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Contacts:
Al Donner 916/414-6566
Jim Nickles 916/414-6572
About the species:
Alameda whipsnake (Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus) is one of two subspecies of the California whipsnake and gained Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection in December 1997 when it was listed as a federally threatened species. The State of California had designated the non-poisonous whipsnake as a threatened species in 1971. The other subspecies of whipsnake, the chaparral whipsnake, which is distributed from northern California, west of the Sierra crest and desert, to central Baja California, Mexico, is not listed at this time. The Alameda whipsnake is restricted to the inner Coast Range in western and central Contra Costa and Alameda counties, with portions of its range extending slightly into Santa Clara and San Joaquin counties.
The Alameda whipsnake, slender and fast-moving, is sooty black, with distinct yellow-orange stripes running down each side. It can reach a length of up to 4 feet and feeds mostly on lizards, plus rattlesnakes, small mammals and birds.
Distribution of both subspecies appears to closely coincide with chaparral. Although home ranges of the Alameda whipsnake center on shrub vegetation, whipsnakes frequently venture into adjacent habitats, including grassland, oak savanna, and, occasionally, oak-bay woodland.
The Alameda whipsnake is a member of the family Colubridae. Alameda whipsnakes are, non-poisonous diurnal snakes with a broad head, large eyes, and slender neck. When hunting, these snakes commonly move with the head held high and occasionally move it from side to side, possibly to aid in depth perception. Prey is seized with great speed, pinioned under loops of the body, and engulfed without constriction. The whipsnake is a lizard-eating specialist, although its diet may include other prey (e.g., rattlesnakes and nesting birds) depending on an individual's size, sex, age, and location. These snakes are good climbers that can escape into scrub or trees. Additionally, they seek shelter in rock piles, outcrops, or small mammal burrows.
The distribution of the Alameda whipsnake coincides most closely with scrublands broken by grassy patches, and rocky hillsides. Recent studies indicate that, although home ranges of Alameda whipsnakes are centered on scrub communities, whipsnakes frequently venture out into adjacent habitats, including grassland, oak savannah, and occasionally oak-bay woodland. The whipsnake occurs typically within a mosaic of habitat types containing scrub (chamise-redshank chaparral, mixed chaparral, coastal scrub) communities, with a significant component of annual grassland, as well as other wooded habitats such as blue oak-foothill pine, blue oak woodland, coastal oak woodland, valley oak woodland, and riparian communities or rocky outcrops. Alameda whipsnakes exhibit a preference for open-canopy stands and habitats with woody debris and exposed rock outcrops because these habitats provide areas for basking, cover from predators, and an ample source of prey.
The Alameda whipsnake currently inhabits the inner coast range mostly in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, with additional occurrence records in San Joaquin and Santa Clara counties. The historic range of the Alameda whipsnake most likely included the entire coastal scrub and oak woodland communities throughout the East Bay in Contra Costa, Alameda, and parts of San Joaquin and Santa Clara counties.
Habitat needs:
The Alameda whipsnake's primary habitats are plant communities such as scrub and chaparral, and adjacent grasslands and oak woodlands. Within these plant communities, specific habitat features needed by whipsnakes include small mammal burrows, rock outcrops, sloping masses of debris at bases of cliffs and other forms of cover to provide for temperature regulation, shelter from predators, egg laying sites and areas for hibernation. Critical habitat areas also need to be able to maintain the whipsnake's various prey species and adequate insect populations to sustain the prey populations.
Threats:
The Alameda whipsnake is threatened by residential, commercial and recreational development, and certain fire suppression activities.
Questions and Answers
Q. What is the population of the Alameda whipsnake?
A. There is no firm information on the actual population of Alameda whipsnakes within its range. However, the loss of occupied Alameda whipsnake habitat due to recent urban development is significant in several of the proposed critical habitat units, which has likely resulted in a reduction in population size.
Q. What is critical habitat?
A. 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 pure private or state actions on private or state lands, or require lands to be positively managed for conservation.
Q. Why was critical habitat Unit 7 in the 2000 rule, the Niles Canyon/Sunol Corridor, not included in the new proposed designation?
