The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today published its final rule designating 199,109 acres of critical habitat in 19 counties for the central population of theCaliforniatiger salamander (CTS). Based on a detailed economic analysis, the Service is excluding proposed critical habitat in 12 census tracts in six counties.
The exclusions will result in over 80 per cent of the identified costs of the designation being avoided. In addition to the exclusions based on economic impacts, the Service is excluding lands covered by the draft East Contra Costa Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which is nearing completion. Also excluded are national wildlife refuges, state lands and military bases that already are being managed for conservation of the California tiger salamander. The Service also adjusted the boundaries of proposed units to remove areas that did not contain essential habitat features or to correct mapping errors.
The final rule, unit descriptions, county-by-county acreage totals, and related documents, including the final economic analysis, are available at http://www.fws.gov/pacific/sacramento/. It becomes effective in 30 days.
The final rule dropped 183,557 acres from the initial proposal, made in August 2004. At that time the Service also established a rule under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), effectively protecting ranchers in the event normal ranching operations cause incidental harm to salamanders. The rule was established because ranch stock ponds have become valuable breeding areas for the salamanders as natural breeding areas, mostly vernal pools, are being destroyed. The special rule helps ranchers preserve the rangeland that is critical to the California tiger salamander's survival. The rule strives to conserve salamander habitat while keeping ranching viable.
The California tiger salamander - a stocky terrestrial amphibian with a broad rounded snout - is threatened by a variety of factors including habitat destruction, hybridization with non-native tiger salamanders, and predation by non-native species.
The central population of the California tiger salamander includes populations throughout the Central Valley, the Central Coast and the San Francisco Bay Area. Todays action designates 32 critical-habitat units in 19 counties: Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Solano, Stanislaus, Tulare and Yolo.
The 2004 proposal was for 47 critical habitat units in the 19 counties, along with Contra Costa County.
The final analysis of the economic impacts of the proposed critical habitat concluded that during the next 20 years it would cost $441 million in lost development opportunities.
The salamander population in Santa Barbara County was listed as endangered in 2000, and 11,180 acres of critical habitat was designated for it last November.
The Sonoma County salamander population was listed as an endangered species in 2002. Earlier this month the Service proposed designating 74,223 acres of critical habitat for the Sonoma CTS, to comply with a Dec. 1 court deadline. The Service recognized that a Conservation Strategy being developed locally for the Sonoma salamander may provide superior protection to a critical habitat designation.
Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act identifying geographic areas 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 conservation area
A conservation area or wildlife management area is a type of national wildlife refuge that consists primarily or entirely of conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements support private landowner efforts to protect important habitat for fish and wildlife. There are 15 conservation areas and nine wildlife management areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Learn more about 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 listing of the central population of the California tiger salamander was completed in response to several lawsuits filed in 2002 by the Center for Biological Diversity.
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.