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entitled 'Endangered Species Act: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Has Incomplete Information about Effects on Listed Species from Section 
7 Consultations' which was released on May 21, 2009. 

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Report to Congressional Requesters: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO: 

May 2009: 

Endangered Species Act: 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Has Incomplete Information about 
Effects on Listed Species from Section 7 Consultations: 

GAO-09-550: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-09-550, a report to congressional requesters. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

The western United States, including vast stretches of federal land, is 
home to more than a third of the 1,317 species listed under the 
Endangered Species Act. Under section 7 of the act, federal agencies 
must ensure that any actions they authorize, fund, or carry out, 
whether on federal or private lands, do not jeopardize listed species. 
To fulfill this responsibility, the agencies often must formally 
consult with the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (Service), which issues a biological opinion assessing whether 
an action is likely to “take,” or harm, a listed species. The Service 
may require the agencies to monitor and report on the action’s effects 
on listed species, including take. 

For listed species subject to formal consultations in 11 western 
states, GAO was asked to examine the extent to which the Service tracks 
(1) required monitoring reports and (2) cumulative take. GAO reviewed 
the act, regulations, and policy and interviewed Service staff in all 
western states, reviewed 128 consultation files in five offices, and 
analyzed 23 listed species in detail. 

What GAO Found: 

The Service lacks a systematic means of tracking the monitoring reports 
it requires in biological opinions and does not know the extent of 
compliance with these requirements. To track monitoring reports, the 
Service relies on its biologists to keep abreast of biological opinions 
and follow up on required monitoring reports. At the field offices GAO 
visited, Service biologists could not account for all required 
monitoring reports in 40 of 64 consultation files (63 percent) 
requiring such reports. Service staff said they face a demanding 
workload, and responding to new consultation requests often takes 
higher priority than following up on monitoring reports. This reliance 
on individual biologists leaves the Service with incomplete 
institutional knowledge of the extent of action agencies’ compliance 
with reporting requirements, as well as with incomplete information on 
species’ responses to the actions under consultation. 

The Service also lacks a systematic method for tracking cumulative take 
of most listed species. Out of 497 listed species in the western 
states, GAO identified 3 species for which the Service has a formal, 
Web-based database for tracking cumulative take: northern spotted owl, 
marbled murrelet, and bull trout. GAO identified seven more species for 
which Service biologists developed informal means to track cumulative 
take. While Service staff generally agreed that it is important to 
track cumulative take of all species, they cautioned that one size does 
not fit all in terms of tracking take. For some species, Service 
biologists said, systematically tracking cumulative take has not been 
critical, either because very few consultations have occurred with 
little to no take anticipated, or the Service has good information on 
the species’ status through other sources. For other species, however, 
such as those that are frequently consulted on and wide-ranging, 
Service biologists believed that having a more systematic take-tracking 
method was warranted. The lack of systematic means to track cumulative 
take for some species, and the resulting gap in knowledge of the 
species’ status, exposes the Service to vulnerabilities, including the 
threat of litigation and unobserved declines in species. The Service 
has been developing various databases for more systematically tracking 
cumulative take, though their development largely depends on resources 
not yet available in the Service’s budget. 

Figure: Bull Trout: 

[Refer to PDF for image: photograph] 

Listed as threatened, the bull trout lives in the cold streams, creeks, 
and rivers of the western United States. The Service is developing a 
database to track cumulative take of bull trout throughout its range, 
in part in response to litigation. 

Source: Copyright, Joseph R. Tomelleri. 

[End of figure] 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO recommends that the Service develop a cost-effective method for 
tracking required monitoring reports systematically and continue to 
develop existing databases to enable tracking of cumulative take. The 
Department of the Interior concurred with GAO’s findings and 
recommendations. 

View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-550] or key 
components. For more information, contact Robin M. Nazzaro at (202) 512-
3841 or nazzaror@gao.gov. 

[End of section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Background: 

The Service Lacks Complete Monitoring Information from Formal 
Consultations: 

The Service Lacks a Systematic Method for Tracking Cumulative Take of 
Most Species but Has Plans to Expand Its Capabilities: 

Conclusions: 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

Agency Comments: 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of the Interior: 

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

Tables: 

Table 1: Federal Agencies Frequently Consulting with the Service in the 
Western States, Fiscal Year 2008: 

Table 2: Species with Informal Means of Tracking Cumulative Take: 

Table 3: Listed Species Selected for Review: 

Figures: 

Figure 1: Number of Listed Species Found in Each of the 11 Western 
States, as of May 2009: 

Figure 2: Formal Consultation Process: 

Figure 3: Consultation Files in Which All, Some, or No Required 
Monitoring Reports Were Available: 

Abbreviations: 

TAILS: Tracking and Integrated Logging System: 

[End of section] 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

May 21, 2009: 

The Honorable Nick J. Rahall, II: 
Chairman: 
Committee on Natural Resources: 
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable Peter A. DeFazio: 
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable Jay Inslee: 
House of Representatives: 

Vast stretches of the millions of acres of federally managed lands in 
the western United States are home to more than a third of the 1,317 
species listed as threatened or endangered under the nation's 
Endangered Species Act.[Footnote 1] Under section 7 of the act, federal 
agencies must ensure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry 
out--such as building highways, harvesting timber, or drilling for oil 
and gas--is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a 
species protected under the act. To fulfill this responsibility, the 
agencies must, under some circumstances, formally consult with the 
Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) 
when their actions may affect listed species or habitat identified as 
critical to the species' survival.[Footnote 2] Formal consultations 
generally result in the issuance of biological opinions by the Service. 
The biological opinion contains a detailed discussion of the effects of 
the action on listed species or critical habitat, and the Service's 
opinion on whether the agency action is likely to jeopardize the 
continued existence of the species. The opinion also determines the 
amount or extent of anticipated "incidental take"--that is, take (harm) 
resulting from but not the purpose of the agency action--in an 
incidental take statement. 

Biological opinions also often contain provisions directing an agency 
to monitor and report on the effects of its action on listed species. 
For example, the Service may ask an agency to monitor the number of 
bird nests affected during forest thinning or the densities of fish in 
a river after levee construction. This monitoring information enables 
the Service to assess an action's effect, including take, on listed 
species, which the Service can then roll up for a picture of the 
cumulative effects that federally authorized actions are having on 
listed species. Given the many listed species, the extent of federally 
managed lands, and increasing demands on the nation's lands with new 
federal spending on infrastructure and energy projects, particularly 
across the western United States, the Service's need to assess the 
impacts of federally authorized actions on listed species is of growing 
importance. 

In this context, for the 11 contiguous western states, and listed 
species subject to formal consultations, we were asked to report on (1) 
the extent to which the Service tracks required monitoring reports and 
(2) the extent to which the Service tracks cumulative take. 

To determine the extent to which the Service tracks required monitoring 
reports and the extent to which the Service tracks the cumulative take 
of species, we reviewed the Endangered Species Act and relevant 
regulations, Service policy, and litigation. We interviewed Service 
managers, biologists, and other staff from headquarters, four regional 
offices, and all 18 field offices in the 11 western states (Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, 
Washington, and Wyoming). To assess the Service's tracking of required 
monitoring reports, we reviewed 128 randomly selected formal 
consultation files out of the 831 formal consultations completed from 
fiscal years 2003 through 2006 at 5 field offices: Arcata, California; 
Carlsbad, California; Lacey, Washington; Lakewood, Colorado; and 
Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to reviewing these files, we also 
interviewed Service staff knowledgeable about the formal consultations. 
To determine the extent to which the Service tracks the cumulative take 
of species, we judgmentally selected a sample of 23 listed species that 
occur in the 11 western states. These species included all those 
identified by Service staff as having a means for tracking cumulative 
take, plus other species, to capture a range of variability of species 
characteristics. For each selected species, we reviewed documentation 
about the species and relevant consultation-related actions and 
interviewed Service staff knowledgeable about both. Additionally, we 
reviewed documentation and asked Service staff to explain their efforts 
to develop various consultation-related databases. 

We conducted this performance audit from July 2008 through May 2009, in 
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those 
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 
the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 
conclusions based on our audit objectives. Appendix I describes our 
scope and methodology in greater detail. 

Background: 

The purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to conserve threatened and 
endangered species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.[Footnote 
3] The act includes provisions for listing species that need 
protection, designating habitat deemed critical to a listed species' 
survival, developing recovery plans, and protecting listed species 
against certain harms caused by federal and nonfederal actions. As of 
May 2009, a total of 1,317 species were listed in the United States, 
497 in the 11 western states (see figure 1).[Footnote 4] 

Figure 1: Number of Listed Species Found in Each of the 11 Western 
States, as of May 2009: 

[Refer to PDF for image: map of the Western United States] 

Arizona: 50; 
California: 303; 
Colorado: 29; 
Idaho: 19; 
Montana: 13; 
Nevada: 32; 
New Mexico: 42; 
Oregon: 51; 
Utah: 40; 
Washington: 39; 
Wyoming: 10. 

