OILFIELD ENVIRONMENT
Living with Threatened and
Endangered Species
BY: PETER MCKONE
So what is a threatened or endangered species?
These are species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) or
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and considered rare
and/or imperiled. As a general rule, the USFWS manages land
and freshwaters species while the NMFS manages marine species. States have various rules and regulations as well that apply
to imperiled species. An endangered species is one that is in
danger of becoming extinct throughout all or a significant portion of its range, while a threatened species is one that is likely to
become endangered.
Once listed, a species is afforded protection to ensure every
effort is made to prevent it from becoming extinct. One cannot take a species without a permit from the appropriate federal
agency. What constitutes a “take” under the federal Endangered
Species Act? If one harasses, harms, pursues, hunts, shoots,
wounds, kills, captures, or collects a listed species or attempts
to engage in any of these actions, then the federal rules classify
those actions as a take. Permits are required for any take and
companies and individuals are subject to criminal and civil penalties if an unpermitted take has occurred.
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So, what is one to do when confronted with working in an
area with a threatened or endangered species? First, one
quick check is to see what species occur in the area in which
you are working. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
and the various USFWS offices in the state maintain a list of
species listed by county and most, if not all, of this information is on-line. Each species has some key habitat characteristics or habitat definition that one can use to narrow the
search. In some cases, the USFWS lists critical habitat for
specific listed species. Critical habitat consists of a specific
habitat type within a particular geographic area currently
occupied by a species. Habitat outside the currently occupied geographical area may also be considered critical
habitat if it is determined to be essential for conserving the
species.
The oil and gas industry in Texas has largely been spared
major development issues associated with threatened and
endangered species listings. Most listed species in Texas
are localized or in regions with minimal to no oil and gas
reserves. Lately, however, key parts of our state have seen