The South SLO County Sanitation District members are working to upgrade the nearly 50 year old facility, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is concerned construction could impact the California red-legged frog, a species on the verge of being endangered.
“Increase the size, increase the survival” is the premise behind head-starting—raising an at-risk species in captivity until it is large enough to be less vulnerable to predators after release into the wild. But research conducted by University of Georgia scientists in California’s Mojave Desert reveals larger size alone is not enough to save the desert tortoise from predator attacks.
https://news.uga.edu/tweaking-approach-save-desert-tortoises/
When it came time Thursday to approve development of eight pools to provide seasonal homes for toads, the California Coastal Commission hopped to it.
Imperiled foothill yellow-legged frogs are found in less than half of their historic habitat in the Sierra Nevada and coastline regions of California.
