A new federal push to protect 18,462 Front Range acres as habitat for the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse has set off an endangered-species battle royale.
Wildlife conservationists cheered the release Wednesday of the new federal proposal, which could limit development on the land, mostly along 184 miles of rivers and streams.
Representatives of developers promised a court challenge, arguing that protecting more habitat isn’t necessary because the mouse itself already is protected as a threatened species.
Among projects that could be affected: the planned Jeffco Parkway southeast of Rocky Flats, an expansion of Chatfield Reservoir and housing developments in El Paso County along tributaries of Monument Creek.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to nearly double the current 20,680 acres of protected habitat for the mouse — a bug-loving brown omnivore that springs up as high as 3 feet to evade predators.
An announcement expected in today’s federal register begins a 60-day public comment period before the action can be taken.
Any activity involving federal permits or funding that could hurt mouse habitat would require mitigation arranged in consultation with Fish and Wildlife Service officials. Projects along rivers and streams often require federal permits.
“Those little brown furry guys are a critical piece of our native wildlife, but the places they live also are critical to us for all sorts of other reasons. It’s where our drinking water comes from, where our open spaces are — areas we should be protecting,” said Josh Pollock, conservation director for the Center for Native Ecosystems.
“Enhanced habitat for the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse can only help,” Pollock said, preparing to submit comments in support of habitat expansion.
Meanwhile, the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which already is challenging the Fish and Wildlife Service for its original designation of mouse habitat, is preparing to broaden its lawsuit to encompass the newly proposed land, staff attorney Ron Opsahl said.
“The overall impact is going to be pretty big,” Opsahl said, estimating economic costs could top $80 million.
The burden will fall on “developers, property owners seeking to divide and develop, and people looking to buy houses who’ll be paying more,” he said.
The mouse, a subspecies of the Western jumping mouse, also exists in Wyoming but no longer receives protection there because of diminished development pressure. But efforts in recent years to de-list the mouse as a threatened species in Colorado have failed.
When federal officials first began protecting the jumping mouse, “we knew it would be hard for people to embrace its conservation. It is not one of the more charismatic species,” Fish and Wildlife Service regional director Steve Guertin said.
“But it is a species in trouble — and an indicator of an ecosystem in distress. . . . It’s an ecosystem worthy of thoughtful land-use planning.”
Bruce Finley: 303.954.1700 or bfinley@denverpost.com