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Map Resources (map). 

Note: The number for each state represents the total number of species 
both federally listed and found in the state (some listed species may 
be under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service). 
Some listed species are found in more than 1 state; therefore, the sum 
of numbers on the map exceeds the total number of listed species in the 
11 states. 

[End of figure] 

Once a species is listed, the act requires that the Service designate 
critical habitats, geographical areas that are essential for the 
conservation of listed species; develop and implement a recovery plan 
containing objective, measurable criteria that, when met, would result 
in a determination that the species be removed from the list; and 
review the status of listed species every 5 years.[Footnote 5] The act 
also requires landowners who are engaged in nonfederal activities that 
are likely to cause the incidental take of a listed animal species to 
develop a habitat conservation plan and obtain a permit from the 
Service allowing for incidental take. 

Section 7 of the act further directs federal agencies to consult with 
the Service when an action they authorize, fund, or carry out could 
affect listed species.[Footnote 6] Section 7 applies not only to 
actions taken on federal lands, but also to other federal actions that 
may affect listed species, such as federal permits or licenses to 
nonfederal entities to conduct activities on nonfederal lands. Section 
7 also applies if nonfederal entities receive federal funding to carry 
out actions that may affect listed species. Before authorizing, 
funding, or carrying out an action, federal agencies (called action 
agencies) must determine whether the action may affect a listed species 
or its critical habitat.[Footnote 7] If an agency determines a proposed 
action may affect a listed species, formal consultation is required 
unless the agency finds, with the Service's written concurrence, that 
the proposed action is not likely to adversely affect the species. To 
initiate a formal consultation, an action agency submits to the Service 
a written request that includes the action agency's biological 
assessment or similar document, which describes the proposed action and 
its likely effects on the listed species and its habitat (see figure 
2). The consultation usually ends with the issuing of a biological 
opinion by the Service, which generally must be done within time frames 
specified in the act and in the implementing regulations.[Footnote 8] 

Figure 2: Formal Consultation Process: 

[Refer to PDF for image: process illustration] 

1) Action agency determines that a proposed action is likely to 
adversely affect a listed species or its designated critical habitat. 

2) Action agency requests initiation of formal consultation by 
submitting a biological assessment. 

3) Information is complete. 
If no, proceed to step 4; 
If yes, skip to step 6. 

4) Service notifies action agency of missing data. 

5) Data are received and complete. 
Skip to step 7. 

6) Consultation clock starts from date of receipt. 

7) Service formulates its biological opinion in conjunction with the
action agency. 

8) Action agency reviews draft biological opinion. 

9) Service issues final biological opinion, ending formal consultation. 

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[End of figure] 

The Service's biological opinion--which is to be based on "the best 
scientific and commercial data available"--constitutes the Service's 
determination of whether the effects of an action, when viewed against 
the status of the species, are likely to jeopardize the species' 
continued existence.[Footnote 9] In its biological opinion, the Service 
evaluates a species' current status; analyzes the species' 
"environmental baseline" (essentially a snapshot of a species' status 
in the action area at a specified moment in time);[Footnote 10] and the 
effects of the action on the species, including the amount or extent of 
incidental take that Service biologists anticipate will result from the 
action. "Take" is defined as to harass, harm, pursue, shoot, wound, 
kill, trap, hunt, capture, or collect or to attempt any such conduct. 
Without an appropriate exemption, the act prohibits the taking of 
animal species listed under the act.[Footnote 11] Through an 
"incidental take statement" in the biological opinion, the Service 
determines the amount or extent of anticipated incidental take; the 
Service construes the term "take" broadly to mean harm to a species or 
its habitat.[Footnote 12] In the statement, take is generally expressed 
as the number of individuals of a species likely to be harmed or 
killed, or the extent of habitat likely to be destroyed or disturbed. 
[Footnote 13] In addition, the statement also specifies "reasonable and 
prudent measures," that is, protective measures intended to minimize 
the impact to the species of any take that will occur.[Footnote 14] For 
example, an action may be restricted to a time of year when the species 
is not present; buffer zones might be required around known nesting 
areas so as to leave those areas undisturbed; or species might have to 
be trapped and moved elsewhere before an action can proceed. 

Biological opinions also contain provisions for the action agency to 
monitor the actions' effects on listed species and to reenter into, or 
reinitiate, consultation if the level of anticipated take is exceeded. 
[Footnote 15] On the basis of their professional knowledge and 
judgment, Service biologists also often include specific provisions for 
the action agency to monitor and report on the actions' effects on 
listed species. These monitoring reports may contain information on (1) 
adverse effects resulting from an approved action, (2) actual take in 
comparison with anticipated take levels documented in biological 
opinions, (3) whether the anticipated take level has been exceeded, and 
(4) the effectiveness of protective measures designed to minimize the 
impact of take. These reports allow the Service to verify its 
assessment of an action's effects or to assess the effectiveness of 
protective measures so as to refine them in future consultations on 
similar actions. Required monitoring reports may also provide the 
Service with information about the health of a listed species in a 
particular area, which, along with various other monitoring and 
information sources the Service has available (such as academic 
research or monitoring activities carried out through a recovery 
program), can improve the Service's knowledge of the species' status. 
From the information provided in biological opinions and associated 
monitoring reports, the Service can roll up the overall, or cumulative, 
take of a species across its range and over time, thereby assessing the 
collective effect that federally authorized actions are having on 
listed species. 

The consultation process allows some actions to take place that may 
involve the incidental take of listed species and helps action agencies 
avoid adversely affecting listed species. The Service views its 
consultation process as a collaboration with action agencies and, 
throughout the development of its biological opinions, seeks to assist 
action agencies in designing and implementing their actions so as to 
minimize the adverse effect on listed species. The majority of formal 
consultations in the western states take place with the federal 
agencies in table 1.[Footnote 16] In some cases, the Service itself may 
be the action agency--for example, if it carries out an action on 
Service land, such as a wildlife refuge restoration project. Since the 
Service has the same consultation requirements for its actions as any 
other federal agency, when those situations arise, the Service conducts 
an "intra-Service" consultation. 

Table 1: Federal Agencies Frequently Consulting with the Service in the 
Western States, Fiscal Year 2008: 

Action agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; 
Action agency description and types of actions consulted on: Supports 
navigation of the nation's waterways by maintaining and improving 
channels. Also maintains control of dams and operates hydroelectric 
facilities. In addition, issues permits under section 404 of the Clean 
Water Act for the discharge of dredge or fill material into U.S. waters 
and, under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, for the 
construction, excavation, or deposition of materials in, over, or under 
any navigable U.S. water; 
Number of formal consultations completed and ongoing: 278; 
Percentage: 33. 

Action agency: U.S. Forest Service; 
Action agency description and types of actions consulted on: Manages 
more than 140 million acres of national forests in the western states 
and manages and issues permits for activities such as timber 
harvesting; recreation; livestock grazing; mining; environmental 
restoration; and rights-of-way for road construction, ski areas, and 
access to private land; 
Number of formal consultations completed and ongoing: 93; 
Percentage: 11. 

Action agency: Bureau of Land Management; 
Action agency description and types of actions consulted on: Manages 
more than 170 million acres of federal land in the western states and 
manages and issues permits for activities such as livestock grazing, 
recreation, mining, timber harvesting, and oil and gas development; 
Number of formal consultations completed and ongoing: 90; 
Percentage: 11. 

Action agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 
Action agency description and types of actions consulted on: Conducts 
intra-Service consultations on actions such as wildlife refuge 
operation and maintenance and wetland restoration efforts; 
Number of formal consultations completed and ongoing: 57; 
Percentage: 7. 

Action agency: Federal Highway Administration; 
Action agency description and types of actions consulted on: Assists 
state departments of transportation in the construction and maintenance 
of transportation facilities through federally funded highway projects; 
Number of formal consultations completed and ongoing: 38; 
Percentage: 5. 

Action agency: Bureau of Reclamation; 
Action agency description and types of actions consulted on: Delivers 
water and hydroelectric power through the hundreds of dams and 
reservoirs it has built throughout the western states, which supply 
water for irrigation and municipal and industrial use and water for 
hydropower, flood control, recreation, water conservation, land 
resource management, and fish and wildlife protection; 
Number of formal consultations completed and ongoing: 22; 
Percentage: 3. 

Action agency: Other; 
Action agency description and types of actions consulted on: Many other 
federal agencies (e.g., Department of Energy, Department of Homeland 
Security, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission) and actions (e.g., energy transmission projects, border 
patrol activities, regulation of environmental contaminants, 
hydroelectric power licensing); 
Number of formal consultations completed and ongoing: 254; 
Percentage: 31. 

Action agency: Total; 
Number of formal consultations completed and ongoing: 832; 
Percentage: 100. 

Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data and GAO analysis. 

Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 percent because of rounding. 

