TESTIMONY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE BEFORE THE JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES: IN OPPOSITION TO L.D. 872 AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE NATURAL RESOURCES PROTECTION ACT SPONSORED BY: INATOR COLLINS OF YORK DATE OF HEARING: April 1, 2011 Good afternoon, I am Mark Stadler, Director of the Wildlife Division at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. [am speaking IN OPPOSITION TO L.D. 872, This bill reduces to 75 feet the regulated area for Significant Vernal Pool Habitat, High and Moderate Value Inland Waterfowl and Wading Bird Habitat and Shorebird Nesting, Feeding and Staging Areas, It also requires financial compensation to landowners for potential loss of economic value incurred as a result of regulated habitat Regarding reducing Siitic nal Pool (SVP) habitat from 250 ft to 75 fi, our Department contends that: 1) Numerous scientific studies from throughout the Northeast have confirmed the importance of maintaining intact forested habitat surrounding productive vernal pools to meet the migration, foraging, and overwintering fie eycle requirements of pool-breeding amphibians. The adults of these species spend nearly 11 months of the calendar year in the forest floor outside of the breeding poo! depression, For this reason, itis inaceurate to view the regulated area surrounding SVP depressions as a “buffer” ot “setback” as propased in this bill; rather itis an integral component of the regulated habitat that comprises a viable Significant Wildlife Habitat; and 2) Approximately 14 scientific studies have been published documenting the specifie movement ecology of Maine's pook ‘breeding amphibians using radio telemetry, mark-recapture, and other scientific trapping techniques. These studies document average adult migration distances from breeding pools of approximately 400 ft for the Spotted Salamander, 476 ft for the Jefferson Salamander (a close relative of the Blue-spotted Salamander), and 633 ft for Wood Frogs. Documented maximum adult migration distances are much greater, ranging from 800 ft forthe Spotted Salamander to over 1500 ft for the Wood Frog. As such, the 250 ft regulated habitat zone is a conservative but critical management too! that provides MDIFW jurisdiction to help landowners minimize impacts of intensive development in close proximity 10 subset of the Siate’s highest value vera pools; and 3) At the request of the Legislature the Maine State Vernal Pool Working Group advanced a more scientifically informed approach at vernal pool regulation than that taken by numerous other northeastern states that regulate small to moderate sized buffers (generally 50-100 f) on a large proportion of their state's vemal pools. Instead, MDIFW and MDEP’s 250 ft habitat review zane is designed to support viable pool-breeding wildlife habitat fora relatively small, high value subset of the Stace’s vernal pool resource. More specifically, in 2006 MDIFW estimated before the Natural Resources Committee that the current definition of SVPs might capture between 40-50% of the State's veal pools. In fact, of the approximately 1,220 pools assessed by the State to date only 20-25% have actually qualified as Significant; and 4) Finally, its inaccurate to characterize the 250-foot critical habitat area around SVPs as a “set back” or “no touch zone”; rather itis implemented as a “consultation zone” for avo‘ding and minimizing adverse impacts. Full permits are ‘only required from MDEP for certain intensive development activity. Of the 465 full permits issued in 2010 by MDEP for all jurisdictional concems under the Natural Resources Protection Act, from wetlands to shore lands to sand dunes, only four (<1%) involved SVPs. Furthermore, since the implementation of pool regulations in 2007, MDEP has not to our knowledge issued a single permit denial for a proposal involving a SVP. Regarding reducing buffers to 75 fiwithin Shorebird Roosting and Feeding Areas, our Department contends that: Several scientfie studies indicate that human-related activities within 330 f of feeding or roosting shorebirds ean contribute to decreases in foraging and resting time and interfere with shorebird weight gain and ultimately compromisemigration success and survival. As such the current 100 ft regulated consultation zone on Shorebird Foraging Habitats and the 250 ft regulated consultation zone on Shorebird Roosting Habitats is a reasonable compromise that permits MDIFW and MDEP to help tandowners minimize adverse impacts to only the highest value coastal shorebird areas Regarding reducing High and Moderate Value Waterfowl and Wading Bird Habitat from 250 ft. to 75. our Department contends that: Several scientific studies indicate that intact upland habitat surrounding high vahue waterfowl and wading bird wetlands provide a variety of important benefits including: a) nesting habitst for bot upland ground-nesting species (eg, black ducks, mallards, and teals) end tree-cavity nesting species (e.2. wood ducks, mergansers, and golden-eyes), b) vegctated buffers for disturbance sensitive wading birds and marsh birds to protect critical foraging and brood-rearing activity, and ©) valuable organic matter inputs from surrounding natural vegetation that fuels wetland productivity as foraging habitat for water birds and countless other marsh-associated wetland wildlife Regarding mandatory State financial compensation for potential Joss of economic value associated with regulated habitat, ‘our Department contends that: 1) The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in 1842 that wildlife is not owned by individuals or those with special privilege, but rather belongs to everyone, and in so doing Set the legal precedent that wildlife was held in public trust by the State for the benefit ofall people; and furthermore thatthe public has the right to create laws to conserve and manage wildlife and their habitats; and 2) The Legislature of the State of Maine, acting on behalf of the publi, established the Department of inland Fisheries and Wildlife to preserve, protect and enhance the inland fisheries and wildlife resources ofthe State, and that actitical tool for fulfilling this mandate is the Significant Wildlife Habitat provisions of the Natural Resources Protection Act as ‘established by the people of Maine forthe protecting exceptionally high value wildlife populations and their habitats; and 3) Mauy economic activities are in fact permitted within the upland management zone surrounding Significant Wildlife Habitats either by exemption or by streamlined Permit By Rule procedures including bunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, ‘motorized recreation, forest harvesting, and even limited residential development depending on specific constraints associated with individual parcels, ‘Thus our Department concludes that many private economic values are maintained in Significant Wildlife Habitats by the Jivicious and conservative application of environmental permitting policies as curently enacted by the MDEP and MDIFW, Furthermore, mandating State compensation to individual landowners for potential future reductions in economic returns associated with high value habitat undermines the basic principle that wildlife populations and their evosy/stem services are a public rust resource, much like clean air and clean wate, that serve to benefit all ofthe citizens of Maine In summary, the Department contends that the current Significant Wildlife Habitat regulatory consultation zones are a) based on the best available science, b) meet the letter and spirit ofthe Significant Wildlife Habitat provisions of NRPA by targeting only a discrete subset of the State's highest value wildlife habitats, and c) have a history of reasonable application designed to strike a balance between accommodating private development imerests and the state’s public trust wildlife responsibilities and legislative mandates, Please note that the Department is prepared, upon request, to provide a list of published scientific studies in support of the importance of the upland habitat management zones surrounding SVPs, Shorebird Habitats, and Waterfowl and Wading Bird Habitat Thank you for consideration of our Department's professional position and I would be happy to answer any questions.