The Federal Department of Fish and Game will review the extent to which political considerations may have influenced the habitat designations allotted to one of Santa Barbara County’s most high-profile endangered species: the red-legged frog. The scientific underpinnings for the red-legged frog’s habitat were overseen by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior Julie MacDonald, who the Bush administration has conceded subverted science in the name of economic interests. Federal scientists had recommended a critical habitat for the frog that was 40 percent bigger than what MacDonald ultimately approved.
