The Empire State Forest Products Association has urged about 600 member companies that own or manage more than a million acres of forest in New York, to support its petition drive against rules that would treat a potential threat to an endangered species' habitat as a direct threat to the animal itself.

DEC intends to create a new process, which would produce an "incidental taking permit," to consider potential habitat damage that might harm such animals before deciding whether development can go forward, the Times Union

reported. That decision could take up to 60 days. State rules have long protected endangered animals from being killed or harassed due to new development

Eric Carlson, executive director for the timber lobbying group, said that protecting forest habitat would create significant added costs and delays in timber harvesting. He said timber operations should be exempted, just as state land and agricultural property would be under the rule. Furthermore, he noted that timber companies have been taking voluntary steps for years to protect endangered wildlife on their properties.

There are 53 endangered species of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insect and mollusks in the state. Some are well-known, like the Karner blue butterfly and the peregrine falcon; others remain obscure, like the bog buckmoth and gilt darter fish. Another 35 species are considered threatened.