Safe Harbor: Incentives for Preserving Wildlife Habitats

Farmers, ranchers and other landowners who want to help preserve wildlife habitat but are concerned that they may be subject to restrictions on what they can do with their land if endangered species take up residence there can find relief in the Safe Harbor program. The Safe Harbor program was jointly conceived by the Environmental Defense Fund and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Through the Safe Harbor program, private landowners can enter into voluntary agreements to restore and maintain habitat. In return for agreeing to protect the habitat, the landowner is not subject to restrictions that could limit what activities can be carried out on the land if endangered species later occupy that habitat.

As explained by the Environmental Defense Fund, farmers, ranchers, and many landowners are naturally good stewards and often set aside parts of their land to protect a habitat for wildlife. But the federal Endangered Species Act and some state laws place restrictions on land that is the habitat of endangered species. Permits may be required to cut stands of trees, drain wetlands or turn prairie into cropland.

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, in return for actions that contribute to the recovery of listed species, landowners receive assurances that future restrictions on the use of the land will not occur without their consent. The central idea behind a Safe Harbor Agreement is that the actions taken by the landowner will provide a net conservation benefit. This includes maintaining, restoring, or enhancing existing habitats, reducing the fragmentation of habitat and increasing connectivity, stabilizing or increasing the numbers or distribution of species, creating buffer zones for protected areas, and providing opportunities to test and develop new habitat management techniques.

The assurances to the property owner that there will not be future restrictions on the use of the land are provided through an Enhancement of Survival Permit. The agreement could be with a state or federal agency. Safe Harbor Agreements are often with a single property owner, but landowners could also join in programmatic or umbrella agreements between multiple owners and a state, local or Tribal government or other entity.

The process for entering into a Safe Harbor Agreement is initiated by contacting the nearest U.S. Fish & Wildlife Ecological Services field office. A directory of these offices can be found under Regional Contacts on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, about four million acres across the U.S. are protecting habitats for 63 rare species through Safe Harbor Agreements with groups ranging from The Nature Conservancy to the U.S. Army. More information on examples of Safe Harbor Agreements as well as other conservation initiatives can be found in Working Together, Tools for Helping Imperiled Wildlife on Private Lands on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife website.

Sources:

Endangered Species Act of 1973, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Endangered Species Program, U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service

Protecting wildlife with the right incentives, Environmental Defense Fund

Regional Contacts, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Safe Harbor, Environmental Defense Fund

Safe Harbor Agreements - Frequently Asked Questions, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service