CREEK'S PROJECT RULED OK CORPS SAYS TOADS NOT AT RISK.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Although at least a handful of arroyo toads were found in the San Francisquito Creek this spring, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has ruled that development along the banks of the upper creek will not harm the endangered species.

But the habitat for the arroyo toad was considered prime downstream, where biologists found standing pools of water and a sandy creek bed - both needed for the 2-inch, light greenish-gray toads to breed and live.

The Corps issued the ruling in its biological assessment of The Newhall Land and Farming Company's Natural River Management Plan, which came under criticism this spring after the toad was found within the plan's boundaries, near the proposed West Creek project.

The Army Corps ruled that few toads breed along the San Francisquito Creek where the 2,300-home project, Rio Norte Junior High School and the Decoro Drive Bridge are being built. There is a lack of water, there are nonnative predators and the area is frequented by off-road vehicles that can crush toads burrowed in the sandy riverbanks and destroy breeding habitats.

``The conditions aren't good for their survival,'' said Bruce Henderson, the Army Corps ecologist and senior project manager who prepared the report. ``The creek tends to be dry during the year except during the rainy season.''

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has several months to review the biological assessment before it renders an opinion on whether development anywhere in the area covered by the plan will inhibit the endangered species. The plan's boundaries include portions of the creek, the Santa Clara River, the Castaic and Bouquet creeks and the South Fork River.

Marlee Lauffer, Newhall Land spokeswoman, said the company developed the plan to outline measures to protect aquatic species along the river while allowing developers to complete 50 projects, including homes, bridges, bank stabilizations and culverts.

Newhall Land asked the Corps for the biological assessment after the toads were discovered in an area where the developer previously assured federal agencies there were no signs of the toad.

Nancy Sandburg, a biologist hired by the Center for Biological Diversity and by Friends of the Santa Clara River, discovered more than 10 toads along the banks of the creek and river.

Newhall Land, however, was certain the West Creek and North Valencia II projects would have no impact on the toad.

``It affirms that the environmental protections and new development can co-exist, particularly if you work on a comprehensive plan, which is what our NRMP is,'' Lauffer said.

But downstream as the creek flows into the Santa Clara River and the waterway continues west of the Golden State (5) Freeway, habitat is good because of a water treatment plant's discharge into the river that forms standing pools in which the toads breed.

``It is part of the designated critical habitat for the arroyo toad,'' Henderson said. ``This area will be affected by certain projects in the area.''

That includes temporary loss of toad habitat with the disruption of the uplands, creek beds, changes in hydraulic conditions, urban runoff as well as human access and adjacent land development.

``It is part or our Valencia master plan,'' Lauffer said. ``The process is ongoing and we have to wait for the (biological opinion.)''

While U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services reviews the report, U.S. District Judge Lourdes G. Baird denied the Friends of the Santa Clara River and the Center for Biological Diversity's request to suspend construction permits until after the review.

``I don't believe it's a remnant population on one year's survey,'' said Teresa Savaikie, of the Friends of the Santa Clara River. ``They are looking for toads while grading and tilling was going on in the creek.''

The environmental groups had filed a lawsuit against the Corps, claiming it violated the Endangered Species Act by issuing Newhall Land construction permits without proper documentation of the endangered species in the area.

The suit claims that the Corps violated the Endangered Species Act by issuing the developer permits for work along the Santa Clara River.

It also claimed the Corps violated the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires environmental impact statements for projects. The complaint alleges that the endangered arroyo toad was not included in its Natural Rivers Management Report, drawn up to protect the species living near the river.

The judge ruled the Corps was not in violation of the Endangered Species Act when it issued the permits.

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With development ongoing for the Decoro bridge and communityprojects, environmentalists are looking to other areas of the Santa Clarita valley to save endangered wildlife.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer