Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
May 8, 2009
1. Top Item–
Obama administration tries to save local salamander
The San Francisco Chronicle – 5/8/09
By Bob Egelko
The Obama administration has reversed a Bush administration decision and is proposing to restrict development on 74,000 acres in
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service settled a lawsuit this week by an environmental group challenging its decision in 2005, under President George W. Bush, to withdraw the designation of land on the Santa Rosa Plain as critical habitat for the rare amphibian.
The area covers farmland, housing and open space from
Under the agency's proposal, any development that might harm the salamander or its habitat would have to be cleared with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Federal officials could require developers to take protective measures or make offsetting investments in nearby land set aside to protect the species.
"The
The tiger salamander is relatively large, 7 to 8 inches long, and is black with yellow spots. The creature once occupied the entire Santa Rosa Plain, Greenwald said, but now lives in only a few locations and is threatened with extinction by urban sprawl.
The agency declared the salamander's Sonoma population an endangered species in 2003, in response to earlier lawsuits, and was sued a year later by farmers, home builders and others whose development or commercial activities were restricted as a result.
A federal judge upheld the listing. The Bush administration proposed setting aside 74,000 acres as critical habitat in August 2005, but changed course four months later and endorsed a conservation plan backed by developers, local governments and some environmental groups. It would have banned development in only a few areas but required builders to replace, at a 3-1 ratio, any known salamander grounds they damaged.
That plan was never carried out, however, because local governments ran short of funding to implement it, said Al Donner, spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service in
The settlement, approved by a federal judge, requires the agency to propose the critical habitat area for public comment within 90 days and submit the final boundaries by July 2011.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/07/BALS17GOBT.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DWR’s California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader’s services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news . DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
No comments:
Post a Comment