Wildlife service to discuss Lana'i plan

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Staff Writer

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold two public informational meetings on Lana'i to answer questions on its proposed critical habitat designations for endangered plants before its formal public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 1.

The informational meetings are 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday at the Lana'i Senior Citizen Center, and 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Lana'i Public Library, where the public hearing will be held afterward.

The service has proposed designating 19,400 acres of the island as critical habitat for 32 species of plants. The designation means the service believes the plants need that much land to expand sufficiently to be removed from the federal endangered species list.

In a draft economic analysis that is part of the designation process, the service says most of the proposed habitat is in mountainous regions where there should be few economic impacts.

The designation means that no federal agency can spend money or take action on the land without first consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service about potential impacts on the endangered species. The critical habitat and economic impact reports can be viewed on the Web at pacificislands.fws.gov.