Red Legged Frog

NOV - byger Gwy May 17, 1996 INFORMATION MEMORANDUM FOR HAROLD ICKES, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff FROM: TOM SHEA RE: California Red-legged Frog The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service is under court order to decide whether or not to list the California Red-legged Frog as a protected species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act by Monday, May 20. The Department has decided to list the frog as a threatened species and will announce its decision at a press conference at the federal building in Sacramento, CA on Monday at 1:00PM EST. While some developers and ranchers may oppose this listing, which will predominantly affect 15 coastal California counties, it appears that mitigation of any serious adverse effects will be possible. In addition to this overarching concern, following are the three most important issues related to this announcement about which you should be aware: 1. Communications Strategy * The announcement of the listing will be coupled with a description of the frog's importance to California's heritage: Mark Twain wrote about it in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Caleveras County;" and the annual Caleveras County frog jumping contest, which will be held Sunday, is a big event. * A list of potentially affected projects which have already been successfully mitigated will be announced. * The announcement will stress the minimal need for increased conservation measures as a result of the listing due to existing state and federal wetlands regulations. 2. Rancho San Carlos Development * This 20,000 acre in-progress housing project is the largest potentially affected project and contains one of the three largest remaining populations of adult frogs. * The Fish and Wildlife Service believes, however, that the developer is willing to accommodate the frog population and is hopeful that mitigation can be accomplished.