BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A small rodent that is only found on Kern County's West Side could be getting a big assist from the federal government, but water officials say they are already doing enough to protect it.

The Fish & Wildlife Service is proposing that more than 4,600 acres of land across western Kern County be designated as critical habitat for the Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew, more than 55 times the current amount.

"They're smaller, they hide very well, and there's very few left, considering at one time they would've been in many areas of the southern San Joaquin Valley," said Al Donner of the Fish & Wildlife Service.

With the same proposal before them in 2005, the FWS designated only the private 84-acre Kern Lake preserve near Mettler as critical habitat, since it determined the other lands, which are publicly owned, had sufficient management plans to protect the shrew.

But the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit, arguing political tampering within the Bush administration affected the ruling. Both parties settled out-of-court, with the habitat proposal as a condition of the settlement.

"The problem that the shrew faces is that most of its original habitat is gone now, and so there are small pockets of it around where the shrew still exists and those are the areas that need to be protected," Donner said.

The proposed areas for critical habitat designation include the 1,277-acre Goose Lake area, 387 acres of the Kern National Wildlife Refuge, the 214-acre Coles Levee Ecological Preserve near Tupman, and the 84-acre Kern Lake preserve near Mettler.

But the largest one is the 2,682 acre Kern Fan Recharge Area, which is land in the city of Bakersfield's southwestern limits along the Kern River bank. That land is used to recharge the city's aquifer, providing drinking water to residents.

"If this were to impair our operations, it could be of very critical importance to the drinking water customers of the city of Bakersfield," said Florn Core, the city's water resources manager.

After being told by the FWS the city's plan was sufficient, Core says its management plan has only improved over the years.

"We have increased the habitat areas, and vegetative cover has increased despite the dry years," Core said. "Hopefully the Fish & Wildlife Service will see that we are good stewards of the land and we are doing what we can, and probably doing a better job than having some sort of federal oversight on the project."

A 60-day public comment period is open until December 21, before a March 2012 deadline for the service to make a decision.

To comment, you can visit www.regulations.gov. You can also send mail to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2009-0062 Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.