SALAMANDER LOVE:

In an effort to protect the endangered California Tiger
Salamander population while simultaneously improving the difficult
permitting process for projects in the salamander’s 12,000 acres of
local habitat, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted
this week to develop a regional conservation strategy. With an
estimated price tag of about $1.4 million, the resolution – which
echoes a similar plan underway in Sonoma County – looks to create a
conservation team comprised of environmentalists, landowners,
developers, county and city representatives, California Fish and
Game, and United States Fish and Wildlife. The team will iron out
specific strategies of maintainable conservation during the next
four years. The resolution also calls for a reevaluation of the
strategy before the county enters into a memorandum of
understanding with any wildlife agencies.