Cape Elizabeth could soon become a sanctuary for cottontail bunnies.

Town leaders are considering earmarking 15 acres of town land specifically for a New England Cottontail habitat.

Indigenous to New England, the cottontail is on deck to be placed on the federal endangered species list, said Endangered Species Biologist Michael Amaral, who works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By hosting a home for the fluffy-tailed critters, Cape could help ensure the rabbit never reaches the list, he said.

In exchange for turning the land over to rabbits, Cape Elizabeth will hand off the responsibility and cost of limiting plant growth to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Service would then maintain the land so that it’s a suitable home for the cottontail, cutting back shrubbery and pulling unwanted plant life.

The New England cottontail population has been in decline. It’s down to 15 percent of its original population, and it loses 2 percent of its population yearly, said Amaral.

“They’re low on the food chain,” he said. “Everything eats rabbits.”

The ordinance committee met with endangered species experts Tuesday afternoon to discuss the legal ramifications of creating an endangered species habitat in Cape Elizabeth.

If approved, the habitat would be on 25 acres, including 15 acres of Winnick Woods, 57 acres donated to the town by Alice Larrea under the condition that it be used for passive recreational purposes only.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife already owns 10 acres adjacent to the 15 acres proposed for the bunny preserve. Separately, these pieces aren’t large enough to constitute a bunny preserve, said Kate O’Brien, wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. However, together, they constitute an area large enough for rabbit preservation.

“They have a much better chance of survival,” on a larger piece of land, said Town Planner Maureen O’Meara, who is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on developing the plan.

Mary Ann Lynch, a town councilor and ordinance committee member, wondered whether residents could still walk their dogs off leash if a cottontail habitat was approved. “Can dog owners walking the trail live in harmony with rabbits?” asked Lynch.

Lynch was assured that once a contract was signed, even if the cottontail was officially added to the list of endangered species, Cape could be “grandfathered in” to avoid further regulations on the land use.

The negotiated contract, “gives you certainty that we wouldn’t be coming back asking for more,” said Amaral.

Lynch said if people could keep walking their dogs off-leash, she would support the preserve.

At this point, there is no certainty that the cottontail exists in Winnick Woods. With a $20,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, O’Brien plans to investigate whether cottontails live in Winnick Woods, along with three other sites. O’Brien is looking for approval from the town council to explore the area, searching for the cottontail and evaluating the plant life.

O’Brien said she’s seen rabbit tracks in the area but cannot identify them definitively as cottontail tracks. They could be hare tracks. There have also been cottontail sightings near Winnick Woods, but a formal evaluation is necessary before moving forward.

O’Brien said if no cottontails are discovered she’d still want to partner with Cape Elizabeth, and use that land for other endangered species such as migratory birds like the American Woodcock and the Brown Thrasher.

O’Meara said Winnick Woods “has blown up with vegetation” because the town has not pruned its shrubbery. “If we want to keep it shrubby, we need help from fish and wildlife to take down some trees,” she said.

If Cape Elizabeth doesn’t implement a plan to minimize growth, the vegetation will overtake the fields and meadows. “No one is going to want to go in there, it’ll be so dense and thick,” said O’Meara.

Many animals live in shrubbery, which supplies them with their food and also shelters them from potential predators.

Male cottontails are territorial creatures, said O’Brien. Every acre of land averages about one rabbit. In the least populated months, there would be about 25 to 30 cottontails living in the preserve. Once a cottontail convinces a partner to join him, the population increases said O’Brien.