Hence, the state predicts that the number of listed species will continue to mount, and most of those listed will decline further still, as has occurred in Sonoma County, if preservation continues piecemeal. The number of species within Sonoma County officially listed as nearing extinction rose from one in 1967 to 25 in 1994. Locally, most of our listed species are in a state of continued decline despite current protections, while the total number of species at risk continues to rise. Farmers and ranchers have had to alter this new environment to suit their needs. The valley oak is being lost from the area's oak savannah as trees are cleared and older ones die.
Root rot caused by summer wastewater irrigation appears to be a major cause.
The committee noted the Laguna's former status as an important salmon and steelhead nursery in the Russian River watershed, and as a major habitat for mallard and cinnamon teal. The committee proposed preservation and restoration of more than 7,000 acres of Laguna wetlands, less than one-eighth of the original acreage occupied by the Laguna earlier in the century. It was not found in historic habitat in the Laguna and Santa Rosa Creek. Researchers cited low water levels, brought about by drought and water diversion, as well as polluted runoff, intensive agricultural practices, and lack of shady stream cover, as the shrimp's nemeses. Its numbers are limited enough in some creeks that a single event could exterminate them.