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A. Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas include:

1. Areas with Which State or Federally Designated Endangered, Threatened, and Sensitive Species Have a Primary Association.1

a. Federally designated endangered and threatened species are those fish and wildlife species identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service that are in danger of extinction or threatened to become endangered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service should be consulted for current listing status.

b. State designated endangered, threatened, and sensitive species are those fish and wildlife species native to the state of Washington identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, that are in danger of extinction, threatened to become endangered, vulnerable, or declining and are likely to become endangered or threatened in a significant portion of their range within the state without cooperative management or removal of threats. State designated endangered, threatened, and sensitive species are periodically recorded in WAC 232-12-014 (state endangered species) and 232-12-011 (state threatened and sensitive species). The State Department of Fish and Wildlife maintains the most current listing and should be consulted for current listing status.

2. State Priority Habitats and Areas Associated with State Priority Species.2 Priority habitats and species are considered to be priorities for conservation and management. Priority species require protective measures for their perpetuation due to their population status, sensitivity to habitat alteration, and/or recreational, commercial, or tribal importance. Priority habitats are those habitat types or elements with unique or significant value to a diverse assemblage of species. A priority habitat may consist of a unique vegetation type or dominant plant species, a described successional stage, or a specific structural element. Priority habitat and species are identified by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

3. Habitats and Species of Local Importance.3 Habitats and species of local importance are those identified by the city, including but not limited to those habitats and species that, due to their population status or sensitivity to habitat manipulation, warrant protection. Habitats may include a seasonal range or habitat element with which a species has a primary association, and which, if altered, may reduce the likelihood that the species will maintain and reproduce over the long term.

a. Designation Process. The city shall accept and consider nominations for habitat areas and species to be designated as locally important on an annual basis.

i. Habitats and species to be designated shall exhibit the following characteristics:

a. Local populations of native species are in danger of extirpation based on existing trend:

(1) Local populations of native species that are likely to become endangered; or

(2) Local populations of native species that are vulnerable or declining;4

b. The species or habitat has recreation, commercial, game or tribal, or other special value;

c. Long-term persistence of a species is dependent on the protection, maintenance, and/or restoration of the nominated habitat;

d. Protection by other county, state, or federal policies, laws, regulations, or nonregulatory tools is not adequate to prevent degradation of the species or habitat in the city; and

e. Without protection, there is a likelihood that species or habitat will be diminished over the long term.

ii. Areas nominated to protect a particular habitat or species must represent either high-quality native habitat or habitat that has a high potential to recover to a suitable condition and which is of limited availability, highly vulnerable to alteration, or provides landscape connectivity which contributes to the integrity of the surrounding landscape.

iii. Habitats and species may be nominated for designation by any person.

iv. The nomination should indicate whether specific habitat features are to be protected (for example, nest sites, breeding areas, and nurseries), or whether the habitat or ecosystem is being nominated in its entirety.

v. The nomination may include management strategies for the species or habitats. Management strategies must be supported by the best available science, and where restoration of habitat is proposed, a specific plan for restoration must be provided prior to nomination.

vi. The mayor or designee shall determine whether the nomination proposal is complete, and if complete, shall evaluate it according to the characteristics enumerated in subsection (A)(3)(a)(i) of this section and make a recommendation to the city council based on those findings.

vii. The city council shall hold a public hearing for proposals found to be complete in accordance with Section 16.18.850 based on the characteristics enumerated in subsection (A)(3)(a)(i) of this section.

viii. Following the city council decision, shall designate a habitat or species of local importance.

ix. Approved nominations will be subject to the provisions of this chapter.

4. Naturally Occurring Ponds under Twenty Acres.5 Naturally occurring ponds are those ponds under twenty acres and their submerged aquatic beds that provide fish and wildlife habitat, including those artificial ponds intentionally created from dry areas in order to mitigate impacts to ponds. Naturally occurring ponds do not include ponds deliberately designed and created from dry sites, such as canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, temporary construction ponds, and landscape amenities, unless such artificial ponds were intentionally created for mitigation.

5. Waters of the State.6 Waters of the state include lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, inland waters, underground waters, salt waters, and all other surface waters and watercourses within the jurisdiction of the state of Washington, as classified in WAC 222-16-030.

6. Lakes, Ponds, Streams, and Rivers Planted with Game Fish by a Governmental or Tribal Entity.7

7. State Natural Area Preserves and Natural Resource Conservation Areas.8 Natural area preserves and natural resource conservation areas are defined, established, and managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

8. Areas of Rare Plant Species and High Quality Ecosystems. Areas of rare plant species and high quality ecosystems are identified by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources through the Natural Heritage Program.

9. Land Useful or Essential for Preserving Connections between Habitat Blocks and Open Spaces.9

B. All areas within the city meeting one or more of these criteria, regardless of any formal identification, are hereby designated critical areas and are subject to the provisions of this chapter and shall be managed consistent with the best available science, such as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Management Recommendations for Priority Habitat and Species.

C. Mapping. The approximate location and extent of fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas are shown on the critical area maps adopted by the city, as most recently updated. The following critical area maps are hereby adopted:

1. Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Priority Habitat and Species maps;

2. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Official Water Type Reference maps, as amended;

3. Washington State Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program mapping data;

4. Anadromous and resident salmonid distribution maps contained in the Habitat Limiting Factors reports published by the Washington Conservation Commission, and in WDFW’s SalmonScape; and

5. Washington State Department of Natural Resources State Natural Area Preserves and Natural Resource Conservation Area maps; and

These maps are to be used as a guide for the city, project applicants, and/or property owners and should be continuously updated as new critical areas are identified. They are references only and do not provide a final critical area designation. (Ord. 1104-15 § 1 (Att. A)).

1See WAC 365-190-130.

2See WAC 365-190-130.

3See WAC 365-190-030(19).

4See WAC 232-12-297.