By Lisa Faught
Staff Writer

PASADENA -- A six-mile swath of land along the Arroyo Seco is a safety zone for the endangered arroyo southwestern toad, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday.

The land stretching from Devil's Gate Dam in Pasadena to Long Canyon in the Angeles National Forest is federally protected as critical habitat for the toad, which has lost an estimated 75 percent of its territory to development and dams.

While the critical habitat designation will not halt development, projects with federal permits or funding would require a go-ahead from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which some city officials fear could hamper plans for Hahamongna Watershed Park.

The land along the Arroyo Seco was included in the 182,360 acres in eight counties set as critical habitat for the toad, scaled back from the 478,000 initially proposed last July. Land on the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and along the Santa Clara River were excluded from the designation.

The Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, which sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to set aside habitat for the endangered creature, was critical of the decision. Dave Hogan, spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, said since the toad often fans out from its streambed, the range should be extended to 2 kilometers from the streambed rather than the 1.5 kilometers set by the agency.

"The agency ignored the best science and excluded important upland habitat which is akin to telling a person that they can live but are not allowed to eat," Hogan said.

But Jane Hendron, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said that while some toads could stray up to 2 kilometers the designation covered most of its habitat.

"We incorporated by far the vast majority of the arroyo toad's foraging area," Hendron said.

The decision was submitted to the Federal Register for publication in late January, but was stalled after President George W. Bush called for a review of last minute decisions made by the previous administration.

The small, buff-colored toad, known for its distinctive trill, lives in sandy streams and breeds in upland habitat.

-- Lisa Faught can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496, or by e-mail at lisa.faught@sgvn.com.