Northeast Ridge 2009 - Callippe Silverspot Last Stand

Background Information

    

Background:  Fish & Wildlife Service Approves Destruction of Habitat for Endangered Butterfly

In May 2009, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed an important protection for the Callippe silverspot butterfly by issuing an "incidental take permit" allowing the destruction of the butterfly’s habitat by Brookfield Homes in the course of building homes on the Northeast Ridge (NER) of San Bruno Mountain.

San Bruno Mountain Watch Conservancy strongly opposes the USFWS's decision, Brookfield’s 70-unit large home development, and the expected final approval by the City of Brisbane, where the development is located. We do so on the follow grounds:

  1. The issuance of Incidental Take Permits undermines the Endangered Species Act by allowing the fragmentation and outright destruction of habitat, which is the primary reason for species endangerment in the first place.
  2. The 1982 San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which will receive a substantial sum of money in return for this habitat destruction, has consistently failed to protect biodiversity on San Bruno Mountain.  The only evidence that suggests otherwise consists of nearly thirty years worth of self-serving reports by the Plan Operator, San Mateo County, and its primary contractor during that time, Thomas Reid Associates.
  3. San Bruno Mountain is the only viable habitat for the Callippe silverspot.
  4. The Callippe silverspot’s host plant, Viola pedunculata, is notoriously difficult to propagate and has never been successfully planted on San Bruno Mountain. No amount of mitigation funding can guarantee that "substitute habitat" can be created elsewhere.
  5. The location of the proposed development isolates the Northeast Ridge, which is the best Callippe habitat, from other habitat to the west.  Fragmentation of habitat is widely accepted as a primary factor in species decline.
  6. If the Northeast Ridge project proceeds, it should include plans for establishing and maintaining a viable flight corridor between the newly isolated, core habitat and the remaining habitat to the west. Ideally, this corridor would consist of as much undisturbed open space as possible. Instead, the Northeast Ridge plan absurdly suggests that Guadalupe Canyon Parkway – a four-lane road – could serve as such a corridor.
  7. Given the rapid decline of the natural environment, especially in dense urban areas, it would be unconscionable to convert any more habitat on San Bruno Mountain to human development.  San Bruno Mountain is the last viable, relatively intact remnant of Franciscan habitat, and was  recognized by eminent biologist E.O. Wilson in The Diversity of Life as one of eighteen global biodiversity hotspots in need of strong protection.

We conclude that the proposed actions by the USFWS, the City of Brisbane, and Brookfield Homes will result in the permanent loss of habitat for the Callippe silverspot, and potentially in the extirpation of the species.  The restoration money promised by the developer is not a smart exchange for the permanent loss of habitat. 

We have to wonder, given the seven points above, how the agency charged with protecting and helping to recover endangered species could legally conclude that the Brookfield Homes development will actually help the Callippe silverspot.  Usually, decisions that run contrary to the best interests of those involved (in this case the butterflies – and mankind by extension) are driven by ideology, politics, and/or financial interests. It is important to recognize that the process leading to the Service's decision took place almost entirely during the Bush administration, which was unabashedly hostile to environmental protection. We believe that to the USFWS the San Bruno Mountain HCP, being the very first HCP in the country, must not be officially deemed a failure, i.e., it must be a success because the Service is so invested in the HCP concept.  Although the hundreds or thousands of other HCPs in the United States differ in significant ways from the San Bruno Mountain model, a ruling against this HCP could call into question the viability of HCPs generally. In short, we believe that USFWS's decision regarding the Callippe silverspot was politically driven and is likely to be unlawful.

     
    


    
    

Listen to the Public Radio Show 'Crosscurrents' Broadcast About This Story:
Development Threatens Wilderness on San Bruno Mountain

From the early 1900s until the late 1960s, San Francisco dumped its garbage into the Bay near the small town of Brisbane. For this, Brisbane owes a San Francisco a hearty thanks. Really. For a long time, the overpowering smell stopped development, keeping the wilderness around Brisbane intact. After that, grassroots efforts convinced politicians to set aside what has become 23 hundred acres of state and county park. KALW’s Judy Silber reports that more recent years, the pressure to develop has built up, threatening the wilderness and the species that live there.

Please note: this story contains a factual error. The founder of San Bruno Mountain Watch is David Schooley - not David Schooner. KALW News apologizes for the mistake.
Show Aired 9/29/09 6:12 pm  

    
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