NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The federal government has designated nearly 1,900 square miles of Louisiana forest and nearby land in 15 parishes as critical habitat for the Louisiana black bear.

The move won’t affect private landowners who don’t have federal contracts or need federal permits, said Deborah Fuller, endangered species program coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The aim is to let bears move easily between the three areas where they now live — one centered on the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, and two in the Atchafalaya River basin. Louisiana black bears are small even for a species that is the nation’s smallest. Females average 120 to 250 pounds and males 150 to 350.

The parishes involved are Avoyelles, East Carroll, Catahoula, Concordia, Franklin, Iberia, Iberville, Madison, Pointe Coupee, Richland, St. Martin, St. Mary, Tensas, West Carroll, and West Feliciana.

About half the land has been protected or restored since the Louisiana subspecies was put on the endangered species list in 1992.