Groups sue to
reclassify species; more may be listed
Two events that happened at the same
time last week illustrate the ongoing
concerns of California farmers and
ranchers about the federal Endangered
Species Act:
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service proposed protections for
three amphibians that live in the
Sierra Nevada, and proposed to
designate more than 2 million acres
of land as critical habitat for the
species.
- Three agricultural
organizations, including the
California Farm Bureau Federation,
were forced to sue the Fish and
Wildlife Service to reclassify six
species under mandatory ESA
deadlines, after "status reviews" by
the service indicated the species
should be removed from protection or
be placed in a less-restrictive
category.
The three amphibians newly proposed
for protection include the Sierra Nevada
yellow-legged frog and the northern
population of the mountain yellow-legged
frog—each proposed for "endangered"
status—and the Yosemite toad, which
would be classified as "threatened."
The Fish and Wildlife Service cited
livestock grazing as a factor affecting
toad populations, and cited fish
stocking and habitat fragmentation among
factors affecting the frogs.
As part of its proposal, the agency
included critical habitat for the three
species that, combined, would affect
nearly 2.1 million acres of land in 17
counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte,
Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo,
Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada,
Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Tulare and
Tuolumne.
The Fish and Wildlife Service will
accept comments on the proposed listings
until June 24. For information on the
proposal and on submitting comments, see
www.fws.gov/sacramento/.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento-based
Pacific Legal Foundation sued the
service for failing to respond to its
petition to delist or reclassify a
half-dozen species currently protected
under the ESA.
Acting on behalf of CFBF, the
California Cattlemen's Association and
the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, the
PLF asked a court to require the Fish
and Wildlife Service to act on a
petition submitted in 2011.
The agricultural organizations said
the service should act on its own
recommendations to reclassify the six
species. One, a bird called the Inyo
towhee, is listed as threatened but has
recovered to the point that the service
recommend it be removed from ESA
protection in 2008.
The other species are now listed as
endangered but the service has
recommended that each be "downlisted" to
threatened:
- The arroyo toad, which is found
in Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange,
Riverside, San Bernardino, San
Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura
counties;
- The Modoc sucker, a fish found
in Lassen and Modoc counties, and in
Lake County, Ore.;
- The Indian Knob mountain balm, a
plant in San Luis Obispo County;
- The Lane Mountain milk-vetch, a
plant in San Bernardino County;
- The Santa Cruz cypress, found in
Santa Cruz County.
Daniel Himebaugh, the PLF attorney
pursuing the case, said the service's
failure to reclassify the species is
more than a harmless bureaucratic delay.
"ESA listings can have widespread
effects on people," Himebaugh said.
"They can prevent people from using land
that listed species are thought to
inhabit, force people to go through
expensive and time-consuming
consultations to get federal permits and
even result in criminal prosecution."
CFBF General Counsel Nancy McDonough
said Farm Bureau joined in the effort to
reclassify the species because of its
desire to see the Fish and Wildlife
Service act as quickly as possible to
create and implement recovery plans for
protected species.
"Government actions meant to protect
species can restrict responsible,
multiple use of natural resources,"
McDonough said. "When the Fish and
Wildlife Service learns that such
restrictions should be lifted or
reduced, it should do so right away. We
hope that the lawsuit will compel the
service to do what the law requires."
(Dave Kranz is editor of Ag Alert. He
may be contacted at
dkranz@cfbf.com.)
Permission
for use is granted, however, credit must
be made to the California Farm Bureau
Federation when reprinting this item.
