TOAD PROTECTION SHUTS FOREST AREA.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Daily News Staff Writer Nearly five square miles of the 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 , including a Little Rock Creek Rock Creek may refer to:
Rangers began putting up fences to keep off-road enthusiasts, anglers, campers and hikers out of 3,000 acres south of Littlerock Reservoir along Little Rock Creek and Santiago canyons - regarded as prime habitat for the 2- to 3-inch-long arroyo southwestern toad. ``The killing of a single toad is a violation of the Endangered Species Act The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C.A. §§ 1531 et seq.) was enacted to protect animal and plant species from extinction by preserving the ecosystems in which they survive and by providing programs for their conservation. , under which forest managers are held personally responsible,'' Angeles National Forest Supervisor Michael J. Rogers said in a letter to off-road groups and other organizations. Light greenish-gray with warty wart n. 1. a. A hard rough lump growing on the skin, caused by infection with certain viruses and occurring typically on the hands or feet. b. A similar growth or protuberance, as on a plant. 2. skin and dark spots, the arroyo southwestern toad - bufo microscaphus californicus - 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. The adult toads burrow into the sand during the day and emerge at night to eat insects. Numerous threats The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the species has been driven from an estimated 75 percent of its former range by dams, road construction, farming, urbanization, off-road vehicles and predatory non-native species, like rainbow trout rainbow trout Species (Oncorhynchus mykiss) of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae) noted for spectacular leaps and hard fighting when hooked. It has been introduced from western North America to many other countries. and bullfrogs. Experts say even light and noise from campgrounds can harm the toads by interfering with the males' nighttime calls - a high trill trill, in music, ornament consisting of the more or less rapid alternation of two adjacent notes. Indicated by any of several conventional symbols, it varies in speed and duration and in the manner of its beginning and ending according to context. lasting eight to 10 seconds - which help them to find mates. Adult toads forage at night around campgrounds and are frequently crushed by vehicles on campground roads, and the young toads can be trampled where they sit on sandbars during the day. For three years, the Forest Service has banned people and vehicles every spring and summer - the toad's breeding season - from part of Little Rock Creek south of Littlerock Reservoir. That closure started when a sizable number of toads was discovered a week before Memorial Day 1996 - 18 months after the amphibian amphibian, in zoology amphibian, in zoology, cold-blooded vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia. There are three living orders of amphibians: the frogs and toads (order Anura, or Salientia), the salamanders and newts (order Urodela, or Caudata), and the was declared an 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 Forest Service instituted an emergency closure of a 1-1/4-mile section of creek upstream from Littlerock Reservoir to keep off-road vehicles, waders and anglers out during the busy holiday weekend, then extended the ban into September. Forest Service officials said people ignored signs and even a fence put up for the spring and summer closures. In one week, forest officers issued nearly 200 citations. ``A 1998 assessment of the effectiveness of the closure concluded that actions to date have not provided adequate protection for the habitat and existing populations of the arroyo toad, and the risk for harming one of these endangered species is high,'' Rogers' letter said. Shut for survey The expanded closure will remain in effect until February 2003 to give time for biologists to examine the area for the precise locations of toad populations, or other endangered or threatened species. To get accurate information, the surveys must be repeated over several years, officials said. The closure effectively shuts down the Littlerock off-road vehicle area - one of three in Angeles National Forest - except when Littlerock Reservoir's water level drops enough to allow vehicles on what is normally lake bed, officials said. It also closes the Alimony alimony, in law, allowance for support that an individual pays to his or her former spouse, usually as part of a divorce settlement. It is based on the common law right of a wife to be supported by her husband, but in the United States, the Supreme Court in 1979 Ridge off-highway vehicle route, about 14 miles of dirt roads and four-wheel-drive trails leading south into the San Gabriel Mountains San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. San Antonio Peak (10,080 ft/3,072 m) is the highest of the range. Citrus fruits are raised on the southern foothills. , and the 2-1/2 mile-long Santiago Canyon off-road vehicle trail, plus the Basin campground a half-mile upstream from the reservoir. Orange construction fencing will be put up across the reservoir's shallow southern arm and chain-link fences will be erected across dirt roads in Santiago Canyon and near Sulphur Springs campground. Recreational resistance A leader of one group that has battled the Forest Service over restrictions in national forests said they are considering appealing the closure up the Forest Service chain of command. ``It's going to stop, I'd estimate, 99 percent of the off-road recreationalists there,'' said Barret Wetherby, secretary for Public Lands for the People. Restrictions like those for the toad end up reducing recreational areas for millions of Californians, said Wetherby, adding that he blamed ``radical environmentalists,'' not the local forest officials, for the closures. Noting that the arroyo southwestern toad's historic habitat runs from San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (săn l  `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. County into Baja California, Wetherby remarked: ``My comment is, why don't you shut down the city of Los Angeles
The owner of Littlerock Reservoir's store, where off-roaders make up a good chunk of the business, said the closure will hurt. ``They've been done on the off-roaders for several years,'' said Ken Perry, owner of the Little Rock Creek Resort. ``They're killing us by discouraging use of the area. . . . The goal of the Forest Service is to get everybody out of the forest.'' CAPTION(S): Map MAP: FOREST CLOSURE: Concern over the endangered arroyo southwestern toad prompted the closure Monday 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/Daily News |
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