Gnatcatcher Hearings Seek New Information

The battle between birds and bulldozers comes to San Diego today, as developers and environmentalists take to a federal hearing to expound on the fate of a little, blacktailed songbird called the gnatcatcher.

Federal wildlife regulators have scheduled hearings this afternoon and evening to solicit new scientific findings and reports of bird sightings that will guide the government’s decision on whether to add the gnatcatcher to the list of endangered species protected by the Wildlife Preservation Act. Hearings took place Tuesday in Garden Grove.

The often contentious debate over the gnatcatcher has centered on two discrepancies over numbers: the number of gnatcatchers in existence and the number of jobs and revenue dollars lost if development is banned in “sensitive habitat” where the birds have been spotted.

“The way the economy is now, listing the gnatcatcher would be a fiasco,” said Mike Kennedy of Home Capital Development Group, builder of a 3,000-acre Rancho San Diego project that includes gnatcatcher habitat.

“The proposed limits on building would mean grave repercussions in terms of keeping dollars circulating and people employed in Southern California,” he said.

Building industry officials have argued against the proposed listing, saying the gnatcatcher population is not in a dire enough state to require federal protection.

Builders have requested an extension of the federal review period, allowing time to conduct biological surveys that may prove that gnatcatchers are more viable than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined. The six-month federal comment period is scheduled to end March 16. A coalition of Southern California builders has requested a 1 1/2-year extension.

But environmentalists say the listing must take place as soon as possible to prevent extermination.

“Developers cry: ‘Wait, wait! We know the gnatcatcher is out there,’ ” said Joan Jackson, chairwoman of the Sierra Club’s National Coastal Committee. “That’s like an Elvis sighting. If they know where they are, they should’ve come out and told us a long time ago.”

Jackson said healthy populations of another species of gnatcatcher exist in Baja California and that, given time, developers may bring in experts who shape a compelling argument on why the two species should be considered one.

“Delaying makes no sense,” Jackson said. “Without the listing, they can strip land wherever they want. If they have more time, they’ll just be wiping out more habitat.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed in September that the gnatcatcher be listed for federal protection, setting off verbal clashes between environmentalists and developers in San Diego, Orange and western Riverside counties, where gnatcatcher habitats have been identified.

The wildlife agency estimates 250,000 to 375,000 acres of coastal sage land remain, much of it in Carlsbad, Poway, Otay Mesa and Spring Valley. The agency estimates there are 1,800 to 2,200 pairs of gnatcatchers in Southern California.

The hearings are scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. today at the San Diego Convention Center.