U.S. Halts College Building to Spare Gnatcatcher Habitat
Construction of a $5-million physical education facility at a college was halted after federal wildlife officials said the project endangered the habitat of California gnatcatchers.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials walked onto the project site at Cuyamaca College on April 9 and advised construction officials to stop work, saying they were in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The California gnatcatcher, a tiny songbird, was placed on the threatened species list last month.
The project was stopped less than a month after construction started. Although the 20-acre site had already been cleared of nearly all foliage, including the gnatcatcher’s coastal sage scrub habitat and possibly three nesting pairs of birds, Fish and Wildlife officials said workers should no longer go onto the job site.
College officials said the habitat was identified in a 1975 environmental report, but the district was not aware of gnatcatchers occupying the site.
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