ALC and Bureau of Land Management Join to Protect Vital Habitat in California’s Central Valley
Fifty Acres of Endangered Species Habitat Protected at Atwell Island
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/10/2010
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: In August, the American Land Conservancy (ALC) protected fifty acres of alkali desert scrub habitat at the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Atwell Island Land Retirement Demonstration Project in Tulare County, California, conserving critical habitat for the Tipton kangaroo rat and other threatened and endangered species.
The project is part of a continuing effort by the BLM to restore native valley grassland, wetlands, and alkali sink habitats on an area that for the past century was farmed for cotton, oats, and alfalfa. Funding for the acquisition was provided by the Bureau of Reclamation through BLM, through an interagency agreement.
Atwell Island is located within the southeastern portion of Tulare Lake, which just 100 years ago was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River before it was drained for agricultural use. The area provides habitat for the endangered Tipton kangaroo rat and San Joaquin kit fox, as well as several state-listed threatened species and species of special concern, including Swainson’s hawk, mountain plover, tricolored blackbird, burrowing owls, horned lizards greater sandhill cranes, and others. In all, 204 birds, 30 mammals, 13 reptiles, 4 amphibians, 24 butterflies, 12 dragonflies, and 171 plants in 44 families have been identified on the 7,000-acre island.
The new acquisition consists of two adjoining parcels (10 acres and 40 acres) that are contiguous with other properties owned by BLM. Securing the property enhances BLM’s ability to manage the resources in the area as well as expand currently conserved habitat for threatened and endangered species.
ALC’s work with BLM to retire marginal, idle farmland at Atwell Island and restore native plant and animal communities is especially important to the recovery of the Tipton kangaroo rat. Habitat for this species is very scarce, and that which does exist has become highly fragmented. Populations have also been shown to decline fairly rapidly with loss of habitat. Protection of areas such as Atwell Island helps prevent further population declines. It also prevents conversion of the land to residential or agricultural uses and allows for management that will maintain high quality habitat.
“ALC is proud to play a role in the recovery of threatened and endangered species in California,” said ALC president, Kerry O’Toole. “We look forward to an ongoing partnership with BLM to continue to protect and restore Atwell Island."
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American Land Conservancy is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s natural heritage by conserving land for the benefit of people and wildlife. Since its founding in 1990, ALC has conserved more than 256,000 acres of land and water resources, working landscapes, parks, and wildlife habitat across the country. This project is part of ALC’s Central Valley & Foothills Program, which has protected more than 20,000 acres in the region.
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior that administers 261 million surface acres of America's public lands. The Bakersfield Field Office manages 612,000 acres of public lands in eight Central California counties that stretch from the California Coast to the crest of the Sierra Nevada range, as well as 450,000 acres of federal mineral estate.
Contact:
Ed Stanton
415-912-3666 | ed@alcnet.org
