California Wetland Species Protected

A January 14, 2002 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirming the protection of four federally listed fresh water crustaceans under the Endangered Species Act. Three species were listed as endangered and one as threatened by the Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in September 1994. Represented by Earthjustice, two California organizations, the Butte Environmental Council (BEC) and the Environmental Defense Center of Santa Barbara, have supported the listings in the courts since April of 1995 after the California Building Industry Association sued to try to reverse the species' protection.

The Service goes through an arduous process to list a species under the Endangered Species Act. They are required to base a listing determination on the best scientific and commercial data available and numerous opportunities for public comment are held. The Service found that the vernal pool fairy shrimp is imperiled by habitat loss from construction activities and degradation to the extent that 28 of the 32 known populations face one or more of the following threats: urban expansion, water and flood control projects, highways, utility work, overgrazing, and off road vehicle use. The vernal pool tadpole shrimp is known to exist in 18 populations in the Central Valley with 14 of them imperiled. Only four populations of longhorn fairy shrimp have been found along the eastern margin of the central coast range and there are threats to all of them. The Conservancy fairy shrimp is found in only six populations with four of them in peril.

Barbara Vlamis, BEC's Executive Director, stated, "We are elated that the groups' efforts have again contributed to a key judicial ruling that enforces the Endangered Species Act and has a tremendous impact on preserving California's vernal pools." Over 80% of the state's vernal pool wetlands have been destroyed from urban expansion, mining, and agriculture (Holland 1998). "What affirmation of the law, demonstrating the importance of some of the smallest parts of the web of life, the food chain, our home," Vlamis continued. Another reflection is found in District Judge Friedman's comments from his 1997 ruling supporting the fresh water crustaceans' listings. He quoted the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court's language that clearly articulates the importance of the Endangered Species Act that was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon in 1973. "The legislative proceedings in 1973 are ...replete with expressions of concern over the risk that might lie in the loss of any endangered species. Typifying these sentiments is the Report of the House Committee on Merchant Marine Fisheries [stating] 'The value of this genetic heritage is, quite literally, incalculable...From the most narrow possible point of view, it is in the best interests of mankind to minimize the losses of genetic variations.'" [Emphasis found in the original opinion].

This column originally appeared in January 2002 in the Chico Examiner.