A. Unit 7 is not known to have documented occurrences of the species and did not meet the Service's criteria for designation. In this designation, the Service focused on including only those essential areas currently occupied by the Alameda whipsnake. Unit 7 is also bisected by Interstate 680 and would most likely not assist in providing connectivity between proposed Units 5 and 3.
Q. How did the Service determine which lands to include in the critical habitat?
A. The Service is designating critical habitat on lands that we have determined were occupied at the time of listing and that contain the “primary constituent elements (PCEs)” – key habitat features essential to the conservation of the Alameda whipsnake. The Service is required to use the best scientific and commercial data available, including information gathered for the draft Recovery Plan, information from local sub-species experts, published and unpublished research papers (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles in the public domain), academic theses, abstracts of presentations at scientific meetings, notes from our attendance at such presentations, consultation with recognized experts in the field, and review of case studies of other critical habitat designations.
Q. What are the primary constituent elements for the Alameda whipsnake?
A. The Alameda whipsnake requires the following habitat features:
- Scrub vegetation communities with a mosaic of open and closed canopy.
- Other lands immediately adjacent to scrub vegetation of varying vegetation types.
- Talus, rock outcrops, and small mammal burrows in close association or embedded within the essential core scrub or adjacent areas.
- Accessible dispersal habitat of varying vegetation type for movement between such sites.
Q. What activities authorized, funded or carried out by Federal agencies could adversely affect critical habitat for the Alameda whipsnake?
A. Such projects could include anything that:
- Alters or degrades chaparral scrub or oak woodland communities, including urban development, unmanaged fire suppression activities, and livestock overgrazing.
- Impedes migration corridors, such as new road construction, or eliminates foraging, resting, or denning habitat.
- Affects wetlands, such as filling or channeling of stream corridors, which could eliminate or reduce the habitat necessary for the reproduction, feeding, or growth of Alameda whipsnake.
Q. Why did the Service exclude large areas from the critical-habitat units?
A. The Service often excludes from critical habitat public or private lands that are under current or proposed conservation management plans. Such plans, which already benefit listed species, preclude the need for special management under critical habitat. In this case, the Service excluded lands included in the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and the East Bay Regional Park District Master Plan. Both plans contain management measures and protections for identified preserve areas that protect, restore, and enhance the value of these lands as habitat for Alameda whipsnake.
Q. What protection does the Alameda whipsnake currently receive as a listed species?
A. The Endangered Species Act forbids the import, export or interstate or foreign sale of protected animals and plants without a special permit. It also makes "take" illegal-- forbidding the killing, harming, harassing, possessing or removing of protected animals from the wild. Federal agencies must also consult with the Service to conserve listed species on their lands and to ensure that any activity they fund, authorize or carry out will not jeopardize the survival of a listed species, regardless where the species is located.
Permits may be issued to carry out otherwise prohibited activities involving endangered wildlife species for scientific purposes, to enhance the propagation or survival of the species or for incidental take in the course of certain otherwise lawful activities.
In addition, the Endangered Species Act requires that federal agencies not only take action to prevent further loss of a species, but also pursue actions to recover species to the point where they no longer require protection and can be delisted.
Q. Do federal agencies have to consult with the Service outside critical habitat areas?
A. Yes. Even when there is no critical habitat designation, federal agencies must consult with the Service to ensure any action they carry out, fund or authorize is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species.
Q. Is the Service developing a recovery plan for the Alameda whipsnake?
A. Yes. The Service released a draft recovery plan for the Alameda whipsnake and other species in the East Bay 's chaparral and scrub habitat in 2003. The Service is in the process of completing that plan, which can be accessed online.
The draft recovery plan recommends protection and management activities in chaparral and coastal-sage scrub areas where these species currently or potentially occur within the four counties. A large portion of this area is currently managed under federal, state or other conservation authority. The plan focuses on determining species status, providing long-term protection to crucial habitat areas, restoring habitat, and conserving the biological integrity of the area. It also provides a biological roadmap that local public agencies and land managers can use in devising fuel management and fire safety strategies.
If you have more questions, please feel free to call or write:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office
2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 414-6600
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