The Effect on the Limestone Salamander

 

Raising the level of Lake McClure and the Merced River would flood the known habitat of several endangered species including the Limestone Salamander, one of the most endangered and therefore “powerful” creatures in California. 

From the Ph.D. Thesis of Sean Rovito, Postdoctoral Fellow at U.C. Berkely

"The limestone salamander is unique to Mariposa County, where a limited number of known populations exist along the Merced River."

The Limestone Salamander is listed as fully protected under both the California ESA and the more restrictive California Fish and Game Code 5050 that allows no takes or kills of the salamander for any reason. 

The BLM has created an Area of Critical Concern to protect the salamander’s habitat.  From the BLM website:

 

“Limestone Salamander Area of Critical Environmental Concern

The species' known range is restricted to 15 population sites along a 20-mile stretch of the Merced River between the headwaters of Lake McClure, near the community of Bagby, and the mouth of Sweetwater Creek, near Briceburg. The species occurs nowhere else in the world.

 

Along with a State-administered preserve, designated to protect the species' type locality, designation of the Limestone Salamander ACEC places much of the species' habitat under protective management by public agencies. Other designations in the Merced River drainage, including the Merced Wild and Scenic River and Merced River ACEC, extend BLM protection to the area's overall natural and scenic values.”

Raising the level of the lake and river would remove habitat and result in takes of Limestone Salamanders. Thus the fully protected status of the Limestone Salamander may well be one of the most difficult legal hurdles for MID to overcome in their attempt to expand their reservoir.

 

 

 

 

Introduction Page – HR869 & HR2578

MERG Current Thoughts on HR 869 & HR 2578

New Exchequer Dam and Lake McClure

FERC Project Boundary Question

The FERC Relicensing Argument

Spillways at Lake McClure

Dam Safety

Embankment Dam Studies

Is Raising the Dam Crest Elevation Unlawful?

Known Geologic Issues

The Effect on the Limestone Salamander

Other Options for Additional Water Storage

MERG Early Thoughts on HR 869