[End of table] 

The Service Lacks Complete Monitoring Information from Formal 
Consultations: 

The Service lacks a systematic means of tracking the monitoring reports 
it requires in biological opinions for consulted-on species and does 
not know the extent of compliance with these requirements. Rather, the 
Service relies on its biologists to keep abreast of the pertinent 
biological opinions and to follow up on any associated required 
monitoring reports. This reliance on individual biologists, rather than 
on a systematic process, leaves the Service with incomplete knowledge 
of the extent of action agencies' compliance with reporting 
requirements, as well as with incomplete information on species' 
responses to the actions under consultation. 

The extent to which the Service includes monitoring and reporting 
requirements in its biological opinions varies considerably. In all 
biological opinions, the Service requires that action agencies monitor 
the effects of their actions to determine if consultation must be 
reinitiated; the extent to which Service biologists include further 
provisions for additional monitoring and reporting varies. Service 
staff explained that the reporting provisions they include in their 
biological opinions are project specific and largely tailored to the 
complexity of a given action, including size, scope, length of time, 
and potential impact on listed species. Thus, in a biological opinion, 
the Service may ask an action agency to submit monitoring reports on a 
one-time basis; on a regular, reoccurring basis; or not at all. For 
example, after completion of a single action--such as building a bridge 
or widening a highway--the Service may require the action agency to 
provide a report to document the action's completion and the actual 
take. If, on the other hand, multiple actions are involved, a single 
action will cover an extended period, or an action's effects are not 
yet well understood or could be significant over the long term--such as 
multiple vegetation management actions across one forest, continuing 
operation of a major dam, or new alternative energy development--the 
Service may ask for annual, or even monthly, reports. In contrast, in 
some biological opinions, the Service may not require monitoring 
reports. In general, Service staff explained, they may not require 
monitoring reports in their biological opinions when they expect an 
action's effects on a listed species to be minor or when the action is 
routine and its effects relatively well understood. Similarly, a few 
Service staff said, when they want feedback on the effectiveness of 
protective measures specified in a biological opinion, they may require 
monitoring reports on those measures. On the other hand, when such 
protective measures are standard best practices, monitoring reports on 
their effectiveness may not be necessary. 

To track required monitoring reports, each of the Service's field 
offices relies on its biologists--generally the author of a biological 
opinion or another designated biologist--to keep informed of the 
monitoring and reporting requirements contained in the biological 
opinions for which they are responsible. Field office managers 
explained that each biologist is responsible for a certain set of 
biological opinions, and as a part of that responsibility, he or she is 
also responsible for tracking any associated required monitoring 
reports.[Footnote 17] Thus, the extent to which reports are tracked 
varies by biologist. At the field offices we visited, Service 
biologists could not fully account for required monitoring reports in 
40 of the 64 consultation files (63 percent) we reviewed that had 
reporting requirements with reports due (see figure 3).[Footnote 18] 

Figure 3: Consultation Files in Which All, Some, or No Required 
Monitoring Reports Were Available: 

[Refer to PDF for image: pie-chart] 

All required reports available: 38% (24); 
Some required reports available: 25% (16); 
No required reports available: 38% (24). 

Source: GAO analysis. 

Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 percent because of rounding. These 
data are based on the 64 consultation files we reviewed that contained 
reporting requirements with reports due at the five field offices we 
visited. 

[End of figure] 

In some cases, where monitoring reports were not available, action 
agencies had failed to comply with their reporting requirements; 
Service biologists suggested that such failures to comply were not 
uncommon. In some of these cases, Service biologists followed up with 
the action agencies to request overdue reports. In other cases, 
however, Service biologists could not confirm whether the action agency 
had submitted required reports or whether the action had in fact been 
completed. 

Overall, Service managers and biologists from headquarters, the 
regions, and field offices said that tracking monitoring reports is not 
a high priority for several reasons. First, they said, they face a 
demanding workload, and responding to requests for consultations often 
takes a higher priority than following up on monitoring reports, 
especially in light of the statutorily defined time frames for issuing 
biological opinions. In addition, Service staff said, they put a high 
priority on consulting informally, so they can help agencies design 
actions that will have little or no effect on listed species. Informal 
consultation can avert the need for formal consultation or, when formal 
consultation is necessary, help the action agency design projects that 
will minimize adverse effects on listed species. Service staff 
explained that from a conservation standpoint, they believed the 
Service could gain more by spending its limited resources on 
collaborating with action agencies up front than by following up on 
completed actions. In addition, Service staff at some offices said they 
have had high staff turnover, which, combined with a backlog of 
consultations, contributed to the failure to diligently track 
monitoring reports. When new biologists arrive at the Service, or 
successor biologists assume new responsibilities, they may not have 
time to go through already-issued biological opinions to see what 
reports are due because they must focus their efforts on completing 
pending consultations on time. Some Service biologists said that to 
deal effectively with demanding workloads and often-competing 
priorities, they take a risk-management approach in deciding which 
monitoring reports to track, following up on actions they believe are 
likely to have greater impacts on listed species than other actions. 

Second, Service staff in many offices observed, they may occasionally 
use informal means to collect information similar to what a monitoring 
report would provide. Some Service biologists said that through routine 
telephone and e-mail conversations with action agency officials, for 
example, they may learn whether an action, and its effects on listed 
species, went as expected or whether protective measures to minimize 
the impact of take were effective. Similarly, they may receive 
information through regular quarterly or annual meetings with the 
action agencies. In a few instances, Service biologists said, they may 
visit sites to observe an agency action in progress. Service biologists 
pointed out that these means may provide them with more timely 
information than monitoring reports because reports are generally 
received by the Service after agency actions are completed, whereas 
informal communication often happens while the action is going on. Such 
informal communication, however, usually takes place only when Service 
staff have working relationships with action agency officials. Service 
biologists said such relationships can develop when they repeatedly 
work with the same officials within an action agency. But the Service 
may also work with an action agency only in isolated instances, and in 
those situations, informal communications conveying information similar 
to what might be included in a monitoring report would be more 
unlikely. 

Third, some Service staff said they may not give high priority to 
tracking monitoring reports because tracking reports is not an agency 
performance measure. To measure its performance in the consultation 
arena, the Service tracks the number and types of consultations 
completed on time by field offices. Several Service staff told us that 
as a result, they tend to emphasize completing biological opinions over 
tracking monitoring reports, even though following up on monitoring 
reports may also be important. Finally, Service managers noted that 
tracking monitoring reports may not be a high priority because they do 
not believe it is their job to "police" the action agencies but, 
rather, to advise them. Once a biological opinion has been issued, they 
believe their responsibilities have been fulfilled and that it is the 
action agencies' responsibility to comply with all the requirements in 
the biological opinion.[Footnote 19] 

We found that the Service's reliance on its biologists to track 
monitoring reports exposes the agency to vulnerabilities. In 
particular, without a systematic means of tracking monitoring reports, 
the Service does not know the extent of compliance with its monitoring 
report requirements. While the Service's approach may be sufficient 
when the responsible biologist has the knowledge and ability to track 
all required reports, it may prove insufficient if the responsible 
biologist departs and does not leave behind a clear record. In that 
event, the Service may lose that biologist's knowledge about what 
reporting requirements may be due and when, or the Service may also 
lose information the biologist learned from the action agency through e-
mail, phone, or in-person communications if that information is not 
clearly documented. We identified several instances where the biologist 
who had drafted the biological opinion, or was otherwise most familiar 
with the action, had left the Service, and the successor biologist had 
limited knowledge about the action or any required monitoring reports. 

Additionally, in the absence of monitoring reports, the Service may be 
unable to assess the effects agency actions are having on listed 
species or whether the level of anticipated take has been exceeded. For 
example, in one case, the Service discovered that an action agency had 
not submitted required monitoring reports for over 10 years. The 
biological opinion, issued in 1992, required annual reports on the 
effects of livestock grazing on an endangered plant species in the 
action area. In 1994, the Service reminded the action agency of its 
reporting requirements. Nevertheless, the action agency failed to 
consistently submit the required reports; grazing continued; and by 
2007, when the action agency submitted a report, it reported that the 
population, which had once numbered more than 1,400, was not found at 
all. By not following up more diligently on the annual reports, the 
Service lacked critical information that might have helped mitigate or 
avert the ultimate loss of the endangered plant population. Moreover, 
without such information, the Service could not recommend additional 
protective measures for similar actions in the future to ensure that 
listed species would not be further harmed. 

Conversely, without monitoring reports, the Service may overestimate 
the effects of actions on listed species. Several Service staff said 
that in the absence of monitoring reports or other information on 
actual take resulting from an agency action, they assume that what was 
anticipated in the biological opinion in fact occurred. Others pointed 
out, however, that when consulting, action agencies may overestimate 
the level of activity to be carried out to ensure that all their 
possible actions, and any incidental take occurring as a result, are 
approved by the Service. It is not uncommon for some of the approved 
actions to be carried out only in part. For example, in consulting with 
the Service, an action agency estimated it would maintain an average of 
65 miles of recreational trails per year. In the first year, however, 
the agency completed maintenance on only 33 miles, approximately half 
the estimated average authorized in the biological opinion. Thus, if 
the Service relied on anticipated take information for this action, it 
could have overestimated the action's effect on listed species. 

