Free Republic

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...

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...