Local conservation strategy emphasized as California tiger salamander critical habitat is proposed in Sonoma County

News Release

August 2 , 2005

Questions & Answers

Federal Register Notice

text | pdf

Previous News Releases:

Central Population of the California Tiger Salamander Listed as Threatened (2004)

Sonoma County Population of the California Tiger Salamander Listed as Endangered (2003)

Santa Rosa Plain Conservation Strategy

Santa Rosa Plain wetlands
habitat for the California tiger salamander
(FWS photo)

Proposed Critical Habitat Maps

Overview (pdf) Detail (pdf)

Contact:Al Donner 916/414-6566

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today published in the Federal Register a proposal to designate critical habitat for the Sonoma County population of the California tiger salamander. The Service’s proposal notes all possible habitat is included in an effort to not prejudice the proposed designation’s effects on the county’s local conservation planning process.

The potential result of a voluntary conservation strategy would be to avoid critical habitat designation due to the fact that special management or protection would not be necessary.

The critical habitat proposal was made to comply with a court-approved deadline set in a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity to force a critical habitat designation. The Service proposal is published today in the Federal Register, opening a 60-day public comment period, which closes on Oct. 3. A public hearing will be held Thursday, Sept. 8 in Santa Rosa.

“The top priority of Fish and Wildlife staff biologists is to establish a conservation strategy cooperatively with the people in Sonoma County and with other relevant agencies,” said Steve Thompson, manager of the Service’s California-Nevada Operations Office. “The critical habitat proposal is litigation-driven. We encourage all interested parties to submit comments and information so we can make the final determination as accurately and scientifically sound as possible.”

The proposed critical habitat unit encompasses 74,223 acres of private land in the Santa Rosa Plain in central Sonoma County, generally bordered on the west by the Laguna de Santa Rosa, on the south by Skillman Road northwest of Petaluma, on the east by the foothills, and on the north by Windsor Creek.

The Federal Register notice states, “The Service will evaluate whether the regulatory benefits of designation of critical habitat in Sonoma County for the California tiger salamander outweigh the conservation benefits of implementation of the alternative conservation strategy proposed by local public and private interests.”

The California tiger salamander is listed as a threatened species under the under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Sonoma County population was listed as an endangered species under an emergency rule in 2002. The rule was made permanent in March 2003. In July 2004, when California tiger salamander populations in Central California were listed as threatened, the status of the Sonoma County population was changed from endangered to threatened. The change allowed for more consistent conservation actions across the range of the species.

At that time, the Service did not propose critical habitat for the Sonoma County population because it was working with various entities to develop a management strategy for the California tiger salamander and other listed and sensitive species. Participating groups include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the California Department of Fish and Game, the County of Sonoma, the cities of Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, and Cotati, landowners, and local and regional environmental organizations.

However, on Oct. 13, 2004, a complaint was filed in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Center for Biological Diversity and Environmental Defense Council v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service et al), which challenged the Service’s decision not to designate critical habitat for the California tiger salamander in Sonoma County. On Feb. 3, 2005, the district court approved a settlement that set a Dec. 1, 2005 deadline for final designation of critical habitat for the California tiger salamander in Sonoma County. Today’s proposal is being made to comply with the December deadline.

The proposal may be viewed online at http://www.fws.gov/sacramento. Comments on the proposal may be submitted to fw1sonoma_tiger_salamander@fws.gov. The comment period closes Oct. 3.

The Service will hold a public hearing on Sept. 8, at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa. The public hearing will include two sessions, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Registration for the hearings will begin a half-hour before each session.

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 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management 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 Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

Top of Page

Home Page for News Releases

Home