17.130.040 Designation.
(1) Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas include:
(a) Areas with which state or federally designated endangered, threatened, and sensitive species have a primary association.
(i) 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 are threatened to become endangered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service should be consulted as necessary for current listing status.
(ii) 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 WAC 232-12-011 (state threatened and sensitive species). The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife maintains the most current listing and should be consulted as necessary for current listing status.
(b) State Priority Habitats and the Habitats of State Priority Species. 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 habitats and species are identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; maps and reports can be obtained by contacting the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Priority Habitats and Species Program.
(c) Habitats and Species of Local Importance. Habitats and species of local importance are those identified by the Stanwood city council, including those that possess unusual or unique habitat warranting protection. Any species identified by the council should be listed.
(d) Commercial and Recreational Shellfish Areas. These areas include all public and private tidelands or bedlands suitable for shellfish harvest, including shellfish protection districts established pursuant to Chapter 90.72 RCW.
(e) Naturally Occurring Ponds under 20 Acres. Naturally occurring ponds are those ponds under 20 acres and their submerged aquatic beds that provide fish or 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, farm ponds, temporary construction ponds, and landscape amenities, unless such artificial ponds were intentionally created for mitigation.
(f) Waters of the State. In the city of Stanwood, waters of the state include lakes, ponds, streams, inland waters, underground waters, and all other surface waters and watercourses within the jurisdiction of the state of Washington, as classified in WAC 222-16-031.
(g) State Natural Area Preserves and Natural Resource Conservation Areas. Natural area preserves and natural resource conservation areas are defined, established, and managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
(h) Land essential for preserving connections between habitat blocks and open spaces.
(2) All areas within the city of Stanwood meeting one or more of these criteria are hereby designated fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas and are subject to the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004).