"Miyoko Sakashita, attorney for the group, said, "I think they did a
good job identifying the areas, and it's great that they're contiguous
areas. Species with critical habitat are twice as likely to recover as
species without it."

"But she criticized the proposal for failing to address global
warming. Higher ocean temperatures cause coral bleaching, an often
fatal condition in which corals expel the photosynthetic algae with
which they have a symbiotic relationship.

"Heberling said the government recognizes the significance of global
warming in the decline of corals but that the critical habitat
designation focused on local threats to the rocky, ocean bottom
favorable for coral growth. The fisheries service is working on a
recovery plan and other protection measures, she said, where it would
be more appropriate to address global warming."

Global warming?  Interesting.