Critical habitat will expand Endangered Species Act protections to important Riverside shrimp vernal pool habitat in Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Diego counties.
Vernal pools are seasonal wetlands that fill with water during fall and winter rains.
They are home to many plants and animals that in turn form a valuable part of the food chain for a wide array of animals, including birds of prey, shorebirds, migratory waterfowl, frogs, toads, salamanders and pollinating insects. Vernal pools have been destroyed and degraded by urban sprawl, agribusiness, offroad vehicles, livestock grazing, and wetland draining. Riverside shrimp habitat has been reduced to just 25 vernal pool complexes in coastal southern California. A large portion of remaining southern California pools exist on Marine Corps bases at Miramar and Camp Pendleton. The marines have successfully lobbied for critical habitat exemptions for the Arroyo southwestern toad, California gnatcatcher, San Diego fairy shrimp and are now lobbying fr a similar exemption for the Riverside shrimp.