ENVIRONMENT: Group presses government to protect flying squirrels
Flying squirrels can glide up to 300 feet between trees. The nocturnal animals are still found in the San Bernardino Mountains, but experts say they have disappeared from the forests around Idyllwild.
An environmental group has filed notice that it plans to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect the dwindling population of the San Bernardino flying squirrel, a 5-ounce tree-dweller that uses flaps of skin to glide between trees.
The Center for Biological Diversity says the federal agency is more than 2 1/2 years late issuing a decision on whether to list the animal under the Endangered Species Act.
Under the law, the federal agency is required to issue a decision on listing within 12 months of receiving a petition. The center submitted its request in August 2010.
Shaye Wolf, climate science director for the Tucson, Ariz.-based group, said the quirky creatures have disappeared from the San Jacinto Mountains around Idyllwild, where they were a common sight until a few decades ago.
She fears the same fate for the remaining animals in the San Bernardino Mountains.
âItâs a tremendous loss â¦ that the flying squirrel has lost half its range,â she said Tuesday. âTheyâre really an amazing part of wildlife in the Southern California mountains. Weâre asking for protections to make sure they have a future there.â
Flying squirrels, a la Rocky and Bullwinkle, are nocturnal critters that use furred membranes between their back feet and front paws to soar up to 300 feet among pine trees.
Their habitat is under siege as a warming climate pushes them northward and squeezes out their food of choice â" fungal truffles â" which require cool temperatures and moisture, Wolf said. The animals also have lost ground to development and forest thinning that removes the tree canopy they need.
The government has 60 days to respond to the legal notice.
The Center for Biological Diversity has asked the agency to set a timeline for determining whether the species will be listed under the Endangered Species Act or a lawsuit will follow.
Jane Hendron, spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife office in Carlsbad, said she couldnât comment on pending litigation.
In 2010, Wolfâs group petitioned to have the flying squirrel protected under the Endangered Species Act. Animals protected under the act cannot be harmed, traded or sold, and habitat deemed critical to their survival cannot be degraded.
In January 2012, Fish and Wildlife found there was âsubstantialâ information showing that climate change, development, domestic and feral cats and tree thinning may be threatening the squirrelâs habitat and range. The agency committed to an in-depth status review, which was due in August 2011.
âWe donât have unlimited funds, and our highest priority is complying with litigation-driven and court-ordered deadlines,â Hendron said.
Those deadlines are set out in a five-year plan through 2018 that is designed to help the Fish and Wildlife Service balance its workload. It is part of a settlement agreement on lawsuits by environmental groups that requires protection decisions on hundreds of plants and animals nationwide.