The Siskiyou Mountain salamander and the Scott Bar salamander play pivotal roles in old-growth forest ecology by contributing to healthy soil dynamics, efficiently converting consumed prey into new tissue and supplying energy and nutrients to their predators.  The two species are irreplaceable elements on the biologically rich Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains.  The salamanders have the smallest ranges of any salamanders of their kind, and are highly vulnerable to practices that alter their specific habitat requirements, including logging, road building, and mining. 

On behalf of several conservation organizations, including Center for Biological Diversity, Cascadia Wildlands Project, Environmental Protection Information Center, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, and Oregon Wild we succeeded in a challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“FWS”) finding that the salamanders do not warrant protected status under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”).  On January 19, 2007, a federal Judge ordered the FWS to go back to the drawing board.  On March 29, 2007, the agency issued a positive finding that the salamander should in fact be considered under the ESA. 

Attorney: Amy Atwood