[Dryerase] Alarm!--"Pull the Plug on the Ponds"

[Alarm!Wires]

“Pull the plug on the ponds”
Protected frog pulls the plug on developer’s bank account

By Michelle Stewart
The Alarm! Newspaper

Last week Albert Seeno Jr., president of West Coast Homebuilders Inc. 
(WCH) of Concord, plead guilty to two counts of violating the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA) as a result of his activities at the San Marco housing 
development site located near Pittsburg, CA. The 639 acres will host an 
estimated 3,200 estate-style houses. However, last year the development 
ran into a snag in the form of a threatened frog.

WCH was aware that the site might be suitable habitat for the California 
red-legged frog which was listed on the ESA in 1996 with a 
classification of threatened.  The ESA has three major categories: 
endangered, threatened, and sensitive. A classification of threatened 
means there is reasonable evidence to support the claim that the species 
will become endangered if there is not a conscious effort to protect its 
habitat and/or assist in its population’s recovery.

As early as 1997, the company was aware of the possibility that the site 
may be habitat for the frog. On March 25, 1997, WCH and the California 
Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) signed an agreement stating that if 
frogs were located on the site, the company would halt activities and 
consult with the agency to “ensure the species is protected.”

In January of 2001, CDFG game warden Nicole Kozicki gave verbal warning 
to WCH stating that the two ponds at the construction site were 
potential frog habitat, and that the company would have to  perform 
species surveys to get permission to do grading and other alterations. 
According to the US Attorneys’ Office, in March 2001, the environmental 
consultant contracted by the company found evidence of red-legged frog 
activity in the two ponds created on the development site, and notified 
the company that, by law, it was required to begin consultations with 
CDFG.

The day after being notified of the frog’s presence, Seeno was reported 
to have said, “pull the plug on the ponds,” and instructed an employee 
to drain the two ponds that were frog habitat.

In May 2001, Kosicki visited the site to monitor the activity’s effect 
on the frog. She was reportedly concerned when she came across the dry 
ponds, and, upon further investigation, found a dead frog in the 
vicinity of one of the ponds. She and another investigator interviewed 
Seeno, and he later admitted to burying the habitat in the interest of 
his land development.

Last week Seeno’s plea placed his company liable for violating the 
Endangered Species Act by harming the frogs’ habitat and the recovery of 
the species as a whole. As part of the plea, WCH agreed to pay a total 
of one million dollars to a diverse group of agencies and private 
organizations. The company was also placed on probation for three years 
and was required to write a letter of formal apology to be published in 
the Contra Costa Times.

In his apology, Seeno takes responsibility for his crime. He wrote, “My 
decision was wrong and caused the destruction of these valuable frogs 
and their habitat.” He closed his apology by stating, “It is my hope 
that this substantial penalty along with my apology will send a strong 
message deterring others who may be tempted to engage in this same 
conduct. I apologize for destroying this valuable piece of our ecology.”

However, one has to wonder if Mr. Seeno was a little more calculating in 
his crime. Consider that the housing development in question anticipates 
building 3,200 homes in the coming years, of which eight have reportedly 
sold for over $500,000- each—his fine was only one million dollars.
 
Sidebar:
The California red-legged frog
Threatened Species

° The red-legged frog was listed as threatened under the Endangered 
Species Act in 1996.
° A listing of threatened means that the species is likely to become 
endangered in the foreseeable future.
° The US Fish and Wildlife Service is charged with protecting species 
that are listed under the Endangered Species Act
Habitat and History

° The red-legged frog’s historic range was (coastal) Point Reyes in 
Marin county  and (inland) Redding in Shasta county to Baja California 
in Mexico.
° Numerous factors including destruction of habitat through housing and 
agricultural development and culinary popularity lead to the rapid 
depletion of the species.
° Today, frogs are only present in approximately ten percent of their 
historic range and their population has been collectively reduced by 
over seventy percent.
 
All content Copyleft © 2002 by The Alarm! Newspaper. Except where noted 
otherwise, this material may be copied and distributed freely in whole 
or in part by anyone except where used for commercial purposes or by 
government agencies.

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