'CRITICAL HABITAT' PROPOSED FOR TOAD ARROYO TOAD HABITAT TO GET EXTRA OVERSIGHT.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Federal officials have proposed declaring thousands of acres along Little Rock Creek ``critical habitat'' for the endangered arroyo southwestern toad.

The zone does not forbid development, but it requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study any project in the area that would require a permit from any federal agency, federal officials say.

``It requires that the issuer of the permit consult with the service before any development work is done,'' Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Jenny Valdivia said. ``We need to do a little consultation to see if the species will be affected.''

The proposed ``critical habit'' zone covers the 3,000 acres closed last year by the U.S. Forest Service upstream from Little Rock Reservoir, according to a map released Tuesday by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The zone also takes in acreage downstream from the dam, as far north as Highway 138's bridge over the creek, but does not include the reservoir itself.

While the Fish and Wildlife Service says the ``critical habitat'' designation does not bar development, the environmental group that filed the lawsuit that forced the designation says the agency mischaracterizes the designation's importance.

``The Endangered Species Act prohibits any destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat,'' said David Hogan, Rivers Program Coordinator for the Center for Biological Diversity. ``Critical habitat is unpopular with the Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies because it is the line in the sand.''

The center, based in Tucson, is expected to file another lawsuit to settle whether federal agencies have discretion in allowing harm to critical habitat, Hogan said.

``If critical habitat is essential for the survival and recovery, we can't afford to lose a single acre, even when mitigation is involved,'' Hogan said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the arroyo southwestern toad has been driven from 75 percent of its former range by dams, road construction, farming, urbanization, off-road vehicles and predatory non-native species, like bullfrogs and Louisiana red-swamp crayfishes.

Light greenish-gray with warty skin, the 2- to 3-inch long toad - bufo microscaphus californicus - lives in streams with shallow, gravelly pools adjacent to sandy terraces. The adult toads burrow into the sand during the day and emerge at night to eat insects.

Experts say even light and noise from campgrounds can harm the toads by interfering with the males' nighttime calls - a high trill lasting eight to 10 seconds - which help them find mates.

The Fish and Wildlife Service says ``critical habitat'' is the area essential for the preservation of a threatened or endangered species. It doesn't set up a preserve or bar development, but requires that the FWS be notified of any project that requires a federal permit, the service said.

Much of the 478,000 acres proposed for designation as the toad's critical habitat lies within Los Padres, Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests, on U.S. Army land and at the Camp Pendleton Marine base.

The toad had been listed as an endangered species in 1994, but the Fish and Wildlife Service had not designated a critical habitat, which is supposed to be done at the same time.

The Center for Biological Diversity, and another group called Christians Caring for Creation, filed a lawsuit in 1999 to compel the agency to designate habitat for the toad and six other rare species. In November, the agency agreed to submit a proposed critical habitat rule to the Federal Register by June 1.

A complete description of the proposed rule will be published Thursday in the Federal Register.

A public hearing on the critical habitat is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. June 27 at the Hyatt Valencia, 24500 Town Center Drive in Santa Clarita.

Written comments can be sent to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. E-mail messages can be sent in ASCII file format to fw1artoch(at)fws.gov. Include ``Attn. RIN 1018-AG15'', name and return address in the e-mail message.

CAPTION(S):

photo, map

Photo: (color -- ran in AV only) The southwestern arroyo toad is an endangered species.

Map: (ran in AV only) FOREST CLOSURE

Concern over the endangered arroyo southwestern toad prompted the closure in 1999 of 3,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest, including a Little Rock Creek campground and about 17 miles of off-road vehicle trails.

Bradford Mar/Staff Artist