External Affairs Program

News Release
Facts
Questions and Answers

Federal Register Notice (text)
Federal Register Notice (pdf)

More information on:
California Tiger Salamander

Previous News Release (10/31/02)
Previous News Release (8/26/02)

SACRAMENTO, California – In response to a court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that it will list the Sonoma County population of the California tiger salamander, a large amphibian that spends the majority of its life underground, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The Service previously had protected the Sonoma population of the tiger salamander as endangered under an emergency listing last summer, consistent with a settlement agreement filed in federal court in San Francisco.

The agreement also required the agency to propose the population as endangered, make a final listing decision on the species by March 19, 2003, and issue a proposed rule on the status of the entire species by May 15, 2003.

"The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to list a distinct population segment of a species when it is determined to be threatened or endangered based on the best available science," said Steve Thompson, manager of the Service's California/Nevada Operations Office. "Service biologists will continue to evaluate all information related to the Sonoma County population as they consider the species across its entire range."

The Service determined, based on best scientific information currently available, that the Sonoma population is a "distinct population segment" as defined under the Act and requires protection. Today's listing decision is limited to the Sonoma population and does not apply to populations of tiger salamanders located elsewhere.

The Sonoma County population is the most northern coastal population of California tiger salamanders. Geographically speaking, the closest other populations are in Contra Costa, Yolo, and Solano counties.

California tiger salamanders are large and stocky amphibians with broad, rounded snouts. Males may reach about eight inches in length and females measure nearly seven inches. They have white or pale yellow spots and bars on a black background. Their undersides can vary from uniformly white or pale to a varying pattern of white or pale yellow and black. They use burrows created by small animals, especially ground squirrels and gophers.

Adult tiger salamanders spend an average of six to nine months per year in the burrows, while they await the arrival of fall or winter rains. The Service's scientific analysis found that the loss of habitat is a significant threat to the continued existence of the Sonoma population.

The Service will publish its decision to list the Sonoma County population of California tiger salamander as endangered in the March 19, 2003, Federal Register. More information is available by contacting the Field Supervisor, (Attn: SCCTS), Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825.

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 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 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.

Top of Page

FACTS ON THE SONOMA COUNTY DISTINCT
POPULATION SEGMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDER

Background – The California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) was first described as a distinct species in 1853 from specimens collected at Monterey, California. In the 1940s and continuing through the mid-1980s, several researchers considered the California tiger salamander to be a subspecies within the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) complex. Based upon recent morphological and genetic work, geographic isolation, and ecological differences, the California tiger salamander is considered to be a distinct species.

Description – The California tiger salamander is a large, stocky terrestrial salamander with a broad, rounded snout. Adult males may reach a total length of 8.2 inches while females are slightly smaller, reaching approximately 6.8 inches in length. The dorsal areas of the salamander can have white or pale yellow spots or bars on a black background. The underside varies from almost uniform white or pale yellow to a varying pattern of white or pale yellow and black.

Range – This species is restricted to the Santa Rosa Plain, Sonoma County, California, and does not overlap with any other species of tiger salamander. The animal is now known to occur only in eight breeding sites distributed in the cities of Santa Rosa and Cotati, and surrounding areas in the county. The Sonoma County population is widely separated geographically from the closest other populations, which are located in Contra Costa, Yolo, and Solano counties. These populations are separated from the Sonoma County population by the Coast Range, Napa River, and the Carquinez Straits, a distance of more than 40 miles. There are no known records of the California tiger salamander in the intervening areas. No natural interchange of individuals in the Sonoma County population with other California tiger salamander populations occurs.

Life History – Subadult and adult California tiger salamanders spend much of their lives in small mammal burrows (in particular, those of ground squirrels and pocket gophers). Salamanders undergo a period of dormancy (estivation) in response to hot, dry weather. Once rains begin they emerge from their burrows at night to feed and migrate to breeding ponds.

Adults may migrate up to 1.2 miles from their summering grounds to breeding areas. Males will remain in the breeding ponds for 6 to 8 weeks while females stay for about 1 to 2 weeks. Female California tiger salamanders lay eggs singly or in small groups. The number of eggs laid can range from 400 to 1,300 per breeding season. Eggs are generally attached to vegetation near the edge of the breeding pond, but in cases where there is little or no vegetation the eggs may be attached to rocks or other material (such as branches) on the bottom of the pond.

