Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office
External Affairs
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Contacts:
Steve Martarano (916) 414-6571, steve_martarano@fws.gov
Al Donner (916) 414-6566, al_donner@fws.gov
Charles Hardy, East Bay Municipal District (510) 287-0141
Eric Holst, Environmental Defense Fund (916) 492-7080
An historic 28,000-acre Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) to protect and enhance three listed species in the Mokelumne watershed was signed today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). The agreement covers parts of San Joaquin, Amador and Calaveras counties. The agreement is now the largest SHA in California and among the largest single-party SHAs developed in the nation.
The 30-year SHA permit will cover three federally protected species: Valley elderberry longhorn beetle, California red-legged frog, and California tiger salamander. A signing ceremony is scheduled today (June 2) at 1 p.m. at the Pardee Reservoir Observation Point in Amador County. A complete copy of the final agreement can be found at www.fws.gov/sacramento/es/documents/Final_EBMUD_SHA.pdf
“We are very pleased to be signing this landmark agreement with East Bay MUD,” said Susan Moore, Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office. “It is the result of a cooperative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, EBMUD, and Environmental Defense Fund, to provide for enhancement and management of habitat for federally listed species within EBMUD lands in the Mokelumne River watershed. In order to successfully conserve federally listed species, we need cooperative conservation agreements with private landowners in California, and this is a great example of how we can accomplish this.”
Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, participating landowners voluntarily undertake management activities on their property to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat benefiting species listed under the Endangered Species Act. SHAs encourage private and other non-federal property owners to implement conservation efforts for protected species by assuring that the owners will not be subjected to increased property use restrictions as a result of their efforts to attract and help listed species on their property. SHAs are not new to EBMUD, as they have been participating since 2007 in another SHA on the lower Mokelumne River for the valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
“In April 2008, East Bay Municipal Utility’s Board of Directors adopted the Mokelumne Watershed Master Plan to provide long-term guidance for future use and management of its 28,000 acres of watershed lands and reservoirs in the Mokelumne watershed,” said Richard G. Sykes, Manager of Natural Resources for EBMUD. “The Mokelumne Safe Harbor Agreement meets the Plan’s objectives of implementing prescriptive management activities that result in a net conservation benefit to California tiger salamanders, California red-legged frogs, and Valley elderberry longhorn beetles; providing a regulatory mechanism to facilitate watershed management; and establishing protocols for management, and routine maintenance and construction.”
“With this agreement, the East Bay Municipal Utility District is helping to restore Mark Twain’s celebrated jumping frog to Calaveras County,” said Eric Holst, Managing Director of the Center for Conservation Incentives of Environmental Defense Fund. “EDF is pleased that a safe harbor agreement like this can provide the incentives – and remove the barriers – that will maintain wildlife like the red-legged frog, tiger salamander and the valley elderberry longhorn beetle, far into the future.”
The EBMUD agreement centers on habitat surrounding two large dams and their reservoirs, Camanche and Pardee, plus lands adjacent to the Mokelumne River for a half-mile below Camanche Dam. Current and recent land use practices on the property include management for water supply, flood control, grazing, aquaculture, hydroelectric power, wastewater treatment, facility maintenance, residential use, and recreation. The agreement and the associated permit authorize EBMUD to incidentally take the three federally-listed species during specific maintenance and operation activities; and in exchange, EBMUD will enhance, create, and manage habitat for listed species on their property.
The property has known occurrences of the valley elderberry longhorn beetle and the California tiger salamander. Although California red-legged frogs have not been found on the property, it has extensive suitable breeding habitat, and the frogs are known on adjacent privately owned property. The agreement is intended to result in an increase in species populations throughout the property, resulting in a net conservation benefit for the three federally listed species.
EBMUD serves 1.3 million water customers and 640,000 wastewater customers on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. Most of its water delivered to customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties comes from the Mokelumne River.
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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.
Last updated: June 2, 2009
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