Milestones

Using existing science and law, in 2001 we secured critical habitat designation for 4.1 million acres of land for the California red-legged frog (Read our press release on the final rule). But in 2002, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) struck a sweetheart deal with the Homebuilders Association of Northern California, revoking all but 199,000 acres of the frog’s habitat protection and agreeing to revise its original critical habitat designation. Read a press release about our efforts to intervene in the lawsuit that led to the deal.

In 2004, the FWS released a new critical habitat proposal, reproposing the original 4.1 million acres of critical habitat. However, instead of then releasing the Final Rule, the FWS released yet another revised proposal in late 2005, along with a revised draft economic analysis of the proposed designation, once again reducing the acres of habitat protected.

Both the 2005 revised proposal and draft economic analysis had numerous fatal flaws, running counter to the intent and requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the species’ recovery. In fact, the proposed designation didn’t even come close to protecting the lands identified by the frog’s recovery plan as necessary to recover the species (View a map illustrating this point).

In addition to submitting comments on the scientific and legal inadequacy of the designation proposal itself, we commissioned ECONorthwest to review the Service’s draft economic analysis. ECONorthwest's report cites the reasons why the analysis is not adequate to inform the designation progress, and offers recommendations for correcting the analysis’ flaws. Read our comments from January 2006 on the revised proposal.

On April 13, 2006 the FWS released a Final Rule, slashing habitat protection from 4.1 million acres (in the original designation) down to 450,288 acres, a reduction of 90%.

The red-legged frog is now getting another chance at improved protections. The Fish and Wildlife Service recently acknowledged that the decision to slash the designation was based upon political meddling with the science. FWS has agreed that the designation should be revised. Read the letter from the FWS. Read the media advisory.

The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a new rule on September 16, 2008.  The agency now proposes to designate 1.8 million acres as critical habitat.  Read the proposal.   Read a news article about the new proposal.  Read our comments on the proposal.

The Fish and Wildlife Service recently reopened the comment period on the proposed new rule.  Read the notice reopening the comment period.  FWS has issued a new draft economic analysis to evaluate the economic costs and benefits of designating critical habitat for the red-legged frog.  Read our comments on the proposal and economic analysis.