CA Red-Legged Frog Habitat Designation

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed new designations for San Luis Obispo County

The Fish & Wildlife Service is proposing expanding the critical habitat designation for the CA red-legged frog in San Luis Obispo County to 292,350 acres, of which 225,863 acres are on private property; a 760 % increase over the service’s previous proposal of 34,000 acres. This new proposal is being published as required to meet the consent degree accepted by the court in a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity challenging the Service’s earlier critical habitat designation.

Click Here to view maps of proposed areas for inclusion.

A second comment period to open in December/January.

Critical habitat designation can affect private landowners in a few ways because once land is designated as critical habitat federal agencies are prohibited from authorizing, funding, or carrying out any activity that would result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. This means that any activity that is funded by or requires a permit from a federal agency cannot destroy or adversely modify areas designated as critical habitat. However, when designating critical habitat the Service is required to consider economic impacts caused by its decision.

This is your opportunity to provide specific information on planned activities that might be impacted by a critical habitat designation. It is also an opportunity to provide comments providing specific information about areas proposed for designation that do not contain habitat, and should therefore not be designated as such. Helpful information would include, planned conservation activities, planned land use changes, planned sales (critical habitat can affect property values), etc. This information helps build compelling arguments against critical habitat designation.