Critical habitat designated for threatened
Alameda whipsnake

October 2, 2006

Federal Register notice
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Overview map pdf
(unit pdf maps below)

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Alameda whipsnake/ FWS photo by Sheila Larsen

Contacts:
Al Donner 916/414-6566
Jim Nickles 916/414-6572

Rule protects prime habitat while minimizing impact on high development areas

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule today designating 154,834 acres in California's East Bay as critical habitat for the federally threatened Alameda whipsnake. Areas designated as critical habitat include portions of Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Joaquin counties.

Seeking to minimize the economic burden on landowners and local governments, the Service designated six critical habitat units that represent the best habitat for the Alameda whipsnake while minimizing conflict with existing and future development pressures. In Alameda County, 74,239 acres are designated. In Contra Costa County, there are 76,033 acres. Small portions of critical habitat extend into northeastern Santa Clara and western San Joaquin counties, 2,625 and 1,937 acres respectively.

The six critical-habitat units all are occupied by the Alameda whipsnake and all contain habitat features essential for the species -- scrub brushland with adjacent woods or grasslands containing rocky outcrops. The Alameda whipsnake is in trouble because of heavy residential, commercial and recreational development, plus some fire suppression activities.

The six critical habitat units are:

• Tilden-Briones (Unit 1) – 34,119 acres mostly in Contra Costa County, within boundaries defined by State Highway 4 and the cities of Pinole, Hercules, and Martinez to the north; State Highway 24 and the City of Orinda to the south; Interstate 80, and the cities of Berkeley, El Cerrito, and Richmond to the west; and the City of Pleasant Hill to the east. Map pdf

• Oakland-Las Trampas (Unit 2) -- 24,436 acres in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, located south of State Route 24, north and west of Crow Canyon Road, east of State Route 13, and west of the cities of Danville, San Ramon, and Dublin. Map pdf

• Hayward-Pleasanton Ridge (Unit 3) – 25,966 acres in Alameda County, generally located to the west of Interstate 680, south of Interstate 580, north of State Route 84, and east of the City of Hayward. Stonebrae Country Club was excluded because a Biological Opinion by the Service already protects 80 per cent of the 1,585-acre site. Map pdf

• Mount Diablo-Black Hills (Unit 4) – 23,225 acres in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Some 63 per cent of it is in Mount Diablo State Park. The Service excluded 45,413 acres from the proposed unit, mostly because it is within the East Contra Costa HCP or owned by East Bay Regional Park District. Map pdf

• Cedar Mountain (Unit 5A) – 24,723 acres in Alameda and San Joaquin counties, east of Lake Del Valle along Cedar Mountain Ridge and Crane Ridge, east to within four miles of Interstate 580 in Corral Hollow. Map pdf

• Alameda Creek (Unit 5B) – 18,214 acres in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, eastward from just north of Calaveras Reservoir, including Wauhab Ridge and Oak Ridge. Alameda Creek is located at the west margin of the unit. It contains the Sunol Regional Wilderness and Camp Ohlone Regional Park. Map pdf

• Caldecott Tunnel (Unit 6) – 4,151 acres in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, which provides critical links between Units 1 and 2 along San Pablo Ridge, and the open ridges between the cities of Oakland on the west and Orinda and Moraga on the east. Map pdf

In October 2005, the Service proposed 203,342 acres as critical habitat. Today's final rule excludes 48,508 acres from its 2005 proposal. The excluded lands already are covered by local, state or Federal conservation plans that benefit the Alameda whipsnake and its habitat. The largest exclusion is 42,731 acres within the proposed East Contra Costa Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), a comprehensive plan that will protect a large area east of Mount Diablo for 26 species, including the whipsnake. In contrast to several recent critical habitat designations by the Service, this rule did not make any exclusions on the basis of economic impacts.

The non-venomous Alameda whipsnake, also known as the Alameda striped racer, is slender and fast-moving, sooty black, with distinct yellow-orange stripes running along each side. Three to 5 feet long, it feeds mostly on western fence lizards. The Service listed the whipsnake as a threatened species in December 1997. The whipsnake had been designated a threatened species by the State of California in 1971.

Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act for areas designated by the Service that have features 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. Federal agencies that undertake, fund or permit activities that may affect critical habitat are required to consult with the Service to ensure such actions do not adversely modify or destroy designated critical habitat. The designation does not affect purely private or state actions on private or state lands, or require lands to be positively managed for conservation.

The final rule was prepared pursuant to a court order resulting from a lawsuit filed against the Service by Home Builders Association of Northern California and others in 2001.

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 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 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 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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