TOAD REPORT OVERLOOKED SIGHTING NOT USED IN KEY HABITAT DECISION.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The rare 2-inch, greenish-gray toad recently found along the banks of the Santa Clara River was first spotted in the river seven years ago by a biologist now conducting surveys for Santa Clarita's largest developer.

In 1994, Louis Courtois saw the arroyo southwestern toad east of the Golden State (5) Freeway, according to the California Natural Diversity Database. But the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service didn't discover the report until last month, after The Newhall Land and Farming Company's property was excluded from a critical habitat area for the toad - in part because the amphibian hadn't been found on its property.

``Somehow, it (the 1994 report) was overlooked,'' said Rick Farris, a senior biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. ``We have no explanation why it wasn't accounted for.''

The sighting of the endangered toad wasn't the last made by Courtois and other biologists working for the developer, records show.

According to Newhall Land's environmental impact report on its North Valencia I project, the toad was found in 1996 west of McBean Parkway and along the upper San Francisquito Creek - near the same area it was found two years prior. The report notes there is moderate potential for the toad in the area and good habitat.

In 1998, Frank Hovore, a biologist working for Newhall Land on its Westcreek and North Valencia II projects, was watching what he believed were arroyo toad eggs in San Francisquito Creek. Then, a large storm swept through the area, washing away the eggs.

In 1999, Courtois, surveying the Santa Clara River east of McBean Parkway for a Castaic Lake Water Agency project, concluded the toad didn't appear within the reaches of this project. But the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service rejected that finding, saying the surveys weren't conducted within protocol, were incomplete, were conducted during adverse conditions or during a season of severe weather conditions and reporting requirements weren't fulfilled.

``You based your conclusions upon your inability to hear calling arroyo toads because of the `overwhelming presence of other ... species.' We do not agree that the inability to hear arroyo toads over background noise of other species necessarily results in the conclusion that the arroyo toads are absent from site,'' Fish & Wildlife officials wrote in a letter to Courtois.

In 2000, while surveying land east of I-5 for an endangered fish - the unarmored threespined stickleback - for the Fish & Wildlife Service, Courtois identified six arroyo toads, but didn't report the finding until March 23 - after the critical habitat was identified for protection.

Farris said because the finding was made under a permit for work on the stickleback, law didn't require he immediately report the findings.

``It's possible that it wouldn't have had an effect,'' on the critical habitat designation, he said.

Nancy Sandburg, a biologist hired by the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Santa Clara River, has since January discovered more than 10 arroyo toads along the Santa Clara River and San Francisquito Creek.

Lois Grunwald, Fish & Wildlife Service spokeswoman, said Newhall Land's property was excluded from the critical habitat area because the company submitted a Natural Rivers Management Plan outlining how the developer will protect any endangered species discovered on the property.

That plan didn't address the arroyo toad because surveyors didn't find evidence of the species, said Marlee Lauffer, Newhall Land spokeswoman. The company also was unaware of Courtois' 2000 findings until he reported it in March.

Because of the recent findings, although Newhall hasn't received Sandburg's report, the company is surveying for arroyos in the area again.

``If it is identified, there are mitigation measures that can deal with it,'' Lauffer said.

Dan Holland, an ecologist/herpetologist who studied the toads for five years at Camp Pendelton in northern San Diego County, discovered that arroyo toads can be present in a habitat without being seen.

``If you only go out and stand on the bridge and listen for the arroyo toad, that's not how to search for them,'' Holland said. ``You may not find them even if they are there.''

Temperature, available food, water flow and the time of year can either drive toads into the open or keep them buried in the sand along river banks. Usually, adults only come out at night.

The toad lives in rivers that have shallow pools adjacent to sandy terraces, and breeding occurs on large streams with persistent water from late March until mid-June, officials said.

The toad has lost about 75 percent of its historical habitat because of urbanization, dam construction beginning in the late 1900s and other activities, officials said. Because of habitat destruction, only eight drainages remain where they will live. The toad became a federally endangered species in January 1995.

While developers insist the river management plan will protect the toad, Holland said construction can disrupt habitat areas in several ways.

Building homes in the upland areas increases predators, such as raccoons, and eliminates habitat around the river where the toads travel.

Concrete soil river bank stabilization can suffocate buried toads, off-road vehicles or pedestrians following trails can squash the toads.

Also, a change in water velocity - which occurs when neighborhoods drain into waterways - will make the river or creek bed less suitable for the toad to lay eggs.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are reviewing the Newhall Land project permits and the river management plan, a process that will take several months.

Aaron Allen, senior project manager for the Army Corps, said Newhall Land is preparing a biological assessment of the management plan that will specifically address the possible impacts for the toads. Once that assessment is complete, the Corps and Fish & Wildlife Service will reinitiate consultation on the project.

Until then, Newhall Land has stopped construction, Allen said.

``All the information that is coming to light is all new information to us,'' he said. ``And that's why we are reinitiating consultation for the species at this time.''

SIX SIGHTINGS 

Chronology: Biologists have documented six sightings since 1994 of the endangered arroyo southwestern toad.

Date Location observed Biologist

1994 East of Golden State (5) Freeway Louis Courtois

1996 West of McBean Parkway and upper San Francisquito Creek Unidentified

1998 San Francisquito Creek Frank Hovore

2000 East of I-5 at Castaic Junction Louis Courtois

2001 Critical habitat established

2001 San Francisquito Creek and the Santa Clara River Nancy Sandburg

Sources: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, The Newhall Land and Farming Company's environmental impact reports.

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SIX SIGHTINGS (see text)