Furthermore, in the absence of monitoring information, the Service may 
not know the effectiveness of the protective measures it requires to 
minimize the impact of take on listed species, which could result in 
requiring measures that are either overly restrictive or insufficiently 
protective. For instance, to minimize the impact of take, one 
biological opinion required an action agency to dig up and relocate all 
burrows of a listed species located within a half-mile radius of the 
action area before carrying out its action. At the time, little was 
known about the effects of ground disturbance on the species. Through 
information gleaned in part from monitoring, the Service learned that a 
shorter radius would minimize the impact of take effectively, and as a 
result, the Service reduced the radius in subsequent biological 
opinions. Had monitoring information not been provided, however, the 
Service may have continued to require the more restrictive measure in 
its biological opinions. In another instance, the Service required an 
action agency to construct fencing around an action area to keep out a 
listed species. A Service manager told us, however, that the measure 
was probably ineffective because, she believed, the species was able to 
climb over the fence. She suggested that monitoring reports would have 
demonstrated the ineffectiveness of this measure, which would have then 
prompted the Service to remove or alter the fencing requirement and 
identify better protective measures in future biological opinions. 

The Service Lacks a Systematic Method for Tracking Cumulative Take of 
Most Species but Has Plans to Expand Its Capabilities: 

As with monitoring reports, the Service lacks a systematic method of 
tracking cumulative take for most species, although it is currently 
expanding its efforts by developing various databases. 

With Few Exceptions, the Service Has No Systematic Method for Tracking 
Cumulative Take of Species: 

The Service's assessment of take, for a single consulted-on action and 
for multiple actions collectively, provides it with important 
information on the impacts that its formal consultations are having on 
listed species. The Service commonly measures take by estimating the 
number of individuals of species likely to be killed or injured or the 
extent (typically in acres) of habitat that will be temporarily or 
permanently lost or degraded as a result of an agency action. The 
Service's estimate of anticipated take is, in essence, its assessment 
of an action's effects on a listed species. By synthesizing take 
information from biological opinions, monitoring reports, and other 
information, the Service can obtain a picture of the cumulative effects 
that consulted-on actions are having on listed species through time and 
across the species' range. Tracking cumulative take thus enables the 
Service to strengthen its understanding of a species' status and to 
factor that knowledge into future consultations. 

Service staff cautioned, however, that measuring cumulative take needs 
to account for real variability among species, habitats, and actions on 
the ground. When synthesizing take information, one cannot simply 
assume that anticipated take, as estimated in a biological opinion, 
equals actual take after an agency action is completed. Service staff 
explained that if they assume that all anticipated take actually 
occurs--as some have said they do in the absence of monitoring reports 
or other information to provide a more accurate picture--then they may 
in fact be overestimating the actions' cumulative effects on listed 
species. It is not uncommon, for example, that some approved actions 
are postponed indefinitely or even canceled. Over a 5-year period in 
one forest, for example, the Service issued biological opinions for 
four timber sales, two of which were later canceled. If the Service had 
assumed that all four timber sales had taken place, it would have 
overestimated the cumulative effects on the listed species inhabiting 
that forest. Similarly, Service staff said that when rolling up 
cumulative take, it is important not to double-count the effects of 
temporary actions in the same action area. In addition, Service staff 
explained, a species' characteristics--such as life span, reproductive 
rate, and population fluctuations--and the interaction of the species 
with its habitat can affect the degree to which take can be 
meaningfully synthesized. For example, for plants or other species that 
do not move from a particular area, estimated numbers of individuals of 
species that will be killed or injured or the number of habitat acres 
lost serve as a reasonable measure for take, and these numbers can 
easily be added up to give a cumulative total over time and across 
geographic areas. In contrast, the populations of many listed fish 
species fluctuate widely and often, and their reproductive rates are 
high, so information on the numbers of individuals of a species killed 
or injured may not necessarily be meaningful to add over time. For such 
fish species, an often-used measure for take is number of stream miles 
affected by an action. But in any given stream, the effects on the fish 
and their habitat may be temporary, or long-term effects may be poorly 
understood. Moreover, the effects on the same listed species inhabiting 
one stream may not be directly comparable with effects on that same 
species in a different stream. Consequently, simply adding affected 
stream miles across the two streams may not be a meaningful synthesis 
of take for the species. With such factors in play, Service staff 
explained, it may be difficult to identify take measures that can be 
reasonably summed over time. 

To date, partly because of a demanding workload and competing 
priorities, the Service has not developed a systematic method for 
tracking cumulative take of most listed species. Although Service 
managers at headquarters, the regions, and field offices generally 
expect their biologists to track cumulative take for all listed 
species, they do not dictate how to do so, and the method used 
therefore varies. For most species, it is up to individual Service 
biologists to maintain and track take information. We found that out of 
the 497 species listed in the western states, a formal system for 
tracking cumulative take exists for only 3 species. These are Web-based 
databases that allow all Service biologists consulting on the species, 
from multiple Service offices, to enter anticipated take information 
from each biological opinion. This information can then be rolled up 
for a total estimate of anticipated take. The three formal take- 
tracking systems include the following: 

* First, in 2002, the Service developed a take-tracking database (the 
Northwest Forest Plan and Section 7 Consultation Effects Tracker) for 
the entire range of the threatened northern spotted owl, a small brown 
owl that inhabits old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. 
According to Service staff, the database was developed in response to 
litigation, which challenged, in part, how the Service developed 
environmental baseline information in various biological 
opinions.[Footnote 20] The database was designed to track the effects 
of actions occurring on federal land--largely actions occurring in 
federally managed forests--on the owl and its habitat. Service 
biologists enter anticipated take information--measured in various 
forms, including acres of nesting or foraging habitat permanently 
removed or degraded--from each biological opinion into the database. 
Biologists can also enter actual take information once an action is 
completed, if that information is available. With the take information 
entered, the database can generate reports of cumulative take for the 
owl across its range or for smaller geographic units. 

* Second, within the database developed for the northern spotted owl, 
the Service developed the capability to also track cumulative take for 
the marbled murrelet (see sidebar). Service biologists explained that 
it was possible to develop a module for the murrelet within the owl 
database because the murrelet and owl share similar nesting habitats, 
and the Service measures take in a similar manner for the two species. 
Anticipated take information is entered identically for both species, 
and, as for the owl, actual take information can be updated when it is 
available. The cumulative take reports that can be generated for the 
murrelet are not as detailed as they are for the owl, however, and do 
not include the southernmost portion of the murrelet's range. 

[Sidebar: Figure: Photograph of a Marbled Murrelet: 

[Refer to PDF for image] 

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[End of figure] 

Listed in 1992 as threatened, the marbled murrelet is an elusive small 
seabird that winters and feeds in nearshore marine waters from central 
California to Alaska. It took a century, and a $100 reward, before the
species’ nesting habitat was discovered—high atop trees of coastal
old-growth forests. Parent murrelets take turns feeding their single 
chick for a month or more. Then, weighing just over 5 ounces, the
young bird flies from its nest at dusk—straight to the ocean, it is 
thought—and is on its own. Like other members of the alcid family—whose 
pedigree includes the extinct flightless great auk, or “penguin” of the
Northern Hemisphere—murrelets feed on small fish and crustaceans by “
flying” underwater, sometimes to a depth of 164 feet. The species is 
threatened by habitat loss due to logging and coastal development, as 
well as by fishing practices, oil spills, and threats to its prey. 

[End of sidebar] 

* Third, in 2004, the Service began developing a take-tracking system 
for the full range of the bull trout, a threatened fish that inhabits 
cold streams, creeks, and rivers of the western states. According to 
Service staff, the development of this Consulted-on Effects Database 
was also prompted by litigation.[Footnote 21] The database, in its 
final stages of development, was designed to capture all the 
anticipated effects on the species resulting from formal consultation 
actions to enable updating of the species' status throughout its range 
and the species' environmental baseline within a specific action area. 
Service biologists will enter anticipated take information, measured as 
the number of fish killed or injured or the number of stream miles 
affected, among other measures, from each biological opinion into the 
database. Unlike the northern spotted owl database, the database for 
the bull trout will not include the capability for Service biologists 
to update anticipated take with actual take after an action is 
completed. 

In addition, we identified seven other species for which Service 
biologists developed their own informal means of tracking cumulative 
take. In most cases, a Service biologist enters anticipated take 
information from biological opinions as they are completed into an 
electronic spreadsheet (see table 2). Take information is generally 
entered for some or all of the species' range and may or may not 
include relevant consultations completed by all field offices. Only in 
rare instances do biologists enter actual take information, instead 
relying on anticipated take information from the biological opinion. 
For example, for the threatened Mexican spotted owl, whose range 
extends from southern Utah and Colorado south into Mexico, a Service 
biologist maintains several electronic spreadsheets to track cumulative 
take across the four states the owl inhabits. The Service biologist 
asks all other biologists consulting on the owl to send her the 
biological opinions they complete so that she can enter the anticipated 
take information into the spreadsheets. Additionally, in instances 
where actual take information becomes available--which, according to 
the Service biologist, is not very often--the biologist adds that 
information to the spreadsheets as well. 

