City of Boerne & Kendall County Endangered Species Habitat Compliance - January, 2022
In July 2021, the City of Boerne published the final version of their Unified Development Code (UDC). Section 8.8 of the UDC covers Endangered Species Habitat Compliance for proposed development within both the city corporate limits and the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Boerne. This section of the UDC states that development projects on any tract of land greater than 10 acres shall submit a Habitat Assessment Report in order to minimize disturbances to wildlife habitat and preserve and protect unique species. Project sites greater than 10 acres should be evaluated by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) permitted biologist for potential habitat of any federally listed threatened or endangered species.
Orb image courtesy of The Center for Biological Diversity, a national, nonprofit conservation organization.
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) Annotated County Lists of Rare Species, there are two species listed as federally endangered known to exist in Kendall County – the Whooping Crane (Grus americana), which may pass through the area during its annual migration to the Texas Gulf Coast; and the Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia), a small migratory songbird that nests exclusively in the mature cedar woodlands of central Texas. In addition, one flowering plant species and three freshwater mussel species that are known to occur in Kendall County have been proposed to be added to the federal list, and are currently under review. These proposed species are listed below:
Bracted Twistflower (Streptanthus bracteatus), proposed threatened flowering plant
Guadalupe fatmucket (Lampsilis bergmanni), proposed endangered freshwater mussel
Guadalupe orb (Cyclonaias necki), proposed endangered freshwater mussel
False spike (Fusconaia mitchelli), proposed endangered freshwater mussel
According to the USFWS Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) website, additional federally listed species that may occur in Kendall County include the following:
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), a threatened shorebird
Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa), a threatened shorebird
Comal Springs Dryopid Beetle (Stygoparnus comalensis), an endangered aquatic beetle
Comal Springs Riffle Beetle (Heterelmis comalensis), an endangered aquatic beetle
Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus), a candidate insect species
Peck’s Cave Amphipod (Stygobromus pecki), an endangered crustacean
Tobusch Fishhook Cactus (Sclerocactus brevihamatus spp. tobuschii), a threatened cactus
Westward Environmental, a 25+-year environmental and engineering firm, is poised to provide habitat assessment reports as required by the City of Boerne to facilitate your project’s compliance with federal, state, and municipal endangered species regulations. Westward also offers compliance presence/absence surveys for the Golden-cheeked Warbler, which must be conducted during the bird’s breeding season from March 15 to June 1. For more information about our endangered species or environmental compliance, please contact Westward and ask for a member of our Natural Resources Department at 830-249-8284 or visit www.westward.env.com.