Habitat for the Red-Legged Frog

* Re “U.S. Proposes to Designate Habitat for Imperiled Frog,” Sept. 9.

Looks like the scarcity of the California red-legged frog is causing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create a critical habitat plan affecting 31 counties, including Ventura.

Please understand, the writer is a conservationist too. It would be wonderful to hear frogs croaking and show them to my grandchildren, but we must strike a balance between people, animals and plants.

This plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specifies many human activities that threaten the frog population. Among the threats that must be controlled or eliminated in designated areas are agriculture, water storage projects, flood- control projects, mining, grazing, off-highway vehicle use, logging and nonnative plants and animals.

The plan would control water flows and usage for the benefit of the frog population, even in drought years, which could call for pumping limits on private wells and breaching dams.

It would prohibit the use of many pesticides used for farming in Ventura County.

Moreover, it could even limit recreational use by people hiking, boating, fishing and swimming at developed recreational sites, even at Ventura beach areas.

It can also deny private property owners full use of their property and infringe on their rights.

I would urge all readers to contact their local representatives in Congress to enact an amendment to the Endangered Species Act of 1996 to eliminate extremism from existing environmental laws.

JANET OSTLUND

Camarillo