Frequently Asked Questions About Revised Critical Habitat and Economic Analysis for the Endangered Arroyo Toad

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1 Q Frequently Asked Questions About Revised Critical Habitat and Economic Analysis for the Endangered Arroyo Toad Q. What is the arroyo toad? The arroyo toad (Bufo californicus) is a small, light greenish-grey or buff-colored toad with dark-spotted, warty skin. Arroyo toads were historically found in streams and river basins in California from Monterey County to San Diego County, and south to Baja California, Mexico. Within the United States, populations of the arroyo toad are currently found in river basins in Monterey, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. On December 16, 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) listed the species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Q. What are the conclusions of the economic analysis? The Service has concluded that there are $1 billion in costs associated with the conservation of the arroyo toad on lands proposed as critical habitat. Critical habitat acreage is located in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. Of the $1 billion, the real estate industry is expected to incur about $937 million in costs. Other costs are associated with military activities, changes in water supply, grazing and mining activities, and construction projects. Some of the estimated costs already are occurring due to the listing of arroyo toad and protective measures already in place as a result of the listing. These costs include lands set aside for toad conservation to compensate for loss of toad habitat and measures needed to protect the toad while construction is ongoing. Q. How is this critical habitat proposal changed from the April 2004 proposal? The Service is proposing a reduction in critical habitat from 138,713 acres proposed in 2004 to 95,655 acres in the current proposal. Since 2004, the Service has revised its methods for determining critical habitat for the arroyo toad and has mapped critical habitat areas more precisely, reducing proposed acreage. In addition, the Service is proposing to exclude some private lands in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties because the habitat is protected by current conservation agreements or other plans. The Service finds that reliable management plans for a species generally provide better protection and recovery potential than the alternative of designating critical habitat without a management plan. The 1

2 Service has proposed to determine that the benefits of excluding these lands from the proposal outweigh the benefits of including them as proposed critical habitat. The Service is also proposing to exclude all of Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County on the basis of the national security provisions of the Endangered Species Act and a management plan for the arroyo toad. The Service has also determined that San Francisquito Creek above the Newhall Ranch Road Bridge in Los Angeles County does not contain the primary constituent elements to be considered arroyo toad critical habitat. The area is drier than the Service had originally understood and lacks sufficient surface water during the spring to allow for arroyo toad tadpole development. The Service has determined that a stretch of the Mojave River that runs through Victorville in San Bernardino County is not essential to the conservation of the species as originally believed because most of the species upland habitats have been developed, and it is questionable whether toads occupy this stretch of the river. In addition, exotic species that prey on arroyo toads occur along this river stretch. The Service is proposing to exclude river corridor areas eligible for designation as critical habitat for the arroyo toad along the Santa Clara River and lower San Francisquito Creek. These areas are covered by the Natural River Management Plan and other conservation agreements. This exclusion totals about 1,200 acres. Q. How were the methods used by the Service revised? The Service is proposing essential upland habitat only in areas close to the toad s habitat along riparian corridors, where most arroyo toad are found, and eliminating habitat at a greater distance from riparian areas. Instead of proposing critical habitat up to 4,921 feet from streams, the Service is proposing habitat up to 1,640 feet. This is largely based on a 2001 arroyo toad study on Camp Pendleton in San Diego County in which 86 percent of adults and subadult toads were captured in riparian wash areas. The remaining 14 percent of toads were caught in upland areas away from streams. Of these, a few toads were caught in upland areas about 3,280 feet away from riparian areas, while the majority were caught within 1,640 feet. The Service has no knowledge from any other study of arroyo toads located farther than 1,640 feet from a stream. Using another revised method, the Service mapped critical habitat more precisely by eliminating largely inaccessible habitat areas of marginal quality that the Service does not expect to be used by arroyo toads. These areas include uplands barred from use by the toad by busy, paved roads and railroads. Because these areas are marginal habitat, the Service does not consider them essential to the resident arroyo toad populations in those areas, and therefore, not essential to the conservation of the species as a whole. 2

