MORGAN HILL
– Two environmental groups are threatening to sue Morgan Hill
and The Institute Golf Course if they don’t comply with the
Endangered Species Act, according to letters sent to two government
agencies.
MORGAN HILL – Two environmental groups are threatening to sue Morgan Hill and The Institute Golf Course if they don’t comply with the Endangered Species Act, according to letters sent to two government agencies.
The lack of protection for the red-legged frog has brought the threat, continuing the hassle over John Fry’s controversial course on Foothill Avenue in the eastern foothills of Morgan Hill.
In a letter sent Thursday to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and the Committee for Green Foothills noted its intention to sue after 60 days if the city and The Institute don’t comply with the Endangered Species Act.
“The (city and Institute) are causing illegal ‘take’ that harms and harasses the California red-legged frog, a species listed as ‘threatened’ under the ESA,” the letter said. “The ESA prohibits all activities that cause a ‘take’ of an endangered species.”
“Take” includes not only destruction of the animals but harassment, defined as “an intentional or negligent act or omission which creates the likelihood of injury to wildlife by annoying it to such an extent as to significantly disrupt normal behavioral patterns which include, but are not limited to, breeding, feeding or sheltering,” the letter said.
It was signed by Craig Breon, executive director of the Audubon Society chapter and Brian Schmidt, legislative advocate for the committee.
The letter claims that the proposed mitigations that made it into the draft EIR do not remove The Institute’s liability, nor are they sufficient to protect the frogs. Also, Breon and Schmidt claim that The Institute is not bound by the mitigations proposed in the EIR.
The city is involved because it has approved two temporary use permits allowing The Institute to continue maintaining its greens before an Environmental Impact Report is approved. The course was built largely without city permits and with insufficient attention to the effect on wildlife, plant life and water quality after widespread grading and habitat destruction. An EIR is normally performed before a golf course is constructed; The Institute’s EIR was performed after.
During the past several years the city and numerous federal and state agencies have worked to propose mitigations, or fixes to identified problems to be included in the final EIR.
City Attorney Helene Leichter said she didn’t expect the city to be responsible because the lead agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, had not forced the city to take action, meaning the city was indeed looking out for the frogs’ welfare.
“The agency charged with the enforcement (of red-legged frog protection) has declined to take any action,” Leichter said. “They concur with the mitigation package in the EIR.”
Leichter said city staff will be recommending that, in order to get the EIR approved, The Institute needs to strengthen the frog’s protective net.
The final EIR will go to the City Council for discussion and approval June 9.
Carol Holzgrafe covers City Hall for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at ch********@mo*************.com or phoning 779-4106 ext. 201.
