To protect a critically endangered plant or animal, don't just protect its home; protect the neighborhood.

This is the sensible new approach adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Hawai'i, which announced a proposal Tuesday to designate 27,674 acres on Kaua'i as a critical habitat for 48 species found nowhere else. This would put these species — 45 plants, two birds and a picture-wing fly — on the endangered species list all at once.

For Hawai'i, this all-inclusive approach should be a significant improvement over recently used models, which attempt to protect an individual species by focusing on the small areas where it lives.

These models have flaws: Information about an individual species' habitat is often inadequate, and the habitats overlap, complicating management efforts.

It's also not the best fit for Hawai'i, with its high number of at-risk species. Many of them have tiny populations, a limited range, and are locked on an island with nowhere else to go when threatened. Gathering them under a broader umbrella can make them easier to protect.

The proposed rule will be posted at www.fws.gov/pacificislands. Once published, comments can be made at www.regulations.gov or by calling 792-9400.

Fish and Wildlife hopes to apply this approach to the other islands. To protect Hawai'i's rich diversity, it's worth the effort.