A substantial portion of San Mateo County's undeveloped areas may soon be designated as critical habitat areas for the California red-legged frog.
The species is already on the minds of many Coastsiders after news came last week that one was spotted in the Wavecrest area.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working on that process and recently concluded the public comment period.
The agency is required by the Endangered Species Act to designate any area as critical habitat if it contains features of habitat required for a threatened or endangered species to live and breed.
The frog has been classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1996.
"It's done without regard to ownership," FWS Spokesperson Al Donner said.
But designating an area as a critical habitat doesn't impose any further limitations on landowners that aren't already required by the act, Donner added.
Coastal watersheds in San Mateo County and northern Santa Cruz County totaling 238,000 acres are being considered for the critical habitat designation in the proposal. The Pescadero Marsh is included in the proposal.
"Quite a bit of the un-built up area of San Mateo County is in the critical habitat proposal," Donner said.
The agency hopes to have its updated proposal completed and ready for approval by the Secretary of the Interior by late 2005.
The California red-legged frog can grow up to 5 inches long and is the largest native frog in the western United States.
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