ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : The Tightening Net Around Developers

Two federal scientists have found that Southern California’s controversial gnatcatchers are one of a kind. This was an obvious disappointment to developers who have made an artful argument that these tiny songbirds are of the same subspecies as those in Mexico and hence more plentiful than environmentalists say. Because the scientists were working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it points this protracted debate toward the strong possibility of endangered species listing very soon for the gnatcatcher.

Such a possibility has brought predictions of dire economic consequences from developers, who say a listing would cost them billions of dollars and cost the region hundreds of thousands of jobs. Moreover, it is not just the developers who are unhappy with species-by-species listing. The Nature Conservancy--a leader in open space preservation, and concerned about the loss of species while the fight rages on--has joined the effort to find a better way.

There is a better way but it is one that takes time. The habitat preservation program being constructed painstakingly by Gov. Pete Wilson’s Resources Agency could allow the various players to know up front what areas would be open for development and what would be set aside. Clearly this is the last, best hope for getting some harmony in the gnatcatcher’s song.

Orange and San Diego counties have joined the state’s enrollment effort, and Riverside, while not yet there, is forming its own multiple species plan. Eventually, it too should join this pioneering, regionwide conservation project. It’s the best way to look at the big picture while reserving for local officials latitude in making decisions about where to build and where to preserve.

The Resources Agency hopes to have guidelines out for public comment next month. The need for them is made more urgent because of the direction in which the gnatcatcher battle appears headed. While a habitat set-aside problem won’t cure all problems of overdevelopment, it can mitigate them. And it can provide order to the debate that pits jobs and growth against the environment.