A new proposal to designate critical habitat for the coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) was announced today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Once a common resident of southern California, the California gnatcatcher has experienced a significant population decline triggered by the loss and degradation of its native coastal sage scrub habitat.
Critical habitat is being proposed on approximately 495,795 acres of land in portions of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. Areas proposed as critical habitat are identified in 13 separate units. They include a mixture of Federal, State, local, and privately owned land.
AWe relied on the cumulative scientific information and data available, including habitat modeling, to identify lands that contain the habitat characteristics necessary for the conservation of the coastal California gnatcatcher@, said Steve Thompson, Manager of the Service=s California/Nevada Operations Office.
Today
