Contacts
Lois Grunwald, 805/644-1766
Proposed Rule
Questions & Answers
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to designate about 14,424 acres as critical habitat for the federally endangered Santa Barbara County population of the California tiger salamander.
"The Service is proposing critical habitat only for those lands essential to the species’ conservation, based on the best scientific information currently available," said Diane Noda, field supervisor for the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office. "We will continue working cooperatively with landowners to conserve this rare amphibian and its habitat."
Most of the proposed critical habitat acreage is under private ownership. Small amounts of land are owned by Santa Barbara County and the Laguna County Sanitation District.
A draft economic analysis is underway to identify impacts associated with the proposed critical habitat designation. It will be released separately for public review and comment.
The California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) is a large, stocky, terrestrial salamander with small eyes and a broad, rounded snout. Its habitat includes vernal pools and seasonal ponds, and associated grassland, oak savannah, and coastal scrub plant communities of the Santa Maria, Los Alamos, and Santa Rita valleys in northwestern Santa Barbara County. The salamander also occurs in California’s Central Valley, Coast Range, and Sonoma County.
The Santa Barbara County Distinct Population Segment was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2000. The primary threats to the species are habitat loss and non-native species. In May 2003, the Service proposed to reduce the species status from endangered to threatened. A final decision has not yet been made on this proposal.
Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) identifying geographic areas essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and which may require special management considerations. The designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation area. It does not allow government or public access to private lands.
The critical habitat proposal was completed in response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity. The Service was seeking to extend the due date for this rulemaking into 2005; however, in late December 2003, the court ruled that the Service must meet a January 15, 2004 deadline to propose critical habitat. Early this January, the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office was directed to draft a proposed critical habitat rule to meet the deadline.
In 30 years of implementing the ESA, the Service has found that the designation of critical habitat provides little additional protection to most listed species, while preventing the Service from using scarce conservation resources for activities with greater conservation benefits.
In almost all cases, recovery of listed species will come through voluntary cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures such as critical habitat. Habitat is also protected through cooperative measures under the Endangered Species Act including Habitat Conservation Plans, Safe Harbor Agreement, Candidate Conservation Agreements and state programs. In addition, voluntary partnership programs such as the Service’s Private Stewardship Grants and Partners for Fish and Wildlife program also restore habitat. Habitat for endangered species is provided on many national wildlife refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife management areas.
The proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the Santa Barbara population of the California tiger salamander was published today in the Federal Register. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until 5 p.m. on March 22, 2004. They may be submitted in writing to: Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office; 2493 Portola Road, Suite B; Ventura, CA 93003, or may be submitted electronically to The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses 542 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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