The service initially proposed 19,504 acres for critical habitat status, but after public hearings and field visits, the area was cut to 789 acres spread across six parcels, according to Fish & Wildlife Service spokeswoman Barbara Maxfield.

The most significant change from the proposed rule was the exclusion of a 14,482-acre unit. Maxwell said the federal agency and Castle & Cooke Resorts recently signed a memorandum of agreement whereby the company, which owns about 99 percent of Lana'i, will undertake voluntary conservation measures to protect the 28 plant species in the unit.

Anne Badgley, regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific region, said in a statement released yesterday that final habitat rule for Lana'i demonstrates the flexibility of the Endangered Species Act.

"The law requires us to consider economic and other impacts of designating a particular area as critical habitat. In this case, we are dealing with only one landowner, and we believe that the plants will benefit far more from voluntary conservation activities by the private landowner than from designating critical habitat," Badgley said.

"Also, little federal activity is expected to occur on Lana'i, because almost the entire island is privately owned. So the benefits of critical habitat, which primarily result from consultation on federally permitted or funded projects, are minimal."

Critical habitat refers to specific geographic areas that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species, and that may require special management considerations. These areas do not have to be occupied by the species at the time of designation. A designation does not set up a preserve or refuge and applies only to situations where federal financing or a federal permit is involved.

The designated critical habitat on Lana'i consists of 789 acres in six units. One unit of 373 acres on the northwestern part of the island was identified as critical habitat for Tetramolopium remyi, a member of the aster family. Although the species does not exist in the area, it did in the recent past and it is likely that seeds still exist in the ground, Maxfield said.

Three other smaller units totaling 397 acres are designated for the ko'oko'olau (Bidens micrantha ssp. kalealaha), also a member of the aster family; along ridgeline slopes in eastern Lana'i, including along Kapohaku, Waiapa'a, Waiakaiole and Paliakoae gulches. The two remaining units, totalling 19 acres, are for po'e (Portulaca sclerocarpa), an herb in the same family as 'ihi and moss roses. One unit is on Po'opo'o Islet off Lana'i's southern shore; the other includes the adjacent coastal cliffs.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is working under a 1998 federal court order to designate critical habitats for endangered and threatened Native Hawaiian plants. The order was issued after conservation groups argued the agency was improperly naming endangered species without establishing critical habitat for them.

The final critical habitat rule for Lana'i was published yesterday in the Federal Register and will go into effect in 30 days. Copies may be obtained by calling the Fish and Wildlife Service's Honolulu office at (808) 541 3441.