DFG News Release

DFG Welcomes Public Comment on California Tiger Salamander

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is seeking public comment on a proposal to add the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) to California’s endangered species list.

A listing petition was submitted to the Fish and Game Commission by the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Defense Center, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club Sonoma Group, Citizens for a Sustainable Cotati, VernalPools.org, Citizens' Committee to Complete the Refuge, Butte Environmental Center and Ohlone Audubon Society.

DFG is interested in public comment about the California tiger salamander’s taxonomic status, ecology, biology, life history, management recommendations, distribution, abundance, threats and habitat that may be essential for the species or other factors related to the status of the species. Responses received by the due date will be considered and included in the DFG’s status evaluation report to the Commission, which will be submitted at or before the February 2010 Commission meeting. The report will address current threats to this species and the effectiveness of present regulatory actions in place, and will include a recommendation as to whether the California tiger salamander should be listed as an endangered or threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act.

All comments, data or other information must be submitted in writing by July 1, 2009 to the following addresses:

Wildlife Branch - Nongame Wildlife Program
California Department of Fish and Game
Attn: Betsy Bolster
1812 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

Comments may also be submitted by email to tsalamanderdata@dfg.ca.gov.

Following receipt of the report, the Commission will allow a 30-day public comment period prior to taking any action on DFG’s recommendation.

All populations of the California tiger salamander are currently listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Populations in Santa Barbara and Sonoma counties are listed as endangered and the Central California population is listed as threatened. The Federal listing includes an exemption related to existing routine ranching activities.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cites past habitat loss, alteration and degradation, along with projected future losses and further degradation, as the primary factors for listing the salamander. Bullfrogs, mosquitofish and other non-native fishes also adversely affect the presence or abundance of California tiger salamander. Non-native tiger salamanders, the larvae of which are used as fishing bait, have been illegally established in ponds throughout the state and are now hybridizing with their California cousins. As a result, it is now illegal to use any salamander as bait in California, and the transport or possession of any salamander in the genus Ambystoma is illegal without a special DFG permit.

More information about the California tiger salamander is at www.fws.gov/sacramento/es/animal_spp_acct/california_tiger_salamander.pdf and the DFG’s evaluation of the listing petition is available for download at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/publications.