Red-legged frog sighted at Wavecrest

A California red-legged frog, a federally-recognized threatened species, has been found on the property planned for the Wavecrest Village development. The location seems to be part of the open space area in the current version of the Wavecrest development plan. The frog was found on June 7 by Chris Giorni, a biologist associated with the herpetology department of the California Academy of Sciences.

Photo by Chris Giorni

A california red-legged frog, photographed on the Wavecrest property.

The approximate location of the sighting is circled in red (based on the topographic map), near Smith Field and south of the proposed Wavecrest Village and middle school site.

In 1994, Giorni contracted with San Mateo county Parks & Recreation to survey the coastside for the San Francisco garter snake. He happened to be passing through Half Moon Bay last month and decided the re-visit one of the sites of his earlier survey. He heard what he thought might be a frog, and returned June 7. After a careful search, he was rewarded with a sight of the frog resting in the shade of a coyote bush on the property. The location is marked with a cross on this topographic map. "I haven't been involved in development in Half Moon Bay," says Giorni, "so I didn't know that it might be of so much interest."

Giorni has reported the sighting and the California Deparment of Fish and Game has added it to their database. The database is poorly designed, but I didn't have any difficulty navigating to the sighting. A copy of Chris Giorni's completed survey form is available on Coastsider as a PDF.

Giorni said that Wavecrest is a marginal habitat for the frog, but this may also be its last stand in the area. The coyote bush is native to chaparral, and not coastal wetlands, but it may have provided enough cover to keep that particular spot wet enough for the frog.

Giorni is director of Tree Frog Treks, a science education program in San Francisco. "I understand as a 21st century biologist, scientists, citizens, and developers all need to come to the table with the idea of compromising. I'm very practical, but also very committed about providing information about where San Mateo county is headed. It could be disastrous if we don't take action."

Now that the city of Half Moon Bay has recommended the Wavecrest project to the Coastal Commission, the commission is likely to be the next battleground for the development.

The frog, which inspired Mark Twain�s "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", was classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1996 because of the loss of its habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal that more than 4 million acres be designated as crucial habitat areas for the California red-legged frog closed for comments July 14.

Photo by Chris Giorni

The view from the frog's home, looking toward Highway 1.

Photo by Chris Giorni

It's wet in there! In his report, Giorni says, "The drainage trough was approximately two feet deep at the point of discovery."