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San Mateo County
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Watersheds which serve as habitat for steelhead and coho salmon in San Mateo County. Click for 11x17 pdf.
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The Bush administration is proposing to reduce by 80% the designated habitat for endangered Pacific salmon and steelhead.
On the Coastside, concerns about the fish have affected how local streams can be used. Most of the coastal rivers in California were considered critical habitat for salmon and steelhead before 2002.
The plan was prompted by a lawsuit from the National Association of Homebuilders. It would remove protection from private lands where developers have made conservation deals with the government, as well as millions of acres of national forests in northwestern California through western Oregon and Washington.
Not only have the critical habitats been reduced significantly by the NMFS, but the agency is now saying that economic impacts would be considered when designating critical habitat.
There will be a 60-day public comment period, and the final decision is expected by June 2005.