Table 2: Species with Informal Means of Tracking Cumulative Take: 

Species: Canada lynx; 
Listing status: Threatened; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, 
Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming; 
Means of tracking cumulative take: Electronic spreadsheet maintained by 
a Service biologist based in a Colorado field office. Spreadsheet 
covers biological opinions issued in Colorado for consultations on 
multiple agencies' actions affecting the lynx; it does not include lynx 
consultations in states besides Colorado. Spreadsheet tracks 
anticipated take as the number of lynx harassed or killed or the number 
of habitat acres modified. Anticipated take is tracked by the county 
where it is expected to occur. 

Species: Desert tortoise; 
Listing status: Threatened; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, California, Nevada, 
Utah; 
Means of tracking cumulative take: Electronic spreadsheet maintained by 
a Service biologist based in a Nevada field office. Spreadsheet covers 
biological opinions issued in Nevada for consultations on multiple 
agencies' actions affecting the tortoise; it does not include tortoise 
consultations in states besides Nevada. Spreadsheet tracks anticipated 
take as number of tortoises harassed, injured, or killed and number of 
acres of critical habitat and noncritical habitat modified. Anticipated 
take is tracked by county and recovery unit. Office is also developing 
an online database for recovery and consultation information, including 
a module for tracking cumulative take. 

Species: Mexican spotted owl; 
Listing status: Threatened; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, 
Utah; 
Means of tracking cumulative take: Electronic spreadsheets maintained 
by a Service biologist based in an Arizona field office. Spreadsheets 
cover biological opinions issued by field offices in Arizona, New 
Mexico, Utah, and Colorado for consultations on multiple agencies' 
actions affecting the owl. Spreadsheets track anticipated take as 
number of owls harassed and number of habitat acres modified. 
Anticipated take tracked by recovery unit. Actual take entered when 
available. 

Species: Pecos bluntnose shiner (a fish); 
Listing status: Threatened; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: New Mexico (Pecos River only); 
Means of tracking cumulative take: Electronic spreadsheet maintained by 
a Service biologist in a New Mexico field office. Spreadsheet covers a 
biological opinion issued by that office for one action agency's 
multiple actions over a 10-year period. Spreadsheet tracks the fishes' 
population density, as recorded through monthly sampling. 

Species: Pima pineapple cactus; 
Listing status: Endangered; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona; 
Means of tracking cumulative take: Electronic spreadsheet maintained by 
Service biologists based in an Arizona field office. Spreadsheet covers 
biological opinions issued in Arizona for consultations on multiple 
agencies' actions affecting the cactus. Spreadsheet tracks anticipated 
take as number of cactuses affected and number of habitat acres 
modified. Spreadsheet also tracks conservation mitigation acres 
purchased to offset the removal of habitat as a result of consulted-on 
actions. 

Species: Preble's meadow jumping mouse; 
Listing status: 
Threatened; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Colorado; 
Means of tracking cumulative take: Electronic spreadsheet maintained by 
Service biologists based in a Colorado field office. Spreadsheet covers 
biological opinions issued in Colorado for consultations on multiple 
agencies' actions affecting the mouse. Spreadsheet tracks anticipated 
take as number of mice affected and number of habitat acres temporarily 
or permanently modified. Anticipated take tracked by county or 
watershed. 

Species: Southwestern willow flycatcher; 
Listing status: Endangered; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, California, Colorado, 
Nevada, New Mexico, Utah; 
Means of tracking cumulative take: Electronic spreadsheet maintained by 
a Service biologist based in an Arizona field office. Spreadsheet 
covers biological opinions issued by field offices in all states where 
the listed bird occurs for consultations on multiple agencies' actions 
affecting the flycatcher. Spreadsheet tracks anticipated take as number 
of habitat acres degraded or eliminated and number of birds harassed or 
harmed. Anticipated take tracked by state, county, and management unit. 

Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data and GAO analysis. 

[A] This range represents the states where the species is both listed 
and found within the 11 western states included in our review; a 
species may also occur in states besides those listed in the table. 

[End of table] 

While most Service staff at headquarters, the regions, and field 
offices agreed that it is important to track cumulative take for all 
species, they cautioned that one size does not fit all in terms of 
tracking take. In their view, the degree of effort necessary depends on 
such factors as how often a species is consulted on and by how many 
offices, how wide-ranging the species is, and how much other scientific 
information is available. For some species, Service biologists said 
that systematically tracking cumulative take has not been critical, 
either because very few consultations have occurred, with little to no 
take anticipated, or the Service has good information on the species' 
status from other sources, such as population surveys. For several of 
the species we reviewed, the Service has issued very few biological 
opinions, largely because the species occurs on private land. For 
example, for the endangered Point Arena mountain beaver, which inhabits 
a 24-square-mile area of mostly private land in northern California, 
three biological opinions were issued over the last 5 years. Two of the 
opinions permitted recovery work to benefit the mountain beaver, and 
the third did not anticipate any take. As a result, Service biologists 
said that, to date, there has been no need to systematically track 
cumulative take of the mountain beaver. For other species we reviewed, 
Service biologists said they maintain detailed information on the 
species' status, which is used to develop biological opinions. For 
example, population surveys of the threatened Chiricahua leopard frog 
(see sidebar) provide the Service with information that is used to 
develop biological opinions. In addition, although the frog has been 
affected by numerous consulted-on actions over the past several years, 
many of the actions have affected the frog only temporarily (such as 
prescribed burns) or have actually benefited the species (such as 
grazing, when carried out within certain parameters). According to a 
Service biologist, very little permanent habitat loss has resulted to 
date from consulted-on actions. Consequently, as for the mountain 
beaver, the biologist said, no critical need has arisen as yet for 
systematically tracking cumulative take for the frog. 

[Sidebar: Figure: Photograph of Chiricahua Leopard Frog: 

[Refer to PDF for image] 

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[End of figure] 

Listed in 2002 as threatened, the large, green, stocky Chiricahua 
leopard frog lives in springs, marshes, pools, and even cattle tanks of 
the U.S. Southwest. Its call has been described as a “long snore” 
lasting a second or two. Once denizens of a wide variety of aquatic 
habitats, the frogs are now restricted by the presence of the even 
larger nonnative American bullfrog—which prey on their smaller 
relatives—to water that may be unpredictable and temporary. In keeping 
with a pattern of global decline among amphibians, Chiricahua leopard 
frogs face threats including fungal disease, drought, floods, human 
activities, and habitat loss. Yet much of the species’ life history and 
ecology remains poorly known. 

[End of sidebar] 

In contrast, many Service biologists believed that having a more 
systematic method for tracking cumulative take would help them better 
manage other species. We identified several species where the Service 
did not have a method for tracking cumulative take, but because of how 
often the species was consulted on, the species' wide-ranging nature, 
or the general lack of good information on the species' status, Service 
biologists believed that taking a more systematic approach would be 
warranted. For example, for the threatened coastal California 
gnatcatcher, one of the most frequently consulted-on species in 
southern California (see sidebar), urban development pressures have 
been high, often resulting in the permanent loss of the coastal sage- 
scrub habitat the bird depends on. Service biologists said they rely on 
their firsthand knowledge of the biological opinions issued out of 
their office to give them a sense of the cumulative effects of 
consulted-on actions. For the gnatcatcher, the biologists said they 
recognize the need for a more formal method for tracking cumulative 
take, in part because information about the species' status is thin, 
but a demanding workload and limited resources have precluded them from 
developing a more formal method. 

[Sidebar: Figure: Photograph of Coastal California Gnatcatcher: 

[Refer to PDF for image] 

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[End of figure] 

Listed in 1993 as threatened, the tiny, blue-gray coastal California 
gnatcatcher has been the centerpiece of a novel land-use program called 
Natural Community Conservation Planning. By focusing on tracts of 
potential habitat instead of individual species, the program encourages
collaboration over conflict between developers and conservationists. 
Fewer than 5,000 pairs of coastal California gnatcatchers now reside on 
some of Southern California’s most expensive real estate—the coastal
sagebrush-dominated scrub between Los Angeles and San Diego, which 
continues to experience loss and fragmentation. Moving quickly through 
branches of shrubs, the birds often glean relatively immobile prey such 
as spiders, beetles, and leaf-sucking insects and may rear three 
successful broods in a single year; young birds rarely disperse farther 
than 6 miles from where they were hatched. 

