WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Rare Salamander Clears First Hurdle for Potential Federal Safeguards

California Amphibian Found at Only Two Locations
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

DENVER - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a positive preliminary finding on a petition to protect the Tehachapi slender salamander under the Endangered Species Act. WildEarth Guardians’ staffmember Jeremy Nichols filed the petition on February 17, 2006. Today’s finding means the Service will undertake a full status review to consider whether to grant this rare salamander federal protection.

“This is a great step toward safeguarding an irreplaceable part of our natural heritage,” stated Jeremy Nichols of WildEarth Guardians. “But we need quick action to make sure this salamander has the safety net it needs to recover and flourish.”

This salamander occurs at only two locations, both within Kern County, California. The first location is Caliente Canyon, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. The salamander’s habitat in this canyon is primarily private land, but one-third of its habitat is on federal Bureau of Land Management land. The second location is in the Tehachapi Mountains, where the majority of the salamander population is on the 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch, a biological hotspot whose owners plan extensive development of the property. The Caliente Canyon and Tehachapi populations are isolated from each other and likely do not intermix.

“Amphibians like the Tehachapi slender salamander are important indicators of the health of our environment,” said Nichols. “It may be small, but its value is infinite.”

In today’s decision, the Service found that the salamander may face threats from habitat loss due to roads, development, livestock grazing and mining; a lack of legal protections; and vulnerability to catastrophic events due to its limited distribution and low numbers. In his petition, Nichols had further contended that climate change impacts, such as hotter, drier summers, and more extreme weather patterns, threaten the salamander. The Service acknowledged that climate change is a broad threat, but claimed it lacked enough information on the impacts of climate change within the salamander’s narrow range.

“Climate change is an urgent threat to wildlife, fish, and plants on the brink of extinction,” said Nichols. “We urge the Service to use all available tools to quickly cut greenhouse gases and confront global warming head on.”

The Tehachapi slender salamander (Batrachoseps stebbinsi) is lungless, breathing through its thin, fine skin. The species is adapted to digging and burrowing underground. It is relatively large, with an elongated body and tail and reduced limbs relative to other lungless salamanders. It requires moist habitat on north-facing slopes within canyons or ravines, under rocks, fallen logs, talus, or plant litter. This species spends most of its life underground but emerges during periods of precipitation from February to March, and through April or May in wetter years. It eats insects and other invertebrates. To protect itself, the Tehachapi slender salamander can coil its body like a snake and detach and regenerate its tail.

To obtain the petition and today’s finding by the Service, contact Jeremy Nichols at jnichols@wildearthguardians.org.

View Tehachapi slender salamander petition.

View today's finding: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-9220.pdf