3 Q. Are lands on Marine Corps Base (MCB), Camp Pendleton still being excluded from critical habitat designation? The Service has considered, but not proposed critical habitat on mission-essential training areas on Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton. The Service determined that exclusion of these areas from proposed critical habitat will not result in the extinction of the arroyo toad. However, some non-training and cantonment areas on Camp Pendleton are proposed as critical habitat for the arroyo toad. Q. What about lands already being conserved through Habitat Conservation Plans? Why are these areas being excluded? A number of Habitat Conservation Plans have been completed within the range of the arroyo toad that provide conservation benefits to the species. These include the Natural Community Conservation Planning efforts in San Diego and Orange counties, and the Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) and Multiple Habitat Conservation Plan efforts in San Diego County. The Service is proposing critical habitat for the arroyo toad on lands along the Sweetwater River between the Loveland and Sweetwater reservoirs because the activities that occur in this area are outside the authority of the San Diego County MSCP. The Service is also excluding some areas eligible for designation as critical habitat for the arroyo toad that lies within the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). Although the MSHCP was not completed at the time the Service published its proposed rule, substantial progress had been made on the plan and the Service proposes to determine that benefits of excluding these lands from proposed critical habitat outweigh the benefits of including them in the proposal. Subsequent to the publication of the proposed rule, the MSHCP was completed and approved by the Service in July Q. What habitats does the arroyo toad need? Arroyo toads prefer shallow pools and open, sandy stream terraces with cottonwoods, oaks, or willows. They breed in streams that have enough water from late March to mid-june to support the tadpoles until they change into toads. Females lay eggs in shallow, slow moving portions of streams that have little or no vegetation. Juveniles and adults forage for insects on sand and gravel bars with little or no grass or other low-growing cover. Subadult and adult arroyo toads excavate shallow burrows on sand bars, stream side terraces or in the uplands where they shelter during the day when the surface is damp or for longer intervals during the dry season. Because arroyo toad habitats are favored sites for water storage reservoirs, flood control structures, roads, agriculture, urban development, and recreational facilities such as campgrounds and off-highway vehicle parks, many arroyo toad populations were reduced in size or eliminated due to extensive habitat loss from 3

4 1920 into the 1990s. Arroyo toads have disappeared from about 75 percent of their previously occupied habitat in California; dam construction alone has been responsible for the loss of 40 percent of their original range. The species also faces threats from mining, grazing, recreational activities, and water management practices. Other factors in the arroyo toad s decline include the introduction of non-native animals such as bullfrogs, bass, and sunfish. These introduced species prey on tadpoles and adults and may significantly reduce the species' ability to maintain healthy populations. Non-native plants such as arundo and tamarisk grow so densely that arroyo toads can not use the terraces for foraging. These plants also shade the pools, making them unsuitable for breeding. The 95,655 acres of proposed critical habitat contain a mosaic of habitats that provide breeding, foraging, sheltering, and living spaces for arroyo toads, as well as migration and dispersal corridors. The arroyo toad's primary biological needs include breeding, development and growth of eggs and tadpoles, growth and maturation of juveniles and subadults, foraging, sheltering, dispersal, and genetic exchange. Q. What is critical habitat? Critical habitat is defined in the ESA as specific geographic areas that contain the physical and biological features essential to the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and that require special management considerations. Areas not occupied by the species may be designated if they are essential to the species conservation. Critical habitat is determined using the best available scientific and commercial information about the physical and biological needs of the species. These needs include: space for individual and population growth, and for normal behavior; food, water, light, air and minerals, cover or shelter; habitat that is protected from disturbance or is representative of the historical geographic and ecological distribution of a species; and, for animals, sites for breeding, reproduction, and rearing of offspring. Q. What protection does the arroyo toad currently receive as a listed species? The ESA forbids the import, export, or interstate or foreign sale of protected animals and plants without a special permit. It also prohibits the "take" of listed species. "Take" means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. Federal agencies must consult with the Service to insure that projects they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species, or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat. Permits may be issued by the Service for activities that are otherwise prohibited under the ESA, if these activities are for scientific purposes or to enhance the propagation or survival of the affected species, or for "take" that is incidental to otherwise lawful activities. 4

5 More questions? Call or write: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office 2493 Portola Road, Suite B Ventura, CA (805)