OFF-ROADERS IRKED CONCERN OVER TOAD KEEPS POPULAR SPOT CLOSED.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los - Off-roaders who hoped this month to get back into at least part of a popular recreation spot closed for four years will have to wait a little longer. When Forest Service officials - after a lawsuit from environmentalists - closed 17 miles of off-road vehicle off-road vehicle off n → véhicule m tout-terrain trails in January 1999 to protect an endangered toad that lives in Little Rock Creek Rock Creek may refer to:
But an official said last week the process has been delayed by changes in Forest Service rules for writing management plans and by staff turnover. ``It's going to be at least another year - at least,'' said District Ranger Cid Morgan, whose district includes the Littlerock Recreation Area. As part of its preparation of the new management plan - which will cover all of the Angeles National Forest, not just the arroyo southwestern toad Noun 1. southwestern toad - a uniformly warty stocky toad of washes and streams of semiarid southwestern United States Bufo microscaphus true toad - tailless amphibian similar to a frog but more terrestrial and having drier warty skin habitat - the Forest Service is planning meetings next month in Palmdale, Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, and Wrightwood to take public comment. The open houses are scheduled 3 to 8 p.m. March 6 at Palmdale Holiday Inn, on Palmdale Boulevard at 5th Street West; at a still unchosen location March 7 in Santa Clarita, and 10 a.m to 4 p.m. March 8 at the Wrightwood Community Center. The management plan is part of the Forest Service's settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity combines conservation biology with litigation, policy advocacy, and an innovative strategic vision to secure a future for animals and plants hovering on the brink of extinction, for the wilderness they need to survive, and by extension for the , which said the agency failed to consult with federal wildlife experts in drafting the old management plan about its impacts on endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. . The open houses will explain a series of alternative management plans under consideration for the fores. Specific plans will ultimately be picked from the alternatives by Forest Service officials, probably not until next year. The alternative plans, which have not been finalized yet, will offer a range of possible approaches, Morgan said, such as varying sizes for the area closed to protect the toad. ``We want people to look at it and say are your concerns met in one of the alternatives,'' Morgan said. But she expects that some area - though she didn't know how much - will remain closed to off-roaders, campers, anglers and others to protect the toad, a 2- to 3-inch-long creature that lives in rivers with shallow, gravelly grav·el·ly adj. 1. Of, full of, or covered with rock fragments or pebbles: a gravelly beach. 2. Having a harsh rasping sound: a gravelly voice. pools adjacent to sandy terraces. Higher up Little Rock Creek lives another creature, the mountain yellow-legged frog The Mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) is a small (5-7.5 cm) frog species. Its lower abdomen and the underside of its hindlegs are yellow or orange. It has a yellowish or reddish color on its dorsum, with black or brown spots or blotches. , she added. Much of the decision depends on conclusions of U.S. Fish and Wildlife experts about how much of Littlerock Recreation Area is necessary habitat so the toad survives as a species, Morgan said. ``In all likelihood, Fish and Wildlife will probably declare a part of it critical habitat for the arroyo toad The Arroyo toad, Bufo californicus is a stocky, blunt-nosed, warty-skinned species of toad, between 5 and 7.5 cm long. It has horizontal pupils, and is greenish, grey or salmon on the dorsum with a light-colored stripe across the head and eyelids. ,'' she said. ``If that happens, we will have to do something to protect it.'' The delay irritates off-roaders and others who use the Littlerock Recreation Area. Environmental restrictions all over California are limiting areas open to them, off-roaders say. ``They're running out of areas; it's getting tight, for sure,'' said Littlerock off-roader Scott Moser. Others complain that the Forest Service is restricting all sorts of recreation in the Littlerock Recreation Area, which had $1.5 million in improvements done under a state recreation grant in the mid-1990s. ``At one time, we had 78 campsites in this canyon, and they took them all out,'' said Ken Peery, who for 18 years has run a store that sells camping and fishing supplies and other items. As a sign of the drop in use of the area, he said his store's sales dropped from $135,000 in 1991-92 to $13,000 last year. He had to take work as a tile setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. to make ends meet, Peery said. ``I used to be able to make a living here,'' Peery said. CAPTION(S): photo, map Photo: (color -- ran in AV edition only) In January 1999, the Forest Service closed 17 miles of off-road vehicle trails to protect the endangered arroyo southwestern toad living in Little Rock Creek. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer Map: (ran in AV edition only) FOREST CLOSURE |
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