| |
Significant
revisions to Priority Habitat and Species List
Your review
is needed! Over
the past year, WDFW has been updating the agency’s Priority
Habitat and Species (PHS) List. The list that is now out for
review has gone through extensive revision, and various experts
have been involved in the development of the new draft. We
are now interested in hearing from you! >>> More
Information
|
The Priority Habitats
and Species (PHS) Program fulfills one of the most fundamental responsibilities
of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) -- to provide
comprehensive information on important fish, wildlife, and habitat resources
in Washington. Initiated in 1989, the PHS Program was identified as the
agency's highest priority. Today, the PHS Program serves as the backbone
of WDFW's proactive approach to the conservation of fish and wildlife.
PHS is the principal means
by which WDFW provides important fish, wildlife, and habitat information
to local governments, state and federal agencies, private landowners and
consultants, and tribal biologists for land use planning purposes. PHS
is the agency's primary means of transferring fish and wildlife information
from our resource experts to those who can protect habitat. PHS information
is used:
- to screen 12,000 - 15,000
Forest Practice Applications, 10,000 - 18,000 Hydraulic
Project Applications, and over 3,000 SEPA reviews annually;
- by a majority of cities
and counties to meet the requirements of the Growth
Management Act;
- for the development of Habitat
Conservation Plans on state, federal, and private lands;
- by state, federal, and tribal
governments for landscape-level planning and ecosystem management;
- for statewide oil spill
prevention planning and response.
PHS provides the information
necessary to incorporate the needs of fish and wildlife in land use planning.
The PHS program addresses three central questions:
- Which species and habitat
types are priorities for management and conservation?
- Where are these habitats
and species located?
- What should be done to protect
these resources when land use decisions are made?
To answer these essential
questions, the PHS Program:
- identifies habitats and
species determined to be priorities based on defensible criteria;
- maps the known locations
of priority habitats and species using GIS technology;
- provides information on
the conditions required to maintain healthy populations of priority
species
- and viable, functioning
priority habitats using best available science;
- provides consultation and
guidance on land use issues affecting priority habitats and species;
- distributes this information
and makes it easily accessible.
PHS also furnishes products
which enable the agency to provide competent and efficient customer service.
In this regard, PHS staff annually produce and distribute:
- Over 4,000 copies of the
Priority Habitats and Species List.
The PHS List identifies and defines which species and habitats are priorities,
and it outlines criteria used for choosing them.
- Over 3,500 copies of Management
Recommendations for Washington's Priority Habitats and Species.
These detailed documents identify the needs of fish and wildlife based
on the best available science. Guidelines for their incorporation in
management decisions are provided.
- Nearly 2,000 state-of-the-art
Geographic Information System (GIS) maps which display locations and
extent of priority species and habitats on 29 million acres in Washington
State.
|