[End of sidebar] 

Similarly, for the endangered tidewater goby--a small fish that 
inhabits coastal brackish-water habitats, such as estuaries and 
lagoons, in California--consultations have been frequent, including on 
water-related activities such as culvert replacements, modifications to 
levees, and water diversions for agricultural use. A Service biologist 
said that although the Service has no systematic method for tracking 
cumulative take of the species, he believes developing such a method 
would be both feasible and useful. He suggested it would be 
particularly useful for the goby because much about the species' 
biology and its status is uncertain. The biologist further noted that 
coordination was lacking across the several field offices consulting on 
the goby and that a more systematic process for tracking cumulative 
take would enhance the offices' degree of coordination, as well as 
their overall knowledge of the species and the cumulative effects of 
consulted-on actions. 

We found that in the absence of a systematic method for tracking 
cumulative take, the Service is exposing itself to vulnerabilities, 
including the threat of litigation and the danger that it may have an 
inaccurate picture of the collective effects consulted-on actions have 
had on species. As previously mentioned, the Service developed two take-
tracking databases (for the northern spotted owl and the bull trout) 
after litigants challenged how the Service calculated the environmental 
baseline and cumulative effects for biological opinions related to 
those species; the Service has also been sued over similar issues 
concerning other species over the past several years.[Footnote 22] 
Additionally, Service staff expressed concern that without cumulative 
take information for some species, they may not have a complete 
understanding of the past effects that consulted-on actions have had on 
the species. As when monitoring reports are missing, staff turnover can 
mean the institutional loss of knowledge about the effects on species 
from past consultations, and this lack of information could in turn 
result in a miscalculation of the environmental baseline for future 
consultations and an insufficient analysis of the total effects on the 
species in the action area. Service staff said that although the effect 
of any single consulted-on action may be small, over time the effects 
of multiple actions may accumulate, and to accurately conduct its 
consultation analyses, the Service needs to be aware of this 
accumulation. If the Service is unaware of the cumulative effects on a 
species of consulted-on actions, over time it could miss important 
declining trends in the species' status. 

Development of New Electronic Databases Shows Promise: 

As a part of its larger efforts to bring different database 
applications on line--intended, among other things, to improve the 
consultation process--the Service has been developing various databases 
for more systematically tracking cumulative take. The development of 
take-tracking databases for widespread use is in early stages, however, 
and depends on resources not yet available in the Service's budget. For 
instance, the Service is currently developing a new take-tracking 
database--the Consulted-on Effects Database, the same database being 
developed for the bull trout--for the northern spotted owl and marbled 
murrelet. A Service biologist familiar with this database said that it 
is especially suited to wide-ranging species, and because the bulk of 
the database programming has already been done for the bull trout, owl, 
and murrelet, it could easily be adapted for other aquatic and 
terrestrial species. Further, the database is able to capture take in 
various ways, making it potentially useful for species for which 
measuring take is not simple. The development of this database for 
species other than the bull trout, northern spotted owl, and marbled 
murrelet has not formally begun, however, and would depend on resources 
not currently available in the Service's budget. 

The Service is also exploring efforts to include capabilities for 
tracking cumulative take in its online database called Tracking and 
Integrated Logging System (TAILS). The system tracks information about 
consultation-related activities, including dates that certain 
activities are completed, action agency or agencies involved, and 
affected listed species. Service staff explained that as they were 
developing TAILS over the past several years, they recognized the need 
for also tracking cumulative take but quickly realized that such a 
component would be complex to build, especially if it were to be 
customized for different species. So in rolling out TAILS for 
nationwide use, the Service included an optional field for Service 
biologists to enter narrative about anticipated take from the pertinent 
biological opinion. TAILS cannot synthesize such information, although 
staff could do so by hand with information that had been entered. The 
Service is continuing to make improvements to the TAILS database, 
however, including an analysis of how to capture take and then 
synthesize it by geographic area. Like expanding the Consulted-on 
Effects Database, however, further development of cumulative take- 
tracking components in TAILS is likely to depend on future funding. 

Conclusions: 

Given the potential harm to threatened and endangered species from many 
federally authorized actions, especially in the western states, the 
Service plays a key role in consulting with action agencies to ensure 
adequate protection of imperiled species. As it stands now, the Service 
lacks systematic means of tracking monitoring reports or cumulative 
take resulting from consulted-on actions, relying instead almost 
exclusively on its individual biologists to maintain crucial species 
information. This approach exposes the Service to vulnerabilities: for 
certain species, for example, the retirement or loss of just one 
biologist could deprive the Service of fundamental institutional 
knowledge, thereby crippling the Service's ability to effectively 
manage these species. 

Monitoring reports can play a critical role in the consultation process 
because they provide an evaluation of and a feedback loop on the 
effects actions have on listed species and the effectiveness of 
protective measures taken to minimize the impact of take. Without the 
information contained in monitoring reports, Service staff would be 
unable to confirm the actual effects of actions on listed species or to 
determine whether the protective measures were effective and, 
therefore, whether the measures required in subsequent biological 
opinions should be modified. In contrast, better tracking of monitoring 
reports could bring a triple benefit: (1) a more accurate picture than 
the Service now has of the extent of compliance with reporting 
requirements in its biological opinions; (2) a clearer picture of what 
types of reporting requirements best elicit compliance; and, most 
important, (3) the actual information about effects of particular 
actions on species, including the effectiveness of required protective 
measures. While we agree that the Service cannot force action agencies 
to comply with reporting requirements, knowing the level of compliance 
and what works and what does not would be useful information to have 
for future consultations, both to maximize protective benefits to 
species and to minimize requirements for action agencies. 

Without cumulative take information, the Service may not be able to 
effectively evaluate the collective impacts of federally authorized 
actions over time, across multiple offices, and across species' ranges. 
Although one action may not unduly harm a listed species, cumulative 
effects over time and across landscapes could lead to a species' demise 
without the Service's knowledge or ability to respond. And although it 
is important to develop a systematic method for tracking take of all 
species subject to formal consultations, cumulative take information 
would be most beneficial for certain wide-ranging and frequently 
consulted-on species, and thus, development of a take-tracking system 
for these types of species could be the highest priority. Setting 
priorities, taking such a strategic approach, would expand the 
Service's capabilities of tracking take in a way that would maximize 
the benefit received from the resources invested. Because the 
vulnerabilities or risks are lower for not having a systematic method 
for tracking take of species that are not consulted on frequently or 
are handled by one biologist or office, such species could be a lower 
priority. Nevertheless, developing a systematic and cost-effective 
method for tracking take of these species is important for maintaining 
institutional knowledge and ensuring continuity of operations. 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

To increase the Service's institutional knowledge and understanding of 
the effects on species of actions subject to formal consultations under 
the Endangered Species Act, we recommend that the Secretary of the 
Interior direct the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to 
take the following two actions: 

* develop a simple and cost-effective method for systematically 
tracking all required monitoring reports, such as adding an additional 
field to the existing TAILS database; and: 

* continue to develop existing databases, in as strategic and 
expeditious a manner as possible, to enable systematic tracking of 
cumulative take for all species affected by formal consultations. 

Agency Comments: 

We provided the Department of the Interior with a draft of this report 
for review and comment. The Department of the Interior concurred with 
our findings and recommendations. Appendix II contains the department's 
comment letter. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of the Interior, 
the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, relevant 
congressional committees, and other interested parties. In addition, 
the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

If you or your staff members have any questions about this report, 
please contact me at (202) 512-3841 or nazzaror@gao.gov. Contact points 
for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be 
found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major 
contributions to this report are listed in appendix III. 

Signed by: 

Robin M. Nazzaro: 
Director, Natural Resources and Environment: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

To address the extent to which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service) tracks monitoring reports that may be required under section 
7 of the Endangered Species Act, as well as the cumulative take of 
species resulting from consulted-on actions, we reviewed the Endangered 
Species Act and relevant regulations, Service policy, and litigation. 
We also interviewed Service managers from headquarters and the four 
regional offices (Region 1, Region 2, Region 6, and Region 8) that 
oversee the Ecological Services Field Offices located in the 11 
contiguous western United States to document and obtain their 
perspectives on and expectations for tracking monitoring reports and 
cumulative take of species.[Footnote 23] Additionally, we conducted 
structured telephone interviews with Service staff from all 18 field 
offices in the 11 states: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Arcata, California; 
Boise, Idaho; Carlsbad, California; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Helena, Montana; 
Klamath Falls, Oregon; Lacey, Washington; Lakewood, Colorado; Phoenix, 
Arizona; Portland, Oregon; Red Bluff, California; Reno, Nevada; 
Sacramento, California; Spokane, Washington; Ventura, California; West 
Valley City, Utah; and Yreka, California. 

