Homebuilder charged with Endangered Species Act violations

KCAL ^

[chance33_98]

Homebuilder charged with Endangered Species Act violations

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) A developer who wanted to build 3,200 homes in Pittsburg has been charged with violating the Endangered Species Act.

West Coast Homebuilders Inc. of Concord was charged in U.S. District Court in Oakland Friday with two counts of violating the act after authorities said a department of Fish and Game warden found a dead California red-legged frog on the site last year.

Prosecutors say Albert Seeno Jr. owner of the company ordered his workers to fill in ponds that were home to the endangered frog.

The frog is believed to be the one Mark Twain made famous in his short story ``The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.'' It was put on the endangered species list in 1996, and has disappeared from nearly three-quarters of its natural range.

The company could be placed on five years' probation and fined if convicted of violating the act. The company is expected to plead July 19.

Seeno's attorney Bill Goodman declined to comment on the case Saturday.

[luigi]

The frog is believed to be the one Mark Twain made famous in his short story ``The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.''

That was one old frog.

[JZoback]

True Story

The company I work for build a new warehouse to replace a twenty old building that had depreciated out. While we were about half way though with the project, some environmental nazis found a Bald Eagles nest 500 yards away with little eaglets. Yes, 5 footballs fields away.

We were the third building going up in this new business development.

We had to stop construction until the last baby eagle could leave the nest. It cost us three weeks of time. These nut cases come out every day to make sure the crews were not on site working.

The name of our street is "Eagle Trail" in the "Eagles Nest" commercial park. Tampa Fl.

[leadpenny]

Grampa goodieD, Gramma goodieD told me there once were Red-Legged Frogs on this land. What happend to 'em?

Well, when we were young, we wanted to play tennis in our own back yard, and . . .

[BillofRights]

Our census takers complained that they could not get an accurate count of the homeless people living under the bridges in Austin, Texas, but these government environmentalists can get an accurate census on the number of these frogs living in the world? What a bad joke -- a con job to destroy private property rights!

[Snuffington]

...your pond is the home to the last surviving colony of California Red-Legged Frogs. By filling in your pond you know, beyond a doubt, the frogs will be gone forever.

This sounds like a trick question. Is there some kind of glue preventing these frogs from being moved to another pond?

[AAABEST]

Ping.

Anyone wanna bet me that the Nazi-freak caught a frog, killed it and put it there?

Starting fires wasn't his thing.

[leadpenny]

They ARE FROGS.

Bald Eagles nest 500 yards away with little eaglets.

They ARE BALD EAGLES.

Movin' up the food chain, are we?

[snopercod]

ping

[leadpenny]

I don't know. I was trying to make it a moral dilemma, which it surely would be for me.

[Husker24]

If nobody else knew there were frogs in there........hell yes!!

[JZoback]

Frogs and Eagles have a different values to us. Well at least to me they do. I don't think we have arrived at Animal Farm quite yet, were all animals are equal.

One we catch and throw to each other as little boys to see who will drop it first and the other are birds of prey which inspire us.

Did I mention those Eagles were Bald Eagles? Our national symbol?

At what point do we stop this insanity? What if the "animal" on this persons property was an endangered bug of some sort? A real gross one at that.

Get a grip

[goodieD]

oh brother, you're a case.
And I'd say, kid, humans come before animals, because our God says so.

[American Preservative]

In-our-backyard-"ribbet-ribbet"-article ping. : )

(I-o-b meaning in the Bay Area.)

[leadpenny]

Did I mention those Eagles were Bald Eagles? Our national symbol?

I don't believe the Bald Eagles know they are our National Symbol. What if the California Red-Legged Frog was our symbol?

[Carry_Okie]

Under my system you wouldn't fill in the pond because the return on the frog management business would make building a tennis court a bad investment.

[leadpenny]

So you'd fill in the pond for your tennis court, too.

[Carry_Okie]

Dispiriting, isn't it?

[leadpenny]

And I'd say, kid, humans come before animals, because our God says so.

Did your God also say what is in Ecclesiastes 3:18-20?

[JZoback]

I don't believe the Bald Eagles know they are our National Symbol. What if the California Red-Legged Frog was our symbol?

Very nice strawman argument, but a faulty one at that.

Of course the eagles do not know they are our national symbol but we admire these wonderful creatures for their beauty, speed, strength and ability to soar. Attributes we can all understand.

Now of course if we had a frog as our national symbol, I think we would call ourselves :

"The French"

What if the California Red-Legged Frog was our symbol?

I think we would probably be just like the nation of the cheese eating surrender monkeys