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ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT AND BIODIVERSITY Two other forces the Federal and ESA and biodiversity have played prominent roles in advanc- ing environmental restoration. Enacted in 1983, the Federal ESA provided an early impetus for environmental restoration with its processes for listing species as "endan- gered" or "threatened" and for designating critical habitat areas to protect listed species. About 1,800 species have been listed as endangered or threatened, and about half are covered by recovery plans. il "l -i' "''\-' ~ \,-".,... ':.. . ~'~1."ltlr~~) . < 4 ~'11~r!/i...~ ..."!"",\,, \:t> jJ,!/",,- ~* ~,"').1~? ~ ._"~ .T-l '. . 'Jik"~ '~.' _':f_"I~ ~-~ .~- ," .. The processes of listing spe- cies and designating critical habitat have led to develop- ment of broader concepts such as adaptive management and watershed management that incorporate protections for endangered species into larger, ecosystem-based objectives. But listing deci- sions and critical habitat RED-LEGGED FROG The eponymous amphibian of Mark Twain's story The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County may have been a California red-legged frog, which once ranged across the Central Valley and into the Sierra Nevada, By the time it was listed as a threatened species under the federal ESA in 1996, the frog was thought to be extinct in the Sierra portion of its range, a victim of habitat loss, introduction of eastern bullfrogs and predation by humans with a taste for frog legs, '1 The San Joaquin Valley kit fox is protected under the Endangered Species Act. However, Bureau biologists workin9 on a habitat restoration program to mitigate the environ mental effects of CVP projects found red-legged frogs in 1997 near Coloma (on the South Fork of the American River) - ironically the place where the Gold Rush that decimated the frog's population started, Working with state and federal wildlife agencies, the Bureau located a 50-acre parcel of land within the frog's range and arranged to purchase it through the auspices 1.1 designations also have become f1ashpoints for critics of the ESA, who see decisions to list species as infringing on property rights, Biodiversity is short for biological diversity, and preserving biodiversity has become an important part of environmental restoration. Scientists differ about a precise definition of the term, but most agree that biodiversity refers to the variety and number of different living things inhabiting a particular area. Scientists believe it is important to preserve biodiversity to promote healthy ecosystems. California embraced biodiversity in the 1990s with the formation of a state Biodiversity Council and creation of the Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) program. The 37-member council representing state, local, and federal agencies provides overall policy direction for conserving biodiversity across 10 defined bioregions at the state, One of the NCCP program's earliest success stories was creation of an interconnected network of reserves in Orange County to protect coastal sage scrub habitat (home of the threatened California gnatcatcher) while also allowing for some development. of the American River Conservancy, The parcel's owner had planned to log the property, which would have devastated the frog's habitat by destroying vegetation where the frogs lay their eggs, As part of the property transfer, the Bureau , agreed to refurbish a small dam to maintain a pond on a tributary creek of the American River, The pond behind the dam is an important part of the red-legged frog's habitat. The Bureau, the U,S, Forest Service, USFWS and state wildlife agencies have developed a management plan and turned the parcel over to the U.S, Bureau of Land Management for perpetual management as frog habitat. Other than repairing the dam, little change has been made to the parcel, which is believed to provide adequate habitat to support a self- sustaining population of red-legged frogs,