MWD Target of Wildlife Agency Probe : Environment: Grading at Lake Mathews, home to endangered species, was done without federal permission. Water district denies wrongdoing.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is under investigation for possible violations of federal environmental laws after removing about 30 acres of shrubbery and trees at a state ecological reserve that is home to bald eagles and other protected wildlife.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say the work at the Lake Mathews State Ecological Reserve in western Riverside County was done without federal permission, required when endangered species may be harmed.

The giant water agency, which serves six counties, cleared Lake Mathews’ shoreline of vegetation to increase capacity and maintain water quality. The reservoir stores Colorado River water for delivery to customers throughout the Los Angeles basin.

Greg Taylor, MWD’s executive assistant to the general manager, contended Wednesday that federal permission was not necessary because, his staff believes, wildlife areas were left undisturbed and because the work was done mainly by hand with chain saws and weeders, not bulldozers.

The grading, which is nearly complete, was first spotted in late December by two members of the National Audubon Society during an annual bird count.

“We were shocked,” said Larry LaPre, an environmental consultant and past president of the San Bernardino Valley chapter of the National Audubon Society. “They’ve removed all the vegetation from the lake. Thousands, probably tens of thousands of trees.”

Taylor, however, said the damage is being exaggerated. He said it is confined to a “narrow band” of the shoreline often inundated with water anyway.

“The wildlife is still there. We saw one American bald eagle the other day, a blue heron and all kinds of shorebirds in the lake, and small birds in the brush around it. We haven’t disturbed them,” Taylor said.

The Lake Mathews area provides habitat for at least one other endangered species--the Stephens’ kangaroo rat, which occupies grasses near the shoreline.

Also, some of the removed trees may have been suitable for the least Bell’s vireo, an endangered bird that migrates to Southern California in springtime, the biologists said.

Fish and Wildlife Service biologist John Bradley said Wednesday that the agency has just begun to investigate whether the grading harmed endangered species.

Bradley said he was surprised that MWD did not consult with the wildlife agency because the water agency has been cooperative in the past. MWD is very much aware of the laws regarding rare species and is funding studies of the kangaroo rat there, he said.

“Needless to say, the service was upset there was no consultation,” Bradley said. “The reason we want a consultation is there’s always recommendations we can make that lead to avoiding or minimizing the impact on species.”

MWD officials said they had only a few months to clear the shoreline while the reservoir was drawn down. Instead of contacting the outside agencies, MWD used its own biologists to ensure wildlife was protected.

“This reservoir serves 14 million people, and without it Southern California would be in trouble,” Taylor said.

Bruce Henderson, a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the corps is also investigating whether MWD violated a second environmental law at Lake Mathews. But he said MWD apparently used a loophole that allows clearing by hand to comply with the federal Clean Water Act, which protects wetlands and other waterways.

Wardens for the state wildlife agency--the Department of Fish and Game--that owns the ecological reserve also started an investigation but then dropped it.

Fred Worthley, regional director of the state wildlife agency, said he directed his staff to end the investigation after meeting with top MWD officials and reviewing a 1979 agreement between the state and water agency that gives MWD the right to maintain Lake Mathews.