Ecologists Fear Weakening of Rules to Save Some Wildlife

The state Fish and Game Commission is proposing a regulation that environmentalists fear could weaken protection for some species of wildlife whose numbers are seriously declining in California.

The commission, under pressure from business interests not to declare the desert tortoise and the chinook salmon as threatened, is proposing the creation of a lesser category of protection that critics worry could take the place of putting animals on the state’s list of threatened or endangered species.

Under the proposed regulation, the commission would be able to adopt a “recovery plan” for species whose status is of “serious concern,” thereby avoiding the designation of threatened or endangered that would provide stronger protection for the animals.

Commission President Robert A. Bryant, however, said Friday that it is not the commission’s intention to soften the California Endangered Species Act. He said the draft regulation would help safeguard many types of plants and animals.

Proposal’s Intent Told

“This proposal is not backing away from the commission’s statutory responsibility under the state Endangered Species Act, but is a pro-active approach to ensure that there is long-term protection for all species,” Bryant told a meeting of the commission.

Executive secretary Harold C. Cribbs, after several revisions in the proposal and days of discussions with opponents, pledged that the new system would not be used as a way to avoid listing either the desert tortoise or the winter-run Chinook salmon as threatened species. Populations of both species are falling sharply in the state.

Nevertheless, Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups such as the Defenders of Wildlife are concerned that the adoption of “recovery plans” could become a substitute for placing a wide variety of animals and plants on the threatened and endangered list.

“As the regulation is currently drafted, it is a weakening of the (endangered species) act,” said Cindy Williams, an aide to Assemblyman Robert Campbell (D-Richmond), who originally authored the state law. “The concept in and of itself is worth consideration but there are significant modifications that would need to occur to ensure that it was not used as an escape hatch for controversial issues.”

Under the Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to kill a plant or animal that is listed as rare, threatened or endangered. Destroying the habitat of a listed species also is prohibited unless the state approves a plan for providing adequate protection to the species. In addition, all state agencies are required to make protection of endangered species a top priority. State funds are available to aid in the recovery of listed plants and animals.

By contrast, each “recovery plan” would vary and would not necessarily provide any of the protections of the endangered species law.

Other Threatened Species

In general, environmentalists like the idea of developing recovery plans to outline specific steps that would be taken to protect species that have suffered a serious decline in numbers. They would like to see the Department of Fish and Game develop such plans for the 254 species of plants and animals that are already listed as rare, threatened or endangered.

Under the proposed regulation, the department would be required to develop a recovery plan when the commission lists a species as endangered. However, the commission also would have the choice of ordering aup such a plan instead of placing a species on the list--an alternative that could ease objections from developers or other business interests that have an economic stake in the issue.

Bryant sought to allay the concerns of environmentalists by focusing on the fate of several hundred species not yet listed but deemed to be of “serious concern” because of the decline in their numbers.

Even so, Richard Spotts, a lobbyist with Defenders of Wildlife, and Williams, the aide to Campbell, said they were wary of the commission’s proposal because of its origin.

They contend that the commission has moved slowly to designate the desert tortoise as threatened after ranchers whose sheep graze in the tortoises’ habitat argued against the listing.

After environmentalists questioned whether the commission had the legal authority to make such a decision, the commission proposed its controversial regulation. As first drafted, the rule would have allowed the commission to call for a recovery plan “in lieu of” listing a species as threatened.

Last week, after further protests from the environmental community, the panel’s staff rewrote the regulation so that it would simply allow the commission to call for a recovery plan for a species that has not been listed as threatened or endangered. The commission also postponed a decision until its June meeting.