KJELDSEN BIOLOGICAL CONSULTING
Chris K. Kjeldsen Ph.D., Botany
Daniel T. Kjeldsen B.S., Natural Resource Management
923 St. Helena Ave.
Santa Rosa., CA 95404
Preliminary Review for the California Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora draytonii)
Date: April 6,2009
To:
Jesus Ceja
8111 Pershing Ave
Clayton Mo. 93105
Re:
1450 and 1225 Sperring Road
Sonoma County, CA
The study site is located in Sonoma County east of the city of Sonoma. The Sonoma County
Agricultural Commission has identified the California Red-legged Frog (RLF) as a potential
environmental issue that needs to be addressed by the proposed project (vineyard).
The project is not within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Critical Habitat maps for the California Redlegged Frog Apri12006, or in the new proposed Critical Habitat units.
There are no known records for the California Red-legged Frog on the California Department of
Fish and Game Natural Diversity Data Base within I-Mile of the properties.
California Red-legged Frog Habitat (Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office Species Account)
The California Red. legged Frog (Rana aurora draytonii) occurs from sealevel to elevations of
about 1,500 meters (5,000 feet). It is the largest native frog in the western United States, ranging
from 1.5 to 5 inches in length. The abdomen and hind legs of adults are largely red; the back is
characterized by small black flecks and larger irregular dark blotches with indistinct outlines on a
brown, gray, olive, or reddish background color. The spots on the frogs' backs usually have light
centers. Lateral folds are prominent on the back. Larvae (tadpoles) range from 0.6 to 3 inches in
length, and the background color of the body is dark brown and yellow with darker spots. The
diet of California Red-legged Frogs is highly variable. Larvae probably eat algae. Invertebrates
are the most common food items of adult frogs. Vertebrates, such as Pacific tree frogs (Hyla
regilla) and California mice (Peromyscus californicus), are frequently eaten by larger frogs.
Juvenile frogs are active both during the day and at night, whereas adult frogs are largely
nocturnal. Feeding activity likely occurs along the shoreline and on the smface of the water.
California Red-legged Frogs breed from November through March with earlier breeding records
occurring in southern localities. Northern Red-legged Frogs breed in January to March soon after
the ice melts. Frogs living in coastal drainages are rarely inactive, whereas those found in interior
sites may hibernate.
California Red-legged Frog requires a variety of habitat elements with aquatic breeding areas
embedded within a matrix of riparian and upland dispersal habitats. Typical breeding sites
Kjeldsen Biological ConSUlting
including pools and backwaters within streams and creeks, ponds;maJ,"~J;1.es, sag ponds, dune
ponds, and lagoons. California Red-legged Frogs breed in artificial impoundments such as stock
ponds. The California Red-legged Frog occupies a fairly distinct habitat, ,?ombining both specific
aquatic and riparian components. The adults require dense, shrubby or emergent riparian
vegetation closely associated with deep (greater than 2 113-foot deep) still or slow moving water.
The largest densities of California Red-legged Frogs are associated with deep-water pools with
dense stands ofbverl'iangihg/;wiUows (Salix spp.)and an intermixed fringe;iQfycattailsr(:z;'YRnq. '.
latifolia). Well-vegetated terrestrial areas within the riparian corridor may' p;ovide
sheltering habitat during winter. California Red-legged Frogs aestivate (enter ap.ormant ~tate
during summer or dry weather) in small mammal burrows and moist leaf litter. They have' been'
found up to 100 feet from water in adjacent dense riparian v e g e t a t i o n . : .' .
'lmp;rti3.D.i' .
The following findings are based on the available literature and a walk through of the site on
April 3, 2009:
The property is within the historic range of the Red-legged frog, California Wildlif~
•
Habitat Relationship System See Attached Map 1998.
•
I:'"
There are no mQW,n, Or,}1i~toric records of California Red-legged Frogs within one riiile 6i'
the property. The closest known California red-legged frog occurrence is 2.0 miles'W~stnlfT
of the property:"J".·
. ,.. .,,'
i
,) ,:'
~
•
The site is not within U.S. Fish and wildlife Critical Habitat (designated final critlcae'-:
habitat for the California Red-legged Frog May 15, 2006), or with in the new proposed
Critical Habitat unites.
'
•
The California Department of Fish and Game Natural Diversity Data Base showed three
records for the California Red-legged Frog within five miles of the property.
•
There is no potential Red-legged Frog aquatic habitat on the property. There were no
(Pools) which were identified on the property that contained sufficient water to provide
potential breeding habitat on the properties. Standing water was observed south of the
properties in a drainage off of the property.
•
Daytime observations April 3, 2009 found no indications of the California Red-legged
Frog on the property. Specifically there were no observations of adults ,juvenile sightings,
egg masses, or tadpoles.
Frogs were known to be widely distributed in the region; typically flat grasslands are not suitable
habitat for California Red-legged Frogs. The site, as it is presently managed does not contain
essential breeding habitat, and it is unlikely RLF would be present on the property.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at: Telephone (707) 544-3091',
Email [email protected], or Fax (707) 575-8030.
Sincerely,
Kjeldsen Biological Consulting
Kjeldsen Biological ConSUlting
2
,I:
I
Plate I DFG CNDDB Search
o
1.25
2.5 (Data Date March 2009) 5 Miles
I
California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System
California Department ofFish and Game
California Interagency Wildlife Task Group
California Red-legged Frog
Rana draytonii
A071
DIIUlIl
V\I nte r Ra nge
§
Summer Range
~ Yearlong Range
N
•
County Boundaries
W:!terBodies
Original Map:
CWHR Program (2008)
Revision History:
Range maps are based on available occurrence data andprofessional knowledge. They represent current, but not historic or potential, range.
.
Unless othelWise noted above, maps were originally published in Zeiner, D.C., WF. Laudenslayer, Jr., KE. Mayer, and M. White, eels.
1988-1990. California's Wildlife. Vol. I-III. California Depart. ofFish and Game, Sacramento, California. Updates are noted in maps .
fuat have been added or editedsince original publication.