Our Issue: Red Legged Frog

What’s the deal?
The red legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake are currently both protected species. Up until very recently, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been providing assistance to foresters for THPs regarding protection measures for these species. This has usually resulted in reasonable measures.

The USFWS has had budgetary cuts and will no longer provide technical assistance on a regular basis. Instead, they propose to cover themselves by imposing strict new protection measures.

CDF (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) held a meeting with local foresters to get their input. It was the consensus of the foresters that the science used by USFWS did not reflect what is currently known about the frog and results in overly restrictive measures. CDF has agreed to review current known frog biology and present a counterproposal that protects the frog without undue restrictions on the landowner.

The garter snake, which had not been thought to occur in redwood and fir forests, has been found in those locations, if there are ponds in the vicinity, (It turns out that red-legged frogs are a favorite garter snake food.) but they still only live in San Mateo County.

Why do I care?
USFWS’s proposed measures include additional seasonal restrictions and larger buffers around frog/snake habitat, which include all types of streams and wet areas. In addition, when working in frog/snake habitat areas, trained monitors would be required to check for the presence of frogs and/or snakes.
And it’s all coming out of your pocket.

Where do I find out more?
We will have more information after CDF has released their report with suggested modifications.

What can I do?
There is nothing to be done until CDF’s report comes out. At that point, when we have had a chance to review it, we will post comments and suggestions.

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