El Dorado County habitat issues will reopen for the California red-legged frog amid fallout from one of President Bush’s appointees tampering with scientists’ reports on the frog.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened a 60-day comment period on Sept. 16 regarding a new plan to designate 1.8 million acres statewide as critical habitat for the threatened species. The proposed habitat area triples the size of a 2006 designation for the species. A former deputy assistant director for the wildlife service, senior Bush appointee Julie MacDonald, was found in an internal review to have pressured scientists to alter conclusions.

On the basis of tampered-with conclusions, Bush administration legal protections were cut for the red-legged frog, and for other threatened or endangered species.

Drainages in the Weber Creek and North Fork Cosumnes River watersheds in El Dorado County house one of only three known current populations of California red-legged frogs in the Sierra Nevada.

The wildlife agency originally established critical habitat for the frog in 2001, designating more than 4.1 million acres of critical habitat in 2001. While the tainted 2006 designation excluded the proposed site of what’s now known as El Dorado Crossing shopping center, the 2001 designation had the proposed location inside frog habitat, on Missouri Flat above Weber Creek.

“I haven’t determined the impact of that (2008 designation),” said Eric Halterman of shopping-center developer Rawson, Blum and Leon. “I don’t know enough about it.”

Fish and Wildlife spokesman Al Donner said the 2008 habitat designation, as did the 2006 demarcation, doesn’t extend as far west as Missouri Flat.

The agency is still reviewing MacDonald’s role in drastically reducing the critical habitat – to 450,288 acres – in 2006. Under MacDonald’s guidance, the frog’s final critical habitat was 39 percent smaller than scientists had proposed. MacDonald resigned last year.

“This (2008) proposal uses the best scientific information available to identify the habitat that is key to the recovery of the species,” said Mike Fris, agency acting assistant regional director. “We will finalize this rule after we carefully consider any comments provided to us by the public.”

MacDonald also improperly provided internal documents to lobbyists and private-sector interests, such as the California Farm Bureau and the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, according to published reports in the Washington Post.

A copy of the proposed rule, including maps and specific areas where the Service is seeking information, is available at www.fws.gov/sacramento or at edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-20473.pdf.

Comments may be submitted through Nov. 17. Requests for public hearings must be submitted in writing by Oct. 31. Comments must be submitted either through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov, and following instructions there; or by mail or hand delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R8-2008-0089; Division of Policy and directives management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.

The Telegraph’s Roger Phelps can be reached at rogerp@goldcountrymedia.com, or post a comment at edhtelegraph.com.