Decision Delayed on Gnatcatcher Habitat

A state Senate committee Thursday delayed for a week its decision on funding for a controversial state program to protect the habitat of the California gnatcatcher.

State Sen. Don Rogers (R-Bakersfield) said Thursday that the Wilson Administration’s new conservation program is worthwhile and suggested that the Senate fund $1.5 million.

The chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Dan McCorquodale (D-San Jose), said he wanted more time to consider the budget request because he has serious concerns about the program’s effectiveness. The issue was rescheduled for April 9 in Sacramento.

The Wilson Administration urged the state Fish and Game Commission last August to deny endangered-species protection for the gnatcatcher because of the new voluntary program. Its main goal is to get Southern California landowners and local governments to voluntarily agree to preserve coastal sage scrub habitat, which is home to the gnatcatcher.

In recent weeks, the program has come under fire from McCorquodale and environmentalists, who say the gnatcatcher is being jeopardized because development of the habitat has continued. No landowners or local governments have signed the Wilson Administration’s agreements, and the deadline is May 1.

The money for the program, which would come from the state’s environmental license plate fund, would be used mainly to hire biologists to create and oversee the program. The Assembly has agreed to allocate $1.3 million.