U.S. sets aside acreage for beach mice (6,200 acres on Florida Panhandle and coastal Alabama)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 10/13/06 | AP

[NormsRevenge]

MOBILE, Ala. - Federal wildlife officials have designated 6,200 acres in coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle as critical habitat for three endangered beach mouse species.

Property owners or developers could be required to survey property for the protected mice before construction or to redesign a project that would harm the nocturnal creatures, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in a ruling Thursday.

The acreage, most of it in Florida, includes a mix of federal, state park and private land.

The wildlife service estimates the cost of saving the three subspecies of beach mice at $93.4 million to $174.9 million over the next 20 years, nearly all of that in costs paid by landowners or developers who must alter or restrict their beachside projects.

"It's based on the amount of expected development in beach mouse habitat over 20 years and the cost to developers," said Janet Mizzi of the Panama City, Fla., wildlife service office. "And we do expect considerable development."

The subspecies protected by the decision are the Perdido Key beach mouse, which is native to Alabama, and the Choctawhatchee and St. Andrew beach mouse.

The new critical habitat is broken into 13 units in Alabama's Baldwin County and Florida's Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa and Walton counties.

A critical habitat is an area that the FWS finds essential for the conservation of an imperiled species. It can include land where the species is not now living but would need as its population recovers and grows.

Beach mice are an indicator of the health of the dunes, since they live inside the mounds of sand near the water's edge. The mice take seeds and acorns into the dunes, which sometimes sprout and grow, leading some scientists to believe the mice may help keep the dunes stable.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Send all feral cats to the area.

[DejaJude]

Are there any endangered cats in the area?

[DejaJude]

I see we think the same way. What would PETA do if a bunch of cats were there? Would they kill the cats to save the mice?

[dancusa]

[sgtbono2002]

The good part is if they cant build on the beaches we wont have to pay to put their houses back up after the hurricane hits.

[raftguide]

When the Humboldt Redwoods National Park was created, our Boy Scout troop could no longer camp on the sandy beach of a lagoon. Seems our weight was endangering the sand fleas that resided in the sand. Now if you paid me $10,000,000 to kill all the sand fleas in the place, I couldn't, but when an environmentalist wants something all s/he has to do is concoct a lie, and then s/he gets it. After all, to the left, the ends justify the means!

[GSlob]

6200 acres for three mice is 2000 acres per each. Actually, if we here can somehow get designated as such mice, I see nice [mice?] opportunities in the real estate.

[RichInOC]

"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"Duh, I think so, Bwain...but how are we going to pick up girls at the beach if we're only out at night?"

[prov1813man]

I tell ya, until tar and feathers is resurrected, this crap will continue unabated.

[ThomasThomas]

If they survive the last years hurricanes there up there with the cockroaches in the survivability department.

[TYVets]

This area is also known as The Redneck Riviera.

Great white sand beaches and emerald blue water.

[shadowcat]

I hope all the property owners are democrat-soccer mom's