April 13, 2004

News Release
Questions & Answers
Critical Habitat Units
Federal Register Notice (PDF) (TEXT)
Species Information

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News Release

Contact: Al Donner, 916/414-6566

In compliance with a court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today re-proposed 4.1 million acres in 28 California counties as critical habitat for the threatened California red-legged frog. This native amphibian is widely believed to have inspired Mark Twain's fabled short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."

Due to budget and time constraints, this re-proposal is very similar to the critical habitat adopted by the Service in 2001. Today's action, however, provides a new opportunity for the public to comment or provide information.

The proposal published in today's Federal Register may be revised based on comments received over the next 60 days, the new economic analysis that will be prepared starting in the fall of 2004, and the review of other information available to the Service. The public-comment period closes at 5 p.m. June 14, 2004. The draft economic analysis is expected to be released in early 2005, and will also be available for for public review and comment.

The Service originally established critical habitat for the California red-legged frog on March 13, 2001. A lawsuit challenging the designation was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on June 8, 2001. Plaintiffs included the Home Builders Association of Northern California, California Chamber of Commerce, California Building Industry Association, California Alliance for Jobs, and the Building Industry Legal Defense Fund.

Most of the 2001 designation was vacated by the District Court in a Nov. 6, 2002, consent decree. The court cited deficiencies in the Service's analysis of the economic impacts of the rule. It ordered the Service to publish a new critical habitat proposal by March 2004, conduct a new economic analysis, and adopt a final revised rule by November 2005.

"To help ensure that the final critical habitat is designated as accurately as possible, we encourage people to review our proposal in detail," said Steve Thompson, manager of the Service's California/Nevada Operations office. "We are particularly interested in comments on economic impact, on the scientific accuracy of the primary constituent elements defined in this proposal, and whether the two recently discovered populations of California red-legged frogs in Calaveras County and in artificial ponds in Nevada County should be included in designated critical habitat."

"We are already working with the military, local governments and landowners on species management programs for the frog and other threatened and endangered species," Thompson added. "Our goal is to work cooperatively with all landowners and local governments to recover this threatened amphibian that for many Americans has become a beloved icon of California's Gold Rush era."

The Service proposes to exclude from critical habitat lands included in two habitat conservation plans -- the San Joaquin County Multi-Species/Open Space Habitat Conservation Plan and the Western Riverside Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan. Both the San Joaquin plan, which has been approved, and the Riverside plan, which is pending, provide for protection of the California red-legged frog.

Also proposed to be excluded are three military installations that have pending or adopted integrated resource plans that protect the frog -- Vandenberg Air Force Base, Camp Parks U.S. Army Reserve Training Area, and Camp San Luis Obispo.

About one-third of the 4.1 million acres proposed to be designated is in public ownership and managed by Federal, State or local government entities. The remainder of the acreage is in private ownership. The lands are located in the following counties: Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Plumas, Riverside, San Benito, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tuolumne and Ventura.

Under the Endangered Species Act, critical habitat refers to specific geographic areas that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations. These areas do not necessarily have to be occupied by the species at the time of designation. A designation does not set up a preserve or refuge and only applies to situations where Federal funding or a Federal permit is involved. It has no regulatory impact on private landowners taking actions on their land that do not involve Federal funding or permits.

Because the Service maps large areas without precise detail, structures such as houses, lawns, roads and other developed areas are not shown. Within the critical habitat boundaries, actions by Federal agencies on developed sites that do not contain the basic elements essential for the conservation of the frog would not trigger a consultation with the Service. A complete set of maps and legal descriptions for the proposed critical habitat designation can be found in the 2001 critical habitat rule, which was published on March 13, 2001 (66 FR 14626), available on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/policy/library/66fr14625.pdf.

In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species Act, 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 Agreements, 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.

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