The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will begin the process to de-list the Siskiyou Mountains Salamander since data indicates the species was never threatened. As part of the process, DFG will hold a public scoping meeting to solicit input and suggestions on March 8 in Redding, Calif. The Fish and Game Commission will decide whether to remove the species from the list in 2007.

"We are embarking on a course that is truly unprecedented for the department," said DFG Director Ryan Broddrick. "DFG always uses the best available science and information when making determinations about a species' status. In this case, the science shows that the salamander isn't as rare as we once thought. The environmental door that offers protection to hundreds of California species must be allowed to swing both ways where it's appropriate."

DFG will complete a formal environmental review, as required under the California Environmental Quality Act as part of the de-listing process. The CEQA review will identify any potentially significant impacts that may result from the salamander's removal from the list. DFG biologists will prepare a status report on the species for the Fish and Game Commission to fully consider whether available evidence supports determining that the salamander is not threatened.

"The Siskiyou Mountains Salamander's numbers haven't increased or recovered, because the species was never threatened to begin with," said DFG's Mark Stopher, the habitat conservation program manager in charge of the process. "Based on the stream of data gathered by our experts in the field, and considerable information recently available from other researchers, we are less concerned ??? rather than more concerned ??? about the sustainability of this particular salamander within the northern California landscape."

The Commission voted unanimously to consider the de-listing after DFG submitted a proposal to remove the northern California amphibian in September 2005. DFG's petition for de-listing is available at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/whatsnew/whatsnew.shtml.

The Siskiyou Mountains Salamander (Plethodon stormi) is a slender, elongated plethodontid salamander that breathes through its thin, moist skin. Its diet consists of small invertebrates. The salamander is most active on rainy or wet nights, and its seasonal activity period is limited to late winter, early spring, and possibly early fall, due to summer dryness and winter freezing of its habitat.

Biologists discovered the species in California in 1963 and designated it as a new species two years later. In 1971 the Commission classified it as a "rare animal," a designation under the Fish and Game Code indicating that a species is not immediately threatened with extinction but could suffer if its habitat deteriorated. At the time, scientists believed the salamander existed only within six square miles in Siskiyou County and in a similar limited range in Oregon. In 1985, legislative changes to Fish and Game code designated rare animals as threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act.

Since the threatened status listing DFG scientists have learned that the early information about the range and biology of the species was limited. There are at least 224 documented locations where numbers of the Siskiyou Mountains Salamander are found in a wide range of habitats, over a range covering at least 277 square miles. Additionally, there is clear evidence of all life stages in disturbed sites. They also found that 90 percent of the currently known range is on federal lands.

DFG's March 8 public scoping meeting will be from 1 to 3 p.m. at DFG headquarters, 601 Locust St., Redding. Individuals can also submit information regarding the species' biology, distribution, abundance, trends or threats to SMS Status Report c/o Department of Fish and Game, 601 Locust St., Redding, CA 96001, or by e-mail to SMSrecord@dfg.ca.gov. These submissions must be received by April 28.