Critical habitat
Area formally designated under the Endangered Species Act as essential to the conservation of a listed species.
Designation does not by itself prohibit private activity, but it triggers consultation whenever there is a federal permit, funding or land involved — which for most large projects there is, through a Clean Water Act permit or a federal right-of-way.
The practical effect is schedule. Consultation routinely adds a year or more and frequently produces mitigation obligations that were not in the original model, which is why screening for designation belongs at the shortlist stage rather than in permitting.
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