Integrating ESA goals into a larger context: The lesson of Animas-La Plata

The process by which the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service examines whether prop osed federal projects sating the Endangered Species Act gives the Service c onsiderable power to influence proposed projects. Using the Animas La Plata water project as a case study, however, Hannah Gosnell has suggested that the Fish & Wildlife Service's institutional limitations reduce its ability to shape federal projects to conform with species protection needs. This au thor disagrees. The Fish and Wildlife Service can have a profound impact on federal projects through the Section 7 consultation process by identifying issues and species needs that can trigger a serious review of project alte rnatives. rn the case of Animas-La Plata, the Service's 1991 biological rev iew led to a complete reexamination of the proposed project and a fundament al alteration of the nature and scope of the project in a way that satisfie d the Endangered Species: Act and other policy imperatives.