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CA Press: Officials plan preservation effort for ... salamander

wes_von_papineäu

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SAN MATEO COUNTY TIMES (San Mateo, California) 28 April 08 Stanford aims to protect 4 species - Officials plan preservation effort for turtle, trout, frog, salamander (Kristina Peterson)
Palo Alto: Stanford officials this week expect to file a universitywide habitat conservation plan that was a decade in the making and largely designed to protect the four endangered species found on campus: the western pond turtle, steelhead trout, the California red-legged frog and the California tiger salamander.
The plan is a response to the Federal Endangered Species Act, and if it is approved by the federal government, Stanford will bring home an "incidental take permit."
Such a permit means developers can't go around campus wantonly killing endangered creatures that get in the way of their projects.
"You're not allowed to go stomp on a salamander," {nor apparently, eat the newts - Wes}Conservation Program Manager Alan Launer said. Actually, human feet have posed much less of a threat to the amphibians than motorists, especially along the stretch of Junipero Serra Boulevard that salamanders cross to reach their favorite breeding spot, Lake Lagunita.
On a dark, rainy night — preferred amphibian crossing weather — cars can squish up to 300 salamanders in one night, Launer said.
In an effort to reduce the slaughter, the university in 2003 installed three state-of-the-art, British-manufactured amphibian tunnels under the road, at the urging of Santa Clara County officials and the California Department of Fish and Game.
The $100,000 system of tunnels is well-litand circulates a little water to attract the salamanders, Launer said.
While successful in preventing roadkill in their vicinity, the tunnels have not drawn salamanders that cross other sections of the mile-plus stretch of road.
So in 2006 the university constructed eight small ponds in the lower foothills area to encourage salamanders to reproduce.
"They work really well," Launer said.
But there was one hiccup. During last year's wildfires, the Palo Alto Fire Department used one dry pond as a staging area for its equipment and damaged another.
Fire Chief Nick Marinaro said the department never saw any signs marking the ponds as fragile habitat.
"Normally we're very sensitive to those things and try not to impact them if we can," he said.
The university simply rebuilt the ponds and hopes to encourage more salamander reproduction in the years to come. Aside from the legal necessities, the goal of the habitat plan is to stabilize and hopefully grow the populations of all four endangered species, Launer said.
The first habitat conservation plan in the country was developed 27 years ago for San Bruno Mountain, said Al Donner, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which works with local agencies, including Stanford, to get their plans finalized and approved.
"It's a much better way of dealing with the impacts of projects," Donner said.
"Looking at the total impact and making a plan that protects the species better is also easier for the landowner."
Previously, agencies had to obtain separate permits for each construction project.
While those violating the law are not frequently tossed in jail, infractions do bring consequences.
In 2002, a developer in Contra Costa County paid roughly $1 million in fines for killing red-legged frogs, Donner said.
Stanford's draft plan will soon be posted online and in the federal register for a 60-day public comment period.
After federal agencies have finalized the plan, a permit will likely be issued sometime next spring.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_9081896
 
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