their location and species affected:

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, marbled murrelet, salmon, steelhead, trout.

2. Balcones Canyonlands, Travis County, Texas, 633,000 acres; golden-cheeked warbler, black-capped vireo, borianthos plant, cave bugs.

3. Riverside County, Calif., 540,000 acres; Stephens’ kangaroo rat.

4. Clark County, Nev., and Southern California, 525,000 acres; desert tortoise.

5. Simpson Timber Co., Northern California, 300,000 acres; northern spotted owl.

6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, North Carolina, working with U.S. Army Fort Bragg, six neighboring counties and private land owners, 300,000 acres; red-cockaded woodpecker.

7. Metropolitan Bakersfield, Calif., 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, Calif., 200,000 acres; California gnatcatcher, Southern arroyo toad, American peregrine falcon.

11. State of Massachusetts, coastal counties, 200 coastal miles; piping plover.

12. Plum Creek Timber 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, Calif., 70,000 acres, Coachella Valley fringe-toad lizard.

15. Gulf Coast Prairies Safe Harbor, 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, Calif., 31,360 acres; San Joaquin kit fox, blunk-nosed leopard lizard, Tipton kangaroo rat, Glant kangaroo rat.