BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2364
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Date of Hearing: April 8, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Anthony Rendon, Chair
AB 2364 (V. Manuel Pérez) - As Amended: March 26, 2014
SUBJECT : California Red-legged Frog
SUMMARY : Establishes the California Red-legged Frog as the
official state amphibian. Specifically, this bill :
1)States legislative findings and declarations regarding the
California red-legged frog, its connection with California
history, and its current status.
2)Designates the California red-legged frog as the official
state amphibian.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the state flag and names various state official
emblems, objects, plants and animals. For example: the
California desert tortoise is the official state reptile; the
California redwood is the official state tree; the California
quail is the state official bird; and the California gray
whale is the official state marine mammal.
2)Lists the California red-legged frog as threatened under the
federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The California
red-legged frog is not listed under the California Endangered
Species Act (CESA) but is recognized as a species of special
concern by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill names the California red-legged frog as
the official state amphibian. The California red-legged frog,
Rana aurora draytonii, is the largest native frog in the western
United States, and is endemic to California, with the exception
of a few sightings which have been recorded in Baja California,
Mexico. The species is currently protected as a threatened
species under the federal ESA, and is considered a Species of
Special Concern by the state of California. The red-legged frog
has been extirpated from approximately 70% of its historic
range. Currently, the biggest threats to its continued survival
AB 2364
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are habitat loss and invasive species, including nonnative
bullfrogs, which can outcompete and prey on the smaller
red-legged frogs. Commercial harvest for frog legs in the late
1800s during the gold rush era may also have been a significant
contributing factor to the species' decline. Other significant
impacts include predation by nonnative fish species introduced
through past state fish stocking programs.
Red-legged frogs utilize multiple habitat types, including
aquatic, riparian, and upland habitats. They require breeding
ponds or slow flowing streams with deep pools and vegetative
material to reproduce, but also depend on upland habitats around
breeding areas. As natural wetlands have been converted to
other land uses, red-legged frogs have been known to sometimes
adapt by colonizing agricultural stock ponds and similar
structures. Red-legged frogs have largely been extirpated from
the Central Valley, but continue to survive in the Coast Range
and the Sierras, and can also be found in the Transverse Range.
The red-legged frog played a role in California's cultural
history, becoming famous as the frog featured in Mark Twain's
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." The County
continues to hold annual frog jumping contests which have become
an important part of local history and tradition, though today
bull frogs, a non-native species, are generally used for the
contest.
The author of this bill notes that though a state symbol
declaration does not confer any additional protections for the
species, it does highlight the species' significance to the
ecology and history of California.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Action for Animals
Humane Society of the United States
Live Oak Associates, Inc.
Save the Frogs
Sierra Club
Students from Sea View Elementary School
Opposition
AB 2364
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096