BY CHRISTINE SOUZA
AgAlert
Actions are being taken on several proposed species listings and habitat designations under the U.S. and state Endangered Species Acts that could affect California farmers and ranchers.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced several proposed actions to list certain species as threatened or endangered, or designate critical habitat. The agency is tasked with protecting species that have experienced dramatic population declines or face imminent risk due to habitat loss, invasive species or environmental degradation.
After the service releases a proposed decision to list a species, it has one year to make a final determination. During that time, public comments have the potential to sway proposed listing decisions, said Kari Fisher, California Farm Bureau senior director and counsel of legal advocacy.
Public comments are due March 17 for a proposed threatened listing of the Clear Lake hitch, a freshwater minnow found in Lake County in the Clear Lake watershed. The service cited population decline of the fish due to habitat loss, degradation and modification of the watershed, non-native fish and poor water quality.
Michael Fris, field supervisor of the service’s Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, said in a statement that survey data have shown a decline in the hitch population for an extended period.
“There’s a lot of variability in the population numbers year to year due to changes in environmental conditions,” he added.
Justin Fredrickson, California Farm Bureau senior policy analyst, said agricultural water users in the Clear Lake watershed have collaborated and gathered data on the Clear Lake hitch during the past two years. He said this work, “along with existing conservation efforts, protections and potential underlying causes should be taken into account” when deciding whether to list the species.
The service has proposed designating 91,630 acres of critical habitat for the San Francisco Bay-Delta population segment of the longfin smelt, which affects the estuary. Comments are due March 17. The proposed habitat focuses on food availability, turbidity, temperature and water flow to support spawning and rearing of the smelt. The agency listed the longfin smelt as endangered in July 2024.
In a move that could affect farmers in Modoc County, the Center for Biological Diversity in January submitted a petition to declare three species of fish in Goose Lake as endangered. The lake straddles the California-Oregon border.
The group said the Goose Lake sucker, Goose Lake lamprey and Goose Lake tui chub are at risk of extinction due to agriculture, livestock grazing and climate change. The Goose Lake sucker and Goose Lake lamprey live only in the freshwaters of Goose Lake and its tributaries in south-central Oregon and northeastern California.
The service seeks comments on a proposal to designate 760,071 acres of critical habitat for four distinct population segments of the foothill yellow-legged frog in California. Threats to the species cited by the agency include altered water flows, predation, disease, climate change, wildfires, water-related recreation, and habitat conversion and degradation. For the North Feather and Central Coast populations, the service provides an exception from prohibition of take under the ESA, known as the 4(d) rule, which provides some flexibility for forest fuels management.
Private landowners need to consider only critical habitat if their activities involve federal funding or permitting. About half the proposed critical habitat falls on federal lands. The service said it is working with partners to minimize the impact of the amphibian’s listing and proposed critical habitat on communities and public lands while achieving the best conservation outcomes. The comment period closes March 17 for the proposal on the yellow-legged frog.
Federal listings to protect pollinators, including the monarch butterfly, are ongoing.
Amid declining populations for the monarch, the service seeks comments until March 12 on a proposal to list the butterfly as threatened. The federal listing could affect farmers by limiting their use of pesticides and property to protect the butterflies from exposure.
In addition, the agency has proposed listing parts of the Central Coast that serve as wintering sites for the western migratory monarch as critical habitat. The proposal includes 4,395 acres across Alameda, Marin, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties.
The comment period closes Feb. 18 on a proposal to list Suckley’s cuckoo bumblebee as endangered under the federal ESA. Called an “important indicator species,” the bee has a broad historical distribution across North America and depends on other bumblebee hosts to survive and raise brood. The agency described threats such as a declining bee population, pesticides, habitat loss and climate change.
For the endangered Callippe silverspot butterfly, which is found in San Mateo, Sonoma and Solano counties, the comment period closes Feb. 18 for a draft recovery plan announced in late 2024. Threats to the butterfly cited by the agency include habitat loss, invasive grasses, pesticides, illegal collection and climate change. The draft plan outlines approaches for preserving and increasing the health and size of the species’ population.
At the state level, the California Fish and Game Commission is considering petitions to list several species under the California Endangered Species Act.
The comment period closes Feb. 15 for a listing of the western burrowing owl, which breeds and roosts underground and is found on Central Valley and Imperial Valley farmland. The petition cites habitat loss from development, pesticide exposure and destruction of nest burrows as factors affecting survival and reproduction of the owl.
Last October, the commission voted to list the owl as a candidate species for listing and has a year to conduct a status review to inform the final decision on whether to list the species as threatened or endangered.
After voting to list the white sturgeon as threatened, the commission has until early July to complete a status review. The petition to list the white sturgeon—the largest freshwater fish in North America—could impact available water supplies for farmers. The commission cited water diversion and adverse reservoir storage as a threat to the species’ survival. The sturgeon has reproducing populations in the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds.
Richard Filgas, a California Farm Bureau assistant director of policy advocacy, said a letter the organization submitted to the commission highlights the pressure California farmers face on water availability. The letter also stressed the importance of surface water allocations for the state’s agricultural operations.
Learn more about proposed state species listings at https://fgc.ca.gov/CESA.
For information on federal proposed species listings, visit www.regulations.gov.
— Courtesy of the California Farm Bureau.
