BREAKING NEWS

IN FOCUS

More Than 1.6 Million Acres Designated as Critical Habitat for California Red-legged Frog

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— In response to litigation by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today designated more than 1.6 million acres of critical habitat for the California red-legged frog in 28 California counties. The designation is three-and-a-half times as large as the Service’s 2006 designation, which the agency  acknowledged was flawed because of political interference by the Bush administration.

“With protection of its habitat, the California red-legged frog has a chance at survival,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Today’s designation is a wakeup call to start protecting and restoring California’s wetlands, where the frog was once a very abundant resident.”

In November 2007, under pressure brought by the Center and the media highlighting Interior Department corruption, the Service announced its reversal of six illegal Endangered Species Act decisions, including the California red-legged frog’s 2006 critical habitat designation. The Service listed the red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii) as a threatened species in 1996 and designated 4,140,440 acres of critical habitat in 2001, but in response to a lawsuit by developers, the Service revised critical habitat in 2006 to include just 450,288 acres — a reduction of 90 percent from the original designation.

Read more.

Learn more about the California red-legged frog.

Contact: Noah Greenwald