It takes about 10 to 14 days for the eggs to hatch. Larvae feed on algae, small crustaceans and mosquito larvae for about six weeks after hatching. After that time the larvae begin feeding on larger prey including small tadpoles as well as many aquatic insects. California tiger salamander larvae reach maturity in approximately 60 to 94 days. In late spring or early summer the salamanders leave the ponds to seek out burrows to begin their dormancy.

Top of Page

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE SONOMA COUNTY DISTINCT
POPULATION SEGMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDER

Q. What is the Action Being Taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service?

A. The Service is issuing a final rule listing the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander as endangered, under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. The Service received a petition to list the Sonoma County population on June 12, 2001. The final rule is the result of a settlement of a lawsuit from an environmental group.

Q. What Do California Tiger Salamanders Look Like?

A. California tiger salamanders are large and stocky, with a broad, rounded snout. Adult males may reach a total length of 8.2 inches. Females are slightly smaller, generally averaging 6.8 inches in length. The dorsal surfaces of California tiger salamanders have white or pale yellow spots or bars on a black background. The underside varies from almost uniform white or pale yellow to a varying pattern of white or pale yellow and black.

Q. Why is the Sonoma County Population the Only Population of this Species Being Listed at this Time?

A. On February 27, 2002, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a complaint in the Northern District of California for our failure to list the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander as endangered. On June 6, 2002, based on a settlement agreement between the Service and the Center for Biological Diversity, the Court signed an order requiring us to submit a final determination on the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment for publication in the Federal Register on or before March 19, 2003. This final rule complies with the settlement agreement.

The final rule listing of this distinct population segment has been prompted by on-going or imminent threats to the eight known breeding sites of the tiger salamander. These activities may cause the extinction of this distinct population segment in the immediate future.

Q. What is the Status of Other Populations of California Tiger Salamanders?

A. The Service received a petition on February 21, 1992 to list the California tiger salamander. In response to the petition, the Service published a 90-day finding on November 19, 1992 indicating that listing may be warranted. On April 18, 1994, the Service published a 12-month petition finding indicating the listing of the California tiger salamander was warranted, but precluded by higher priority listing actions. Public Law 104-6, published on April 10, 1995 imposed a moratorium on listings and critical habitat designations. The moratorium was lifted and funding for listing was restored through the passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act on April 26, 1996. California tiger salamanders are threatened by development and habitat fragmentation throughout their range, but listing of the California tiger salamander throughout its range has been precluded by the need to address higher priority species.On January 19, 2000, the Service listed the Santa Barbara County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander as an endangered species in response to a lawsuit from an environmental group. The Service is reviewing the status of other populations of the California tiger salamander.

Q. How Will the Listing of the Sonoma County Population of California Tiger Salamanders Affect Landowners?

A. Projects undertaken on Federal land, or projects on private lands that need Federal permits or funds, must be reviewed by the Service under the section 7 consultation provision of the Endangered Species Act. Activities that have the potential to result in the "take" of a salamander are subject to conditions designed to protect the salamander from harm.

Private landowners who wish to undertake projects on private lands that do not have a Federal nexus (meaning no Federal permits or Federal funding is involved) don't have to "consult" under Section 7, but are prohibited by Section 9 of the ESA from the "take" of California tiger salamanders. However, non-Federal parties may be granted incidental take permits through Section 10 of the ESA through a mechanism known as a habitat conservation plan or HCP. An HCP allows the Service to issue a permit authorizing "take" of endangered or threatened species incidental to otherwise lawful activities when the taking is mitigated by agreed-upon conservation measures.

Q. Is Critical Habitat Being Designated for the Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of California Tiger Salamander?

A. In today's rule, the Service finds that designation of critical habitat for this distinct population segment is prudent. However, our budget for listing activities is currently insufficient to allow us to immediately complete all the listing actions required by the Act.

The California tiger salamanders in Sonoma County will be protected through several mechanisms of the Endangered Species Act, including: section 7 consultations for projects on Federal lands or with a Federal nexus, recovery planning, enforcement of take prohibitions outlined in section 9, and the section 10 permitting process for activities occurring on private lands with no Federal nexus.

Top of Page

Home Page for News Releases

Contact us: Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825
Phone (916) 414-6565 ~ FAX (916) 414-6713 ~ email: fw1sacweb@fws.gov

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a part of the United States Government Department of Interior

Privacy, Disclaimer, Copyright, and Technology Requirements

Many documents on our web site are published using Adobe's® Portable Document Format (PDF). To display or print these documents, you must use the Acrobat® reader, which you can download free at Acrobat® Reader.