O.C. Land May Save Rare Butterfly, Shrimp

In a victory for environmentalists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to designate land--some of which will be in Orange County--as “critical habitat” for two species on the brink of extinction: the Quino checkerspot butterfly and the Riverside fairy shrimp.

The Center for Biological Diversity sued the federal agency last year alleging that it failed to protect the habitats of endangered species--a key tenet of the Endangered Species Act. In federal court in San Francisco, the two sides agreed this week that the Fish and Wildlife Service will designate critical habitat for the checkerspot, the fairy shrimp and the Arkansas river shiner.

“Critical habitat is a line in the sand,” said David Hogan, urban wild lands coordinator for the Tucson-based center’s Southern California office in San Diego. “Environmental law is clear in that federal agencies may not authorize activities that may destroy critical habitat. That, unfortunately, is not the opinion of . . . Fish and Wildlife, which has consistently acted to undermine the habitat protection provisions of federal law.”

Under the settlement, the service must designate habitat for the three species by March 2001. Land surveys, economic studies and public comment over the next year will determine the exact acreage and location.

A critical habitat designation does not create preserves or affect private landowners’ rights, said Joan Jewett, a Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman at the agency’s regional headquarters in Portland.

However, any projects in critical habitat areas that receive federal funding or require federal regulatory approval must be scrutinized by the Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that endangered species, their habitats and potential habitats would not be adversely affected.

The Quino checkerspot was listed as endangered in 1997. Though the tiny orange and black butterfly was once among the most common in Southern California, only a few hundred remain, Hogan said.

The only eight known populations are in San Diego and Riverside counties, and of those, only three contain more than five butterflies. The species has not been seen in Orange County for more than 30 years, but its home is coastal sage scrub and low-elevation native grasslands like those that abound in South Orange County, so the butterflies could return. Environmentalists say preservation of habitat is crucial if the species is to survive.

The Riverside fairy shrimp was listed as endangered in 1993. Its life lasts only a few months in vernal ponds--temporary wetlands created by winter and spring storms. Thousands of the freshwater crustaceans can live in a single pond, Hogan said, “but any pool can be lost in one afternoon under the blade of a bulldozer or the tires of an off-road vehicle.”

Vernal pools are found in Trabuco Canyon and other parts of South County.

The new critical habitat designation could present an obstacle for two controversial projects proposed for South County: the 299-home Saddleback Meadows development in Trabuco Canyon and the 16-mile Foothill South toll road, which would connect Oso Parkway with Interstate 5 in San Clemente.

Lisa Telles, spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, has said in the past that habitat designations are not an obstacle because the agency has long been monitoring the situation and working with federal officials. The TCA and developers in Orange County have been allowed to compensate for destroying habitat by creating or restoring superior similar habitat elsewhere or setting aside large chunks of preserved land.

Environmental groups, however, have clashed often with local and federal officials over habitat issues. A successful Natural Resources Defense Council lawsuit prompted the service to propose earlier this month that nearly 800,000 acres of coastal sage scrub--including more than 97,000 acres in Orange County--be designated as critical habitat for the threatened California gnatcatcher.

Jewett said her agency’s limited resources are stretched by a backup after a yearlong Congressional moratorium on using federal funds to list species as endangered or threatened. Since the moratorium ended in 1996, she said, the service’s policy has been to focus on those listings rather than on critical habitat designation.

“We didn’t feel we got any real protection for the species” through habitat designation, she said, “and we prefer to put our money and resources into gaining protections for [additional] species that need it.”

The courts have repeatedly disagreed, though. As of Feb. 11, court orders or legal settlements have resulted in designation, proposals or impending proposals of critical habitat for more than 200 species. There are also 28 active lawsuits against the service covering 300 additional species and also 30 notices of intent to sue, said Andrew Wetzler, a staff attorney with NRDC’s Los Angeles office.

These legal skirmishes have prompted the service to review its policy of not designating habitat. A revised policy will likely be released this year, Jewett said.

Environmentalists remain unconvinced.

“They’ve used the moratorium as an excuse to stop enforcing portions of the Endangered Species Act that they found unpalatable because they can be controversial,” Wetzler said. “We strongly believe the service should implement every aspect of the Endangered Species Act, not just the portions that they like.”

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Quino Checkerspot

Biological names: Euphydryas editha quino

Habitat: Chaparral, coastal sage scrub and grasslands

Active period: Mid-January to late April

Life span: Four to eight weeks, but can take up to eight months to develop fromlarva.

Why endangered: About 50% to 70% of range destroyed by development, agriculture, nonnative plants

Source: U.S. Forest Service