17-296. Definitions

In this article:

1. "Public access" means providing entry to publicly held lands for recreational use where such entry is consistent with the provisions establishing those lands.

2. "Sensitive habitat" means the specific areas within the geographical area historically or currently occupied by a species or community of species in which are found those physical or biological features essential to the establishment or continued existence of the species and which may require special management, conservation or protection considerations.

3. "Endangered species" means a species or subspecies of native Arizona wildlife whose population has been reduced due to any cause whatsoever to such levels that it is in imminent danger of elimination from its range in Arizona, or has been eliminated from its range in Arizona.

4. "Threatened species" means a species or subspecies of native Arizona wildlife that, although not presently in imminent danger of being eliminated from its range in Arizona, is likely to become an endangered species in the foreseeable future.

5. "Candidate species" means a species or subspecies of native Arizona wildlife for which habitat or population threats are known or suspected but for which substantial population declines from historic levels have not been documented.

6. "Urban wildlife" means the wildlife that occurs within the limits of an incorporated area or in close proximity to an urban area that receives significant impact from human use.

7. "Environmental education" means educational programs dealing with basic ecological principles and the effects of natural and man related processes on natural and urban systems and programs to enhance public awareness of the importance of safeguarding natural resources.

8. "Habitat evaluation" means the assessment of the status, condition and ecological value of habitat and subsequent recommendations of management, conservation or other protection measures, or mitigation measures, including but not limited to, recommendation of reasonable alternatives for the proposed projects that might otherwise affect the habitat under assessment.

9. "Habitat protection" means the process of protecting the quality, diversity, abundance, and serviceability of habitats for the purposes of maintaining or recovering populations of Arizona wildlife.