U.S. Moves to Protect Gnatcatcher : Environment: Wildlife agency, citing dire threat of extinction, wants bird on endangered list. Action would thwart developers.

In a decision that could have profound impact on development throughout much of Southern California, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday proposed to add the California gnatcatcher to the nation’s endangered species list.

The long-awaited announcement triggers a review process that seems likely to culminate next year in federal protection of the tiny songbird, which has been the focus of a fierce debate between Southern California developers and environmentalists.

The wildlife agency concluded that the gnatcatcher is in serious jeopardy of extinction, mostly because of “substantial loss and degradation of its habitat,” the vanishing coastal sage scrub that grows in the region’s canyons.

“The threats (to the bird) are quite serious, very serious,” Ralph Morgenweck, an assistant director for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a telephone interview from Washington. “In that sense, this was a pretty straightforward decision for us.”

The federal decision comes only six days after the California Fish and Game Commission denied state protection for the gnatcatcher, concluding that the scientific data was unconvincing. Federal officials have often acted when the state has refused, protecting 35 other species, including the Northern spotted owl, that have not made the state list.

The Fish and Wildlife Service now must review any new scientific data that may be submitted and obtain public comments before making its final decision on listing. The bird is granted no protection during the review process, which can take up to one year.

Southern California’s developers and builders reacted Thursday with extreme disappointment and concern, saying the decision creates so much uncertainty in an already ailing industry that projects could grind to a halt. The development industry strongly disagrees with the federal agency’s assertions, saying that large amounts of good habitat for the bird have been permanently preserved.

“The science is on our side. This animal is not even remotely threatened with extinction,” said Hugh Hewitt, an attorney representing the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California.

Jonathan Atwood, an ornithologist who filed the petition seeking listing after studying the bird for more than 10 years, called Thursday’s announcement “an important milestone in a very long process that’s still to come.”

The gnatcatcher, a 4-inch-long, insect-eating bird with blue-gray feathers, resides in Orange, San Diego and western Riverside counties, and a small part of Palos Verdes Peninsula. Once common throughout the Southland, fewer than 2,000 pairs now exist, according to Atwood’s data.

The proposal, which came after a three-year review by federal biologists, was only a partial victory for environmentalists, since it denied emergency protection of the bird, which would have imposed immediate safeguards.

“Our fear is that there will be a number of developers who will react negatively to this and accelerate land clearance. We’ve seen evidence of that over the last 12 months,” said Joel Reynolds, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which filed the petition with Atwood.

The primary areas in Orange County inhabited by the bird are the coastal foothills between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach, and the undeveloped canyons northwest of Ortega Highway. Much of that land is owned by the Irvine Co. and Santa Margarita Co., the county’s two largest developers, and the proposed San Joaquin and Foothill toll roads would pass through there.

National wildlife officials say final listing would have sweeping implications for land-use in Southern California, since many proposals to build roads, houses and public works projects in Orange, San Diego and western Riverside counties would impact the bird’s habitat.

“Development and growth will proceed differently than they have in the past,” Jeff Opdycke, the agency’s Southern California field supervisor, said at a news conference in Carlsbad. He said he believes that the days of large, sprawling developments with sweeping impacts to natural terrain “are over.”

But the wildlife agency also stressed that protecting a species does not mean halting development, saying only those projects that directly harm areas where the bird nests are located are affected, and that even then, creative solutions can usually be worked out.

Federal wildlife officials said even though they have no power to alter or veto development at this stage, they are urging local governments and landowners to proceed with caution. They also say any federal agencies involved in projects such as the toll roads that may threaten the species must now consult with them, although the consultations are purely advisory.

“We have stressed over the years the sensitivity of coastal sage scrub and that it’s in everyone’s best interest not to erode what’s left. . . . We’re hopeful everyone will show some restraint,” Opdycke said.

With Thursday’s decision, environmentalists have cleared their biggest hurdle because the Fish and Wildlife Service rarely decides against listing a species once it is proposed. Only new, valid scientific data would prompt the agency to change its mind, and that has happened in only 1% or 2% of the cases, said Robert Ruesink, chief of listing at the agency’s western regional office in Portland.

Opdycke said the federal agency concluded there is a “high degree of certainty” that the bird is at risk of extinction, and the most convincing data is that 70% to 90% of the state’s coastal sage scrub has been developed. About 350,000 acres remain, but perhaps only 25,000 to 50,000 acres of that are usable for gnatcatchers, Opdycke said.

But Hewitt said the data reviewed by the federal agency is flawed and out of date, especially its list of development projects that may affect the bird. He also criticized federal officials for failing to review voluminous data that has been submitted in recent months.

The building industry has said that listing could cost the Southern California economy billions of dollars and put perhaps 212,000 people out of work.

Federal officials say there is no way to estimate the economic impact yet because no decisions have been made on what developers will have to do to protect the bird should it be listed. But Opdycke said the agency does not take lightly economic repercussions.

“No one on my staff has shown any amount of glee or delight in contemplating economic dislocation,” Opdycke said.

If the bird is listed, at the very least Southern California developers and road planners must deal with new regulations and requirements. They would have less choice over what land they can build upon and would probably have to protect and manage large blocks of land as sanctuaries.

Morgenweck said Southern California’s largest developers came to Washington and promised top officials “a high degree of cooperation” when working with state and federal agency in developing conservation plans.

Gov. Pete Wilson and his staff have been working to get local governments and landowners to agree to identify and preserve gnatcatcher habitat. Federal officials strongly endorse the efforts, “but right now it’s good intentions only,” Opdycke said.

“If it becomes solid and tangible and actually is implemented . . . that will certainly have an effect on our ultimate decision,” he said.

Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) criticized the decision as well as the law.

“To the young people in Southern California who were dreaming about owning their own home . . . if this listing goes through, those plans are going to be set back seriously,” Dannemeyer said. “We simply can’t continue to go down the road of placing critters in America above people and jobs and economic growth.”

Dannemeyer said he will propose an amendment next year, when the Endangered Species Act comes before Congress for reauthorization, that would require the wildlife agency to consider economic impact, not just scientific data, when listing a species.

The gnatcatcher is the first species in non-desert Southern California to be nominated to the federal list since the Stephens’ kangaroo rat, which inhabits Riverside County, was added three years ago. The list contains more than 600 animals and plants nationwide.

Staff writers Eric Bailey and Robert W. Stewart contributed to this report.

Birds of a Feather

The California gnatcatcher, above, will now almost certainly be added to the federal endangered species list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reverses itself on proposals in only 1% to 2% of such cases.

Other Orange County birds on the federal list: the least Bell’s vireo, the lightfooted clapper rail and the California least tern.