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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Federal wildlife officials said Tuesday they would cut by nearly half the amount of land set aside for the California tiger salamander, saying it would be too costly to restrict development in those areas to protect the threatened amphibian. Home builders applauded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to scale back the number of acres designated as the salamander's critical habitat, but environmentalists said it would hurt the species' recovery and accused the Bush administration of ignoring science to appease developers. The California tiger salamander a yellow-and-black amphibian that lives in woodlands, grasslands and vernal pools...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge here on Friday declared the California tiger salamander an endangered species in Santa Barbara and Sonoma counties. The decision by U.S. District Judge William Alsup, if it survives, might postpone, preclude or make it costlier to develop thousands of acres in the two counties. The species is already listed as threatened across the state, meaning some development restrictions exist in its habitat surrounding certain wetlands and other areas. Under Friday's decision, however, restrictions could be bolstered. The ruling does not become law for more than a month to allow for appeals. "We do...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Protecting the California tiger salamander as a threatened species will cost the state $367 million in lost development opportunities over the next two decades, federal wildlife officials said Friday. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service analysis estimated the economic impact of designating about 382,000 acres in 20 California counties as the salamander's "critical habitat" where development would be restricted. The critical habitat designations for the California tiger salamander's central population - which includes populations in the San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast and San Francisco Bay area - were proposed in August last year, and a final rule...

We need more protection for the California Tiger Salamander and its habitat, the vernal wetlands of Sonoma County. It is a hard, scientific fact that a great deal of the planet's life depends directly on the existence of wetlands ( visit http://ceres.ca.gov/wetlands/ ). California has lost 95% of its vernal wetlands, and Sonoma County has lost 85% of its vernal wetlands habitats. Vernal wetlands function, among other things, as flood control, they filter and recharge our groundwater, and in Sonoma County, they feed the Petaluma and Russian Rivers and the Pacific Ocean, and they form the headwaters of the Laguna...

Save Some Salamanders Wednesday, June 15, 2005: Lawrence, Kansas - CNAH - NEWS RELEASE The Center for North American Herpetology Lawrence, Kansas http://www.cnah.org 16 June 2005 SOS FIGHTS FOR A NEW SALAMANDERAustin environmentalists want federal officials to put the Tonkawa Springs Salamander on endangered list Modified from an article by Stephen Scheibal American-Statesman Staff 14 June 2005 An Austin environmental group has asked federal officials to add the Tonkawa Springs Salamander (Eurycea tonkawae) to the list of endangered species, potentially creating new development controversies along the Travis-Williamson county line. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the Endangered Species...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A new species of salamander has been identified in the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon and Northern California, demonstrating the biological richness of the region, researchers say. The Scott Bar salamander, classified as Plethodon asupak, had been considered to be a member of the Siskiyou Mountains salamander species, or Plethodon stormi, until genetic analysis showed a distinct evolutionary line, said Joseph Vaile of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in Ashland. "Everyone talks about how biologically rich the tropics are, but we are still discovering species right here in the Klamath-Siskiyou," Vaile said. The word "asupak" is the...

Ambystoma californiense, the California tiger salamander, has found success where die-hard environmentalists have failed: The lowly reptile has single-handedly slowed down Sonoma County's relentless growth. The reclusive, rarely seen creature has been credited with -- or blamed for -- delaying a dozen major construction projects on the Santa Rosa plain. It has stalled everything from new housing subdivisions and a shopping mall to a Santa Rosa elementary school. ... Conservationists have championed such issues to slow growth in their county, but no issue has matched the salamander's record for halting development. The salamander, builders say, has put on hold the...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal wildlife officials agreed to grant protection to the California tiger salamander and its habitat, handing a major victory to conservationists but angering farmers and real estate developers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday it will list the salamander as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act - a designation that makes it unlawful to harm the salamander and restricts development in its habitat, which is primarily found in the Central Valley, Central Coast and San Francisco Bay area. "It's a huge conservation milestone because we're protecting one of California's most imperiled...

long-toed salamander is threatening to devour a $24 million school construction project and may also consume the property rights of many residents in this rural community on the Monterey Bay. No, this isn't the plot of another far-fetched disaster movie by the UFO-logists who brought us "A Day After Tomorrow". It is, however, becoming an increasingly common theme played out in communities around the nation, courtesy of eco-litigators backed by the Endangered Species Act. The Aptos Salamander situation not only provides a new perspective on the endangered-education angle, it is helping local residents recognize that the cost of eco-indulgence may...

<p>SUNOL, Calif. (AP) - A stocky, distinctively marked salamander with a penchant for spending summers chilling out in gopher holes is the newest California candidate for threatened species status.</p> <p>Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday they want to add the California tiger salamander to the list of plants and animals entitled to special protections under the federal Endangered Species Act.</p>