Foundation Submits Comments to USFWS
Oct
22
10/22/2012 2:27 PM
On Monday, October 22, the Williamson County Conservation Foundation, on behalf of Williamson County, will be submitting its official comments to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) in the form of a 200-plus page technical response to the Proposed Rule to list three species of salamanders affecting Williamson County. It summarizes and updates the best available scientific information on the status of the Jollyville Plateau salamander (Eurycea tonkawae), Georgetown salamander (E. naufragia), and Salado salamander (E. chisholmensis). To view the Technical Response to USFWS Proposed Rule for Endangered Status for Four Central Texas Salamanders and Designation of Critical Habitat (77 FR 50768,
click here. Appendices are at the bottom of this article.
Based on this scientific information, Williamson County officials oppose the listing of the salamanders as an endangered species. The comments highlight these points to support the County’s position:
1. Over 70% of the known locations for the Jollyville Plateau, Georgetown, and Salado salamanders are already in protected areas.
2. Existing water quality protection measures, including the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, are effective at maintaining water quality.
3. Service assertions of a link between development and declining salamander numbers are not supported by independent observation and statistical analysis.
4. Current research on Texas spring salamanders demonstrates that these species naturally occur in low numbers, and large population fluctuations are normal and occur in response to rainfall.
5. Observed changes in Jollyville Plateau salamander surface abundance are most likely a result of long-term and seasonal rainfall patterns and not human development.
6. Water and sediment samples collected in Williamson County generally indicate clean water and do not show evidence of impacts from development.
7. Existing studies and literature are not sufficiently robust to support an inference of statistically significant population declines.
The Foundation’s studies and data collection indicate that not only are salamander populations being found in Williamson County throughout their habitat range, but that they are healthy, flourishing and existing in both heavily-developed and rural areas.
The County has established an educational website –
www.wilco.org/salamander – to provide the latest information on the Service’s proposed listing decision, scientific findings by the WCCF’s science team and others, and efforts the County has already been taking to protect and preserve salamander species in Williamson County.
To view Appendix C Raw Water Quality Data, click the files below:
Sites 1 Swinbank & Site 2 Cobbs
file
Site 3 PC
file 1 and
file 2
Site 4 Spicewood
file 1 and
file 2
Site 5 Cedar Breaks & Site 6 Hogg Hollow
file 1 and
file 2
Site 7 Avery Marsh & Site 8 Avery Deer
file 1 and
file 2
13 comment(s) so far...
Re: Foundation Submits Comments to USFWS
I wonder how all the Wilco landowners and taxpayers will feel when they learn than our fearless leaders paid $365k for this worthless piece of trash? How will they feel when they find out it's nothing but junk science, designed to mislead the public?
www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035-0229
By Jim Smith on
10/23/2012 7:13 PM
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Re: Foundation Submits Comments to USFWS
The scientific peer reviews are in (www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035-0257). Not only do they support the best science used in the proposed rule but also provide ample critiques of the Forstner report comissioned by the "Texas Salamander Coalition" and the SWCA/Williamson County "technical response". SWCA and Forstner clearly have financial conflicts of interest in this case, and it is no surprise that they both present junk science and junk critiques of the existing science in their reports!
Also see critiques of the Forstner report and SWCA/Williamson County "technical response" by UT Austin professors Dr. Norma Fowler (www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035-0195), Dr. David Cannatella (www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035-0199), Dr. Mark Kirkpatrick (www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035-0183) and rebuttals to SWCA's bogus critiques of the City of Austin datasets by the City biologists who actually wrote those reports (www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035-0198).
Finally, the apparent "opposition" by some citizens of Williamson County has been carefully crafted by Williamson County officials. See www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R2-ES-2012-0035-0275 for open records emails showing this "top down" coordination of an anti-conservation campaign which includes the WCCF, Wilco commissioners, our State Comptroller, Governor, State Representatives and US Senators. This opposition is in no way a grassroots effort based on sound science, but a planned and mis-informed attack on any potential endangered species listings in Texas that is being inappropriately funded by TAXPAYER money! The numerous identical form letters sent in by citizens are all based on a form-letter drafted by Williamson County officials!
By Sound Science Watch Texas on
10/24/2012 1:00 PM
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