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4 It is possible that the proposed project will ultimately require an individual Corps of Engineers Section 404 permit, rather than a nationwide permit as discussed in the project description. When reviewing Corps public notices for such permits, the Service may recommend support of projects when the following criteria are met: 1. They are ecologically sound; 2. The least environmentally damaging reasonable alternative is selected; 3. Every reasonable effort is made to avoid or minimize damage or loss of fish and wildlife resources and uses; 4. All important recommended means and measures have been adopted with guaranteed implementation to satisfactorily compensate for unavoidable damage or loss consistent with the appropriate mitigation goal; and 5. For wetlands and shallow water habitats, the proposed activity is clearly water dependent and there is a demonstrated public need. The Service may recommend the "no project" alternative for those projects that do not meet all of the above criteria and where there is likely to be a significant fish and wildlife resource loss. Housing, golf courses, and roads are not considered to be water dependent. When projects impacting waterways or wetlands are deemed acceptable to the Service, we recommend full mitigation for any impacts to fish and wildlife. The Council of Environmental Quality regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act define mitigation to include: 1) avoiding the impact; 2) minimizing the impact; 3) rectifying the impact; 4) reducing or eliminating the impact over time; and 5) compensating for impacts. The Service supports and adopts this'definition of mitigation and considers the specific elements to represent the desirable sequence of steps in the mitigation planning process. Accordingly, we maintain that the best way to mitigate for adverse biological impacts is to avoid them altogether. The document should also describe all measures proposed to avoid, minimize, or compensate for impacts to fish and wildlife and their habitats, other than listed threatened or endangered species. The measures should be presented in as much detail as possible to allow us to evaluate their probable effectiveness. Mitigation plans, for both listed and non-listed species, should include objectives, performance criteria, implementation schedules, techniques, buffer zones, provisions for long-term monitoring, monitoring reports, and contingency plans. We stress again, that avoidance is the preferred form of mitigation. Because of the very high value of wetlands to migratory birds , and their ever-increasing scarcity in California, our mitigation goal for unavoidable