To carry out our structured telephone interviews with field office 
staff, we developed a set of structured interview questions with the 
assistance of a GAO survey specialist. Our open-ended interview 
questions covered a range of topics, including field office processes 
for tracking and using required monitoring reports, the priority for 
ensuring that monitoring reports are being received, field office 
processes for tracking anticipated and actual cumulative take for 
species subject to consultations, and the Service's means of 
determining the cumulative impact on listed species from consulted-on 
actions. We pretested our structured interview questions over the 
telephone from October 3 to October 21, 2008, with field office staff 
from four field offices. Our pretest participants were judgmentally 
selected to represent a range of office sizes and locations. We revised 
the structured interview questions, as appropriate, on the basis of the 
pretest results. We conducted our structured telephone interviews from 
October 27 through December 1, 2008, with Service field office 
managers, biologists, and other staff identified as knowledgeable about 
consultations. 

To determine the extent to which the Service tracks required monitoring 
reports, we reviewed a random sample of consultation files from five 
field offices that we visited: Arcata, California; Carlsbad, 
California; Lacey, Washington; Lakewood, Colorado; and Phoenix, 
Arizona. We selected these offices on the basis of Service 
jurisdictional region, geographic location, staff size, and 
consultation workload. To determine consultation workload, we used 2008 
data on the number of completed formal consultations from the Service's 
Tracking and Integrated Logging System (TAILS). We spoke to various 
Service staff to learn how data were entered into this system and by 
whom and how confident Service staff were with the data's completeness 
and accuracy. At each of the five field offices, we obtained a list of 
all biological opinions completed from fiscal years 2003 through 2006. 
We then randomly selected 128 biological opinions out of the 831 
completed at these offices during this time frame--at least 20 from 
each field office--to review. We determined that the data the Service 
provided were sufficiently reliable for the purpose of our review. We 
reviewed the information available in the file for each selected 
biological opinion and documented the extent to which required 
monitoring reports were present in the consultation files. Of the 128 
biological opinion files that we reviewed, 45 files did not contain 
reporting requirements,[Footnote 24] and 19 biological opinions were 
for actions that had not been carried out or reports were otherwise not 
due. When determining the proportion of files containing required 
monitoring reports, we therefore based our calculations on the 64 files 
on completed actions that contained reporting requirements with reports 
due. In instances where required monitoring reports were not contained 
in the file, we interviewed Service biologists knowledgeable about the 
biological opinion (generally the author of the biological opinion or a 
designated species lead if the author was unavailable) to determine if 
the monitoring reports might be located elsewhere (e.g., available 
electronically). 

To determine the extent to which the Service tracks the cumulative take 
of species, we judgmentally selected a sample of 23 listed species 
occurring in the 11 western states. First, in our sample we included 
all species identified by the Service as having a process to track 
cumulative take, which totaled 10. For these species, we obtained 
supporting documentation and interviewed Service biologists to gain a 
better understanding of the way in which take is measured and summed, 
the time frame covered, how the data are entered and by whom, and how 
the information is used within and across Service field offices. 
Second, we selected 13 additional species to capture a range of 
variability among species characteristics to determine how biologists 
track take and what other information they use to determine the impact 
of formal consultations on the species. We based our selection of these 
species on scientific classification (taxonomy), species range 
(occurring in one state or multiple states), and the Service's recovery 
priority for the species (see table 3). For the species selected, we 
reviewed relevant documentation and a sample of biological opinions. We 
also interviewed Service field staff knowledgeable about the species to 
learn how frequently consultations are done for that species, the types 
of actions and key action agencies that consult with the Service on 
that species, how take is typically measured for the species, how take 
is tracked cumulatively, and other information sources staff use to 
determine the impacts to species from consulted-on actions. 

Table 3: Listed Species Selected for Review: 

Species: Behren's silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene behrensii); 
Taxonomy: Insect; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: California; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Bighorn sheep, peninsular California population (Ovis 
canadensis); 
Taxonomy: Mammal; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: California; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus); 
Taxonomy: Fish; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Idaho, Montana, Nevada, 
Oregon, Washington; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 9c; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis); 
Taxonomy: Mammal; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, 
Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 15; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Chiricahua leopard frog (Rana chiricahuensis); 
Taxonomy: Amphibian; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, New Mexico; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica 
californica); 
Taxonomy: Bird; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: California; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii); 
Taxonomy: Reptile; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, California, Nevada, 
Utah; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 8c; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis); 
Taxonomy: Mammal; Species' range in the western states[A]: Idaho, 
Montana, Washington; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae); 
Taxonomy: Mammal; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, New Mexico; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 8; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus); 
Taxonomy: Bird; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: California, Oregon, 
Washington; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida); 
Taxonomy: Bird; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, 
Utah; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 9c; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina); 
Taxonomy: Bird; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: California, Oregon, 
Washington; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 6c; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Pecos bluntnose shiner (Notropis simus pecosensis); 
Taxonomy: Fish; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: New Mexico (Pecos River only); 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Pima pineapple cactus (Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina); 
Taxonomy: Plant; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Point Arena mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa nigra); 
Taxonomy: Mammal; Species' range in the western states[A]: California; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 9c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Preble's meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei); 
Taxonomy: Mammal; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Colorado; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 9c; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: San Diego fairy shrimp (Branchinecta sandiegonensis); 
Taxonomy: Crustacean; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: California; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 2c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus); 
Taxonomy: Bird; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, California, Colorado, 
Nevada, New Mexico, Utah; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3c; 
Take-tracking process: Yes. 

Species: Stephens' kangaroo rat (Dipodomys stephensi [incl. D. 
cascus]); 
Taxonomy: Mammal; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: California; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 2c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi); 
Taxonomy: Fish; Species' range in the western states[A]: California; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 7c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Uinta Basin hookless cactus (Sclerocactus glaucus); 
Taxonomy: Plant; Species' range in the western states[A]: Colorado, 
Utah; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 14c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Western snowy plover, Pacific coastal population (Charadrius 
alexandrinus nivosus); 
Taxonomy: Bird; Species' range in the western states[A]: California, 
Oregon, Washington; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 3c; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Species: Yuma clapper rail (Rallus longirostris yumanensis); 
Taxonomy: Bird; 
Species' range in the western states[A]: Arizona, California; 
Recovery priority number[B]: 6; 
Take-tracking process: No. 

Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data and GAO analysis. 

[A] This range represents the states where the species is both listed 
and found within the 11 western states included in our review; a 
species may also occur in states besides those listed in the table. 

[B] The Service assigns each listed species a recovery priority number, 
ranging from 1 to 18, based on the degree of threats, recovery 
potential, and taxonomic distinctness. Species with a high priority 
rank (e.g., 1, 2, or 3) are those that are the most imperiled and have 
the highest potential for recovery. Species with a low rank (e.g., 16, 
17, or 18) are the least imperiled and have low recovery potential. A 
species' rank may be elevated by adding a "c" designation to its 
numerical rank to indicate that it is, or may be, in conflict with 
construction or other development projects or other forms of economic 
activity. 

[End of table] 

To learn about the Service's efforts to develop consultation related- 
databases, we reviewed relevant documentation about each database and 
interviewed Service managers from headquarters and the regions 
knowledgeable about the databases. Service staff described their 
efforts to develop each database, including time frames and available 
funding, and also demonstrated how the systems work. 

We conducted this performance audit from July 2008 through May 2009, in 
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those 
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 
the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 
conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of the Interior: 

United States Department of the Interior: 
Office of the Secretary: 
Washington, DC 20240: 

April 28, 2009: 

Robin M. Nazzaro: 
Director, Natural Resources and Environment: 
Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street. N.W. 
Washington, D.C. 20548-0001: 

Dear Ms. Nazzaro: 

Thank you for providing the Department of the Interior the opportunity 
to review and comment on U.S. Government Accountability Office Draft 
Report "Endangered Species: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has 
Incomplete Information about Effects on Listed Species from Section 7 
Consultations." (GAO-09-550). 

The Department concurs with the findings and the two recommendations 
for executive action. 

We hope these comments will assist you in preparing the final report.
If you have any questions. please contact Katherine Garrity at (703) 
358-2551. 

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

Will Shafrath: 
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks: 

[End of section] 

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Robin M. Nazzaro at (202) 512-3841 or nazzaror@gao.gov: 

Staff Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the individual named above, Jeffery D. Malcolm, 
Assistant Director; Eric Bachhuber; Mark A. Braza; Ellen W. Chu; Justin 
Fisher; Richard P. Johnson; Alyssa M. Hundrup; Trish McClure; Laina 
Poon; Jena Sinkfield; Kyle Stetler; and Joshua Wiener made key 
contributions to this report. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544. 

[2] The Department of the Interior, which has responsibilities for 
implementing the Endangered Species Act for all terrestrial (land- 
dwelling) and freshwater species, as well as for sea turtles when on 
land and all birds, including seabirds, has largely delegated these 
responsibilities to the Service. The Department of Commerce, which is 
responsible for implementing the act for most anadromous (saltwater- 
freshwater migrant) fish, such as salmon, and most marine species, has 
delegated its responsibilities to the National Marine Fisheries 
Service. This report does not address the National Marine Fisheries 
Service. 

