Does the Act require an economic analysis as part of designating critical habitat?
A. Yes. We must take into account the economic impact of specifying any particular area as critical habitat. We may exclude any area from critical habitat if we determine that the benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benefits of specifying the area as part of critical habitat. We cannot exclude areas from critical habitat if such exclusion would result in the extinction of the species. Q. Does this economic analysis have any effect on the decision to list a species? A. No. Under the Act, a decision to list a species is made solely on the basis of scientific data and analysis. Q. For how many species has the Service designated critical habitat? A. To date, the Service has designated critical habitat for 116 of the 1,206 species listed as threatened or endangered. Q. Why hasn’t the Service designated critical habitat for more species? A. After a Congressional moratorium on listing new species ended in 1996, the Service faced a huge backlog of proposed species listings. At that point,
