Activists, Developers Critical Of Proposal

By Kathryn Balint
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

April 25, 2003

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to protect nearly half a million acres in Southern California to maintain the habitat of a small, blue-gray songbird, the coastal California gnatcatcher.

Federally listed as threatened, the gnatcatcher nests in coastal sage scrub, much of which has been lost to farming or development.

The 4-inch bird has been the subject of much litigation ever since the federal government listed it as threatened 10 years ago.

Yesterday's proposal to designate 495,795 acres as "critical habitat" for the gnatcatcher is the result of lawsuits that challenged the agency's previous decision to protect 513,650 acres.

The new proposal includes land in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

Nearly 125,000 acres is in San Diego County, including public and private land in Chula Vista, El Cajon, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista and Escondido. Other portions are in the Cleveland National Forest, near the head of the San Diego River, near El Capitan Reservoir and on the Fallbrook Naval Weapons Annex.

Neither builders nor environmental activists have been pleased with the Fish and Wildlife Service's previous decisions regarding the gnatcatcher. Yesterday's proposal met with criticism from both sides as well.

Land designated as critical habitat could be developed. However, measures must be taken to protect it.

Environmental activist David Hogan, a coordinator for the Center for Biological Diversity's office in San Diego, said the proposal doesn't protect enough land.

"This proposal may provide some limited protections but really falls far short of including all of those habitat areas the scientists know are necessary to prevent extinction for this species," Hogan said.

Training areas of Camp Pendleton, tribal land belonging to the Pala Band of Mission Indians and property at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station are among the coastal sage scrub properties that were excluded from the proposal.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Building Industry Association of San Diego.

Their representatives say not only should the land not be designated as critical habitat for the bird but in fact the coastal California gnatcatcher should be taken off the threatened species list in light of evidence suggesting it isn't a valid subspecies.

"The listing of the bird in 1993 was based on flawed science," said Matthew Adams, the association's director of governmental affairs. "It was bad policy last time to designate critical habitat, and it's bad policy this time, regardless of whether they've dropped the acreage. The bird is arguably not threatened."

Recent DNA studies suggest the coastal California gnatcatcher might be the same as several million gnatcatchers that live in Baja California.

The public can submit comments on the proposed critical habitat for the gnatcatcher by writing to Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 6010 Hidden Valley Road, Carlsbad, CA 92009. The deadline is June 23 at 5 p.m.