Fly Away

[Mark Walker]

California Town Wants Only Fly on Endangered Species List to Be Taken Off 
9/26/02 9:06AM 
By CHELSEA J. CARTER, Associated Press Writer 
COLTON, Calif. (AP) - For years, city officials have wished the problem
would just buzz off.
On Wednesday, the city of Colton went further, challenging the protection of
the tiny Delhi Sands flower-loving fly - the only fly ever to make the
Endangered Species List. Its home is in sand dunes east of Los Angeles, and
protecting it has halted construction projects and cost millions in local
tax revenue.
Mayor Deirdre H. Bennett said the city would no longer participate in
efforts to create a habitat for the fly and would work to get the fly off
the endangered list.
"I am directing the staff to work with the County of San Bernardino ... to
delist the fly as an endangered species. I am also requesting that together
we look into the possibility of filing litigation," Bennett said at a news
conference.
"Our region has lost it's ability to provide safety improvements and jobs to
its residents because of a fly."
For years, the fly has held up private development and public improvement
projects in Colton, a community of 49,000, and other nearby cities. Those
projects include plans to install street lights at the dunes, which have
become an illegal dumping ground.
More recently, the fly stopped the development of a $10 million sports
complex in Colton and a multimillion-dollar county project to improve a
freeway interchange that was supposed to be a main artery between Interstate
10 and Interstate 210, Bennett said.
The mayor said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would allow the projects
if the city bought, set aside and maintained additional land.
"Why for the sake of a fly do we have to spend more than $3.5 million of
taxpayer money for a $10 million project?" said Kathy A. Kivley, the
assistant city manager.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said it was not trying to prevent the city
from limiting its development.
"The Endangered Species Act does not differentiate between a species that is
cute and fuzzy with a species that may not have the charisma but has a
value. The intent of the act was conserve our natural, native fish, wildlife
and plants," said spokeswoman Jane Herndon.
Herndon said despite the status of the fly, numerous development projects
have been completed within the county, including Colton, over the years.
"The city of Colton is not unique in having an endangered species. All
across this country, we have cities that have endangered species ... and
we've worked together in partnership to develop a plan that makes biological
sense and balance the conservation needs of the species and opportunity for
economic development."
The fly, an orange-brown insect the size of a straight pin, was designated
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species in 1993. It
became the first and only fly to ever make the list after a petition by
local entomologist and one-time child actor Rick Rogers.
San Bernardino and Riverside counties, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, are the
only known breeding grounds of the fly, which reproduces in the fine Delhi
Sand Dunes. The dunes were created over the years by the Santa Ana winds
carrying grit from the mountains and dropping it in the desert valley.
The flies only emerge for eight weeks a year - between August and September
- to lay eggs, and then die off until the next year. There are believed to
be several thousand left.
(c) 2002 AT&T and The Associated Press. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The information
contained in the AP Online news report may not be republished or
redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. 
 
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