Money Woes Endanger Yosemite Toad, Government Says

by Don Thompson, Associated Press
San Francisco Chronicle - December 10, 2002

A toad whose habitat is centered in Yosemite National Park has lost more than half its population in some areas, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday. But budget problems mean the service can't seek Endangered Species Act protections for the toad.

Instead, the service said it will review the Yosemite toad's status in another year.

The announcement brought an outcry from the Center for Biological Diversity, which sued to force the study, and a promise the decision "will just land them back in court."

The service's yearlong study found there is enough evidence to list the amphibian as threatened or endangered throughout its narrow range in the high Sierra Nevadas, from Ebbetts Pass in Alpine County south to Kaiser Pass and Evolution Lake in Fresno County.

Some populations in Yosemite park, the heart of its range, and elsewhere have declined by at least half due to habitat loss, drought, and air pollution, the study found. Studies at Yosemite's Tioga Pass have found "wholesale population crashes," environmental groups said.

However, "the service is so backed up with other court-ordered actions ... that we don't have the staff or resources to complete the listing," said Steve Thompson, manager of the California-Nevada office in Sacramento.

But he noted the U.S. Forest Service has proposed guidelines to protect the toad and increase its habitat, working with the Fish and Wildlife Service. More than 90 percent of the toad's habitat is in either Forest Service wilderness or in Yosemite.

The Forest Service's plans include better management of livestock grazing and fish stocking, since fish eat the young toads while livestock can damage wetlands the toads need to breed.

The toad is generally found along ponds and lake shores at elevations of 8,000 to 10,000 feet. The female has a mosaic of dark blotches on an olive-tan background, while males mature to a bright lemon color.

The toad already has lost half to nearly two-thirds of its range, said Center for Biological Diversity spokesman Jeff Miller.

He said Tuesday's decision is illegal and "a recipe for extinction" for the once-common toad. It joins 25 other species on the service's waiting list, with an average waiting time of about 17 years.

Deanna Spooner of the Pacific Rivers Council, which joined the suit, criticized the Bush administration for not providing enough money for enforcing the Endangered Species Act.

The Fish and Wildlife Service imposed a moratorium on new endangered species listings in November 2000, saying a lack of money meant it could take action only upon a court order.