Section 9 Take Prohibition & Section 7 Federal Nexus Consultation ESA Critical Habitat
Endangered Species Act Section 7 / Section 9 protections on designated critical habitat.
Overview
Endangered Species Act Section 7 / Section 9 protections on designated critical habitat.
Agency
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service / NOAA
Enacted
1973 (Endangered Species Act)
Last reviewed
2026-04-19
Overlays in file
1
Why it matters
Any federal action (permits, funding, lending) on designated critical habitat triggers Section 7 consultation. Even without a federal nexus, Section 9 'take' prohibitions apply — covering indirect harm via habitat modification. Timeline impact is 6–18 months of consultation and often requires a Habitat Conservation Plan.
When to worry
Parcels intersecting USFWS-designated critical habitat for any of the ~2,300 listed species. Check the USFWS ECOS IPaC tool early in diligence.
ESA Critical Habitat — Section 9 Take Prohibition + Section 7 Consultation
Authority
federal
Scope
federal
Effective
1973-12-28
Federal-conflict flag
Not flagged
Citation
Authority source
Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 USC §1531 et seq.; 50 CFR Part 17
§ 16 USC §1536 (Section 7 consultation), §1538 (Section 9 take prohibition), §1539 (Section 10 permits); 50 CFR §17.3 (definitions), §17.11 (listed species), §17.95–17.96 (critical habitat)
Trigger predicate
When this predicate evaluates true for a parcel, the overlay applies.
OR
parcel.in_esa_critical_habitat==Trueparcel.hazard_flags∈ {esa_critical_habitat}
Preempted fields
The operations that federal rule forces onto the base zoning when the predicate fires.
| Field | Op | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
base_districts[*].allowed_uses | remove | any_use_causing_take_of_listed_species | Section 9 (16 USC §1538) prohibits 'take' of listed species — defined broadly to include harm via habitat modification (50 CFR §17.3; Babbitt v. Sweet Home, 515 U.S. 687 (1995)). Any use that would result in take is preempted regardless of zoning permission. |
review_type | require | usfws_section_7_consultation | Section 7(a)(2) (16 USC §1536) requires federal agencies to consult with USFWS/NMFS for any action that may affect listed species or critical habitat. Federal nexus = federal permit (e.g., CWA §404), federal funding, or federal land. |
review_type | require | section_10_hcp_incidental_take_permit | Without federal nexus, non-federal actors causing incidental take must obtain a Section 10(a)(1)(B) incidental take permit supported by an approved Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). 16 USC §1539(a); 50 CFR §17.22, §17.32. |
base_districts[*].max_impervious_coverage_pct | cap_at | variable-by-species-biological-opinion | Development intensity caps (impervious coverage, density, vegetation removal) are set by the biological opinion or HCP for the specific listed species and critical habitat unit. |
Notes
ESA critical habitat designation is parcel-specific — evaluator flags federal species-protection constraint; the exact restrictions depend on (a) which listed species is present, (b) the contents of the species' biological opinion or recovery plan, and (c) whether the project has a federal nexus (triggering §7 consultation) or not (requiring §10 HCP + incidental take permit). Critical habitat datasets published by USFWS at https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/report/table/critical-habitat.html and NMFS for marine species. Programmatic HCPs (e.g., Coachella Valley MSHCP, San Diego MSCP, Balcones Canyonlands CP) may provide pre-approved compliance pathways within their boundaries.