Amador County – Federal officials signed a deal late yesterday that will protect nearly 28,000 acres of regional land under the nation’s largest safe harbor agreement. The property is within San Joaquin, Amador and Calaveras counties. The agreement was signed at Pardee Reservoir Observation Point in Amador County between representatives of the East Bay Municipal Utility District and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. EBMUD will voluntarily manage its property in order to restore and maintain the habitat for three federal protected species: the elderberry longhorn beetle, the California red-legged frog and the California tiger salamander. In return, the federal government has agreed not to impose any restrictions on the land. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would acknowledge in advance that incidental species impacts may be caused by routine EBMUD land-use practices. Details of the agreement date back to 2008, when EBMUD created a Mokelumne Watershed Master Plan outlining long-term strategies for protecting the 19,000 acres of land in the Mokelumne River watershed that EBMUD owns. “In order to successfully conserve federally listed species, we need cooperative agreements with private landowners in California,” said Susan Moore, field supervisor with the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife service office, in an interview with the Sac Bee. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.