[3] An endangered species is any species of animal or plant that is in 
danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its 
range. A threatened species is any species of animal or plant that is 
likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout 
all or a significant portion of its range. 

[4] The National Marine Fisheries Service has jurisdiction for 68 of 
the total 1,317 species, and 40 of the 497 species listed in the 11 
western states. 

[5] See GAO, Endangered Species: Many Factors Affect the Length of Time 
to Recover Select Species, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-730] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 6, 
2006); Endangered Species: Fish and Wildlife Service Generally Focuses 
Recovery Funding on High-Priority Species but Needs to Periodically 
Assess Its Funding Decisions, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-211] (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 6, 
2005); and Endangered Species: Fish and Wildlife Service Uses Best 
Available Science to Make Listing Decisions, but Additional Guidance 
Needed for Critical Habitat Designations, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-03-803] (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 29, 
2003). 

[6] The Service issued regulations to interpret and implement section 7 
of the act (50 C.F.R. pt. 402) and developed the Endangered Species 
Consultation Handbook, outlining procedures for conducting 
consultations under section 7 of the act. 

[7] Throughout the remainder of this report, the term "listed species" 
should be read to mean a listed species and its critical habitat, if 
critical habitat has been designated. 

[8] The act requires consultations to be completed within 90 days; the 
implementing regulations require biological opinions to be delivered 
within 45 days after consultation has been completed. 16 U.S.C. § 
1536(b)(1)(A) and 50 C.F.R. § 402.14(e), respectively. 

[9] If a jeopardy finding is reached, the Service's biological opinion 
includes reasonable and prudent alternatives to the agency's proposed 
action, which enable the action to continue while remaining consistent 
with the act's requirements for protecting species. The action agency 
may apply to the Secretary of the Interior for an exemption from the 
act's consultation provisions if the Service's opinion includes a 
jeopardy finding. 

[10] To determine the environmental baseline, the Service analyzes the 
effects of past and present human and natural factors leading to the 
current status of the species, its habitat, and ecosystem within the 
action area. The environmental baseline includes the impacts of all 
federal, state, or private actions, including the anticipated impacts 
of all proposed federal actions in the area that have already undergone 
separate consultation with the Service. 

[11] The Endangered Species Act contains no general take prohibition 
for listed plant species, although plants are protected against certain 
forms of destruction. For example, protection for listed plants is 
provided to the extent that the act prohibits the removal, reduction, 
and possession of federally listed endangered plants; the malicious 
damage or destruction of such plants on areas under federal 
jurisdiction; and the destruction of endangered plants on nonfederal 
areas in violation of state law or regulation or in the course of 
violation of a state criminal trespass law. 16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(2)(B). 

[12] Specifically, Service regulations state that "harm" in the 
definition of "take" in the Endangered Species Act means an action that 
actually kills or injures wildlife. Such an action may include 
significant habitat modification or degradation that actually kills or 
injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral 
patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 C.F.R. § 
17.3). The Supreme Court upheld this broad definition of harm in 
Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon, 515 
U.S. 687, 697 (1995). 

[13] In its discussion of the incidental take statement provision added 
to the act in 1982, a relevant congressional committee report indicated 
that the committee preferred the incidental take statement to contain a 
numerical value: "[W]here possible, the impact should be specified in 
terms of a numerical limitation on the federal agency or permittee or 
licensee." The committee recognized, however, that a numerical value 
would not always be available: "The Committee recognizes ...it may not 
be possible to determine the number of eggs of an endangered or 
threatened fish which will be sucked into a power plant when water is 
used as a cooling mechanism. The Committee intends only that such 
numbers be established where possible." H.R. Rep. No. 97-567 at 27 
(1982). In 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit ruled that if the Service chooses to employ a nonnumerical 
surrogate for take, the chosen surrogate must be able to perform the 
functions of a numerical limitation, in particular, establishing a 
trigger requiring the parties to reinitiate consultation. Oregon 
Natural Resources Council v. Allen, 476 F.3d 1031, 1038 (9th Cir. 
2007). 

[14] Reasonable and prudent measures, along with the terms and 
conditions that implement them, cannot alter the basic design, 
location, scope, duration, or timing of the action and may involve only 
minor changes. 50 C.F.R. § 402.14(i)(2). 

[15] Reinitiation of formal consultation is required in four instances 
where discretionary federal involvement or control over the action has 
been retained or is authorized by law: (1) if the amount or extent of 
taking specified in the biological opinion is exceeded, (2) if new 
information reveals effects of the action that may affect listed 
species or critical habitat in a manner or to an extent not previously 
considered, (3) if the identified action is subsequently modified in a 
manner that causes an effect to the listed species or critical habitat 
that was not considered in the biological opinion, or (4) if a new 
species is listed or critical habitat designated that may be affected 
by the identified action. 50 C.F.R. § 402.16. 

[16] In 2004, we issued a report evaluating the consultation process in 
Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington for the Service, the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of 
Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Forest Service. 
GAO, Endangered Species: More Federal Management Attention Is Needed to 
Improve the Consultation Process, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-93] (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 19, 
2004). 

[17] Several years ago, at least two field offices employed staff whose 
responsibility was to track compliance with biological opinions, 
including monitoring and reporting requirements. According to Service 
staff, both of these positions were eliminated because of budget 
pressures. 

[18] We reviewed a total of 128 consultation files at five field 
offices; 45 of them did not contain reporting requirements. In 19 
consultation files, documentation indicated that the action had not 
been carried out or reports were otherwise not due. Thus, in 
determining the proportion of files containing required monitoring 
reports, we based our calculations on the remaining 64 consultation 
files that did contain reporting requirements with reports due. 

[19] The act requires "each federal agency...to insure" that its 
actions are not likely to jeopardize listed species. 16 U.S.C. § 
1536(a)(2) [emphasis added]. While agencies must carry out this 
responsibility "in consultation with" the Service, the act imposes this 
responsibility directly on the action agency. 

[20] A suit was filed in November 2000, challenging six biological 
opinions, related to timber harvests in certain national forests in the 
Pacific Northwest, that authorized incidental take of the northern 
spotted owl. Shortly after the suit was filed, the Service began 
developing a take-tracking database. In 2004, the Ninth Circuit Court 
of Appeals held, in part, that the Service could not unilaterally amend 
a biological opinion to add new baseline information without 
reinitiating consultation. Gifford Pinchot Task Force v. United States 
Fish & Wildlife Service, 378 F.3d. 1059, 1076-77 (9th Cir. 2004). 

[21] The litigation challenged, in part, the Service's analysis of the 
cumulative effects of approved projects on the bull trout, contained in 
a biological opinion associated with a mining project. The plaintiffs 
argued that "if the biological opinions all concluded that bull trout 
subpopulations must be preserved but some damage to this particular 
subpopulation is acceptable, then it would be death by a thousand 
pinpricks." See Rock Creek Alliance v. United States Fish & Wildlife 
Service, 390 F. Supp. 2d 993, 1001 (D. Mont. 2005). In 2005, a federal 
district court held that the Service's cumulative effects analysis 
contained in the mining project biological opinion was invalid because 
it failed to adequately consider the cumulative effects of other 
approved projects on the species. Id. at 1010. The court noted that the 
act's regulations allow the Service to limit its cumulative effects 
analysis to the action area for the project being examined, but the 
Service's evaluation of the species' current status and its ultimate 
jeopardy determination is not limited in geographic scope. Id. Thus, 
the Service must examine the current status of the species across its 
entire range, along with the effects of the action in the action area, 
to make a jeopardy determination. Id. 

[22] See, for example, Defenders of Wildlife v. Babbitt, 130 F. Supp. 
2d. 121, 126 (D.D.C. 2001) (biological opinions prepared by the Service 
failed to take into account cumulative effects of all federal 
activities in action area affecting species); Natural Resources Defense 
Council v. Kempthorne, 506 F. Supp. 2d 322, 375-76 (E.D. Cal. 2007) 
(failure of biological opinion to include qualitative and quantitative 
analysis of cumulative effects of nonfederal actions violated the act); 
Heartwood v. Kempthorne, Civ. No. 05-313, 2007 WL 1795296 (S.D. Ohio 
2007) (Service's biological opinions properly evaluated the cumulative 
effects of several timber harvest projects and potential private 
harvest activities on the endangered Indiana bat). 

[23] In addition, in identifying and assessing monitoring and reporting 
requirements for the action agencies that frequently consult with the 
Service, we spoke with officials from the Service, the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land 
Management and Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of 
Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service at their respective headquarters and 
a variety of field office locations in six states. At these locations, 
we reviewed available biological opinions and monitoring reports, as 
well as other relevant documentation, to learn more about their 
consultation actions and to gain a greater understanding of the 
consultation process specific to monitoring, reporting, and tracking 
take of species. 

[24] These biological opinions did not contain reporting requirements 
beyond standardized language in the incidental take statement stating 
that the action agency must notify the Service and reinitiate 
consultation if any of the thresholds for reinitiation are reached. 

[End of section] 

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