Point Reyes Light - October 12, 2000
Point Reyes Station neighbors want frog pond declared a wetland
A group of neighbors and local environmentalists are trying to get a seasonal wetland in Point Reyes Station protected by the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent future construction from filling in the so-called "frog pond" on Mesa Road.
The Environmental Action Committee of West Marin has gathered testimonials from Mesa Road residents and local naturalists about the wildlife thriving on the undeveloped property at 55 Mesa Road and forwarded them last week to the Corps, as well as county and state officials.
The EAC sprang into action after property co-owner Mark Reano last month graded and filled a portion of the wetland while clearing a fire break around the roughly five-acre property. The EAC said he put compacted soil onto the property's wetlands, which measure roughly 115 feet long and average 40 feet wide when filled by rainwater.
Bulldozing stopped On Sept. 25, Reano was given a verbal cease-and-desist order from Liz Lewis, a program administrator with the county's Department of Public Works. Lewis said Reano violated the county grading ordinance by plowing a wetland, and he has agreed to hire a biological consultant to discern the wetlands' boundaries.
The Point Reyes Station Village Association has scheduled a discussion of the Mesa Road frog pond at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, in the Dance Palace.
While Reano and his family have stated they will cooperate with neighbors and authorities to restore the property, Reano's sister-in-law, Laura Coelho, has argued the wetland was artificially created by the construction of Mesa Road, which dammed water on the property, and the blockage of a drainpipe underneath the road, which was designed to carry water off the mesa and down to Tomales Bay.
Furthermore, she noted, the frog pond was not included in any county or federal survey of local wetlands. Brother-in-law Mark Reano was out of town this week and unavailable for comment.
Wetland not listed Donna Shepard of the Army Corps of Engineers said her agency has received the materials from the EAC and will investigate whether the property is a wetland, then decide whether Reano filled it inappropriately.
Catherine Caufield, executive director of the EAC, said the property certainly contains a wetland, regardless of its omission from any formal wetlands surveys, because of the flora, fauna, and hydrology that exist there. "It doesn't matter if it's on a survey," she said. "It's a wetlands."
Backing up her assertion are letters from neighbors and naturalists, including Jules Evens, author of The Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula; Bob Stewart, a former Marin County Open Space District naturalist, and Rich Stallcup, a Point Reyes Bird Observatory biologist.
"The pond supports a high level of tree frogs (Hyla regilla) and is, in my opinion, an important local population center for tree frogs," said Evens in his letter. "I have heard non-Hyla vocalizations that I am certain indicated the presence of the federally listed California red-legged frog," he added.
Red-legged frog Stallcup recalled seeing a red-legged frog at the pond about seven years ago. "I very clearly remember watching one green heron catch, hold briefly, then swallow a young red-legged frog (Rana aurora)," he wrote. "The amphibian was about twice the size of a tree frog and was obviously a Rana, not Hyla."
Less scientific are letters from ten neighbors who regard the chorus of frogs at 55 Mesa Rd. as a local treasure. Vicki Leeds, who lives across the street, wrote: "People from all over Point Reyes Station occasionally walk or drive by in the evenings to be amazed or awed by the sound of the frogs...
"Often one has to yell to be heard over the frog song. For myself and others, seeing the birds on the pond is one very good reason to live here, a daily visual reminder of what we have to be thankful for."
Lewis from Public Works said there is only a piecemeal mapping of wetlands on file at Civic Center, and many private properties are not included in those maps. After visiting the property, she said there's "no question" that the frog pond qualifies as wetlands.
Army Corps busy Getting the Army Corps of Engineers, which has federal jurisdiction over all waterways and wetlands, to recognize the property as such will take some time because of the Corps' busy workload, said Lewis.
Caufield said the EAC in the past has considered making its own survey of West Marin wetlands for future documentation but never started that project. Both she and Lewis said it is a property owner's responsibility to understand whether their property contains sensitive habitat, and to protect that habitat from damage.
"If there's water ponding on the property during the winter, and wetland plants like cattails, rushes, and sedges, the best thing to do is check with the county Department of Public Works or Planning just to stay on the safe side," said Lewis. "The same thing goes for creeks."
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