Working to protect and enhance populations of the foothill yellow-legged frog

Greenhorn Creek Gravel Extraction Project

Helping our mining clients build strong relationships with local wildlife authorities is something that Stantec takes pride in. For our part in the Greenhorn Creek Gravel Extraction Project, our work began with the sudden realization that the foothill yellow-legged frog (FYLF)—a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act—was living within the boundary of the Hansen Brothers Enterprises (Hansen Bros.) Greenhorn Creek Gravel Mine.

In addition to helping Hansen Bros. obtain the second ever issued FYLF incidental take permit, Stantec biologists negotiated with California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to test a novel egg mass relocation method in order help the Hansen Bros. continue mining operations. This low-tech approach involved biologists detaching egg masses from large original substrates and successfully relocating them into small hand-constructed rock corrals made from the cobbles found within the stream.

Recently, we’ve gone a step further to assist Hansen Bros. as they enter into the first ever safe harbor agreement with CDFW for this species. We’re working together—Hansen Bros., CDFW, and Stantec—to preserve the site’s local environment and sensitive biological resources as well as keep a multi-generational, family-owned business in operation.