Crowdog
05-07-2002, 08:31 PM
U.S. government sued over coast bird habitat
The federal government was sued Monday over its designation of 210 miles of Pacific coastline as critical habitat for the tiny endangered Western snowy plover.
Opponents worry the designation could restrict the use of public beaches in California, Oregon and Washington, most immediately the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area on California's central coast south of San Luis Obispo. The suit was filed by the Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation, which advocates individual rights and limited government.
The lawsuit alleges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to properly evaluate the economic impact of designating 28 areas covering 20,000 acres as critical habitat for the two-ounce shore bird.
Development and recreational use have devastated nesting sites for the white, gray and black bird during the last three decades, the service says.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/3213153.htm
The federal government was sued Monday over its designation of 210 miles of Pacific coastline as critical habitat for the tiny endangered Western snowy plover.
Opponents worry the designation could restrict the use of public beaches in California, Oregon and Washington, most immediately the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area on California's central coast south of San Luis Obispo. The suit was filed by the Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation, which advocates individual rights and limited government.
The lawsuit alleges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to properly evaluate the economic impact of designating 28 areas covering 20,000 acres as critical habitat for the two-ounce shore bird.
Development and recreational use have devastated nesting sites for the white, gray and black bird during the last three decades, the service says.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/3213153.htm