SHA Enrollment Process

For breeding, including egg and tadpole development, Houston toads require still or slow-flowing bodies of water, such as this shallow pond.

Photo Credit: Paige Najvar/USFWS

1. To participate in the SHA program, landowners having a listed species or its habitat on their property are invited to contact the appropriate regional office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. See the inside back cover of the Bulletin for contact information.
   
   
2. If an SHA is feasible, the landowner and the Service work together to compile information about the land, including a map, the current management, and the management needs of the species and/or habitat.
   
   
3. The landowner and the Service determine the baseline condition of the property for the species -- the number and location of individuals, a habitat assessment, or a combination of the two.
   
   
4. The landowner and the Service identify voluntary actions that would provide a net conservation benefit for the species. They also determine the duration of the SHA, allowing enough time to achieve the desired benefit.
   
   
5. The landowner and Service develop a draft SHA that specifies management actions that will provide a net conservation benefit to the species. The draft plan should describe the current and anticipated management of the property (farming, ranching, timber management, etc.) It should also address the monitoring needed to determine if the prescribed management actually benefits the species and/or its habitat.
   
   
6. The Service identifies any anticipated incidental take of listed species that might result from the management planned under the SHA, including any "incidental take" of a listed species that could be expected if the landowner chooses to return the property to its baseline condition when the agreement ends.
   
   
7. The landowner submits the completed SHA and an application for an "enhancement of survival permit" to the Service.
   
   
8. The Service then publishes an announcement in the Federal Register that it has received an application for an "enhancement of survival permit." A 30-day public comment period follows.
   
   
9. During the public comment period, the Service conducts internal reviews related to issuance of the requested permit.
   
   
10. Following a response to any public comments, and after incorporating any appropriate changes, the Service and the landowner approve and sign the final SHA. Assuming all criteria have been met, the Service then issues the enhancement of survival permit.
    
    
11. The landowner begins any new conservation actions and/or continues with existing practices identified in the SHA, and reports annually to the Service on the plan's progress.