Posted on 07/11/2002 10:45:35 AM PDT by cogitator
Red-Legged Frog Habitat Rule Overturned
OAKLAND, California, July 10, 2002 (ENS) - A federal judge has approved an agreement that could nullify most of the 4.1 million acres designated last year in California as critical habitat for the threatened California red-legged frog.
Judge Richard Leon - a recent Bush administration appointee - of the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, approved the agreement between the Home Builders Association of Northern California and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) last week. The developers had argued that the USFWS had not considered the economic impacts of protecting habitat for the frog.
The red-legged frog, made famous by Mark Twain's story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," has disappeared from 70 percent of its original range in California. Under the settlement, the USFWS agreed to redraw the boundaries of its proposed critical habitat by November 2005.
The only areas retaining habitat designation during the next three years would be in protected national forests.
"This settlement is really bad news for the frog," said Earthjustice attorney Mike Sherwood. "Americans should be concerned that this represents an underhanded effort by the Bush administration to dismantle essential components of the Endangered Species Act."
"When Fish and Wildlife issued the original critical habitat designation, it cited the loss and alteration of the frog's habitat as the primary reason for its decline," Sherwood added. "There is intense development pressure on the frog's remaining habitat. We should ask ourselves, will we leave any space for native species in California, or will we pave it all over for more sprawl development?"
Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest legal firm that specializes in environmental cases, represented the Jumping Frog Institute, Pacific Rivers Council, and the Center for Biological Diversity in the litigation to gain protection for the frog's habitat. Those groups also intervened in the Home Builders' lawsuit to defend the critical habitat designation, but the Home Builders and federal government excluded them from the settlement negotiations.
However, under an agreement approved by the court, once a settlement was proposed, the environmental groups were to be given two weeks to file objections to the settlement, before the court acted on the proposed settlement.
On Friday, June 28, the Home Builders and federal government filed a proposed settlement that would undo most of the critical habitat designation for the frog. While preparing the environmental groups' objections to the proposed settlement, Earthjustice's Sherwood learned that the court then approved the settlement on July 2, just two days after it had been submitted.
"Either the court made a mistake or the Endangered Species Act was cynically undermined," said Sherwood. "We certainly hope this was a mistake, and that we will still get our day in court."
On Friday, July 5, 2002, Sherwood filed a motion with the court asking it to set aside its approval of the settlement, and to allow the environmental groups to file their objections to it. The groups plan to argued that even if the court does decide to return the critical habitat issue to USFWS for reconsideration, the existing rule should remain in place to protect the frog until a new proposal is made.
The groups also say the amount of time the USFWS has requested to review the critical habitat proposal - more than three years - is excessive.
My spouse does golf course development and is working on a course in this area. Guess what? In order to work with this stupid law, once October rolls around, the crew is going to remove even more trees that planned. They don't want to get stuck with problem trees next spring and then have to wait again until fall rolls around. So, the environmentalists have just created another cause and effect they probably never anticipated. Similar to the forest fires problem. Stupid fools.
What BS. Over 40% of CA is already owned by the State and Federal governments, and will remain open space. Most of the rest if agricultural. These guys will call any human activity "sprawl", including farming and ranching that has been going on for over 100 years.
Earthjustice attorney Mike Sherwood. "Americans should be concerned that this represents an underhanded effort by the Bush administration to dismantle essential components of the Endangered Species Act."
No Mr. Sherwood, it isn't underhanded at all, it is an act of cool and brilliant intelligence by someone who cares about the displacement of man. Raise your own frog if you and your Earthjustice nits are so concerned. I am told these frogs have very tasty legs prepared correctly, people have been eating them for years, some raise them for that purpose, though they are called something else on the menues!
Whoa! You gotcha dead cat and ya gotcha dead dog
On a moonlight night you gotcha dead bullfrog
Gotcha dead rabbit and ya dead racoon
The blood and the guts, they gonna make ya swoon.
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Dead skunk in the middle of the road...
I think that the enviro wackos have had their day in court and all any continuance for arguement would be frivolus(sp)and need no further say!
Jumping for joy!
They should ship all these red-legged critters to the Beverley Hills/Holmby Hills/Pacific Pallisades and greater Hollywood area of southern California. Lots of vegetation and swimming pools to allow them to breed. May have to pass a law forbidding chlorination of swimming pools in those areas.
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