4/10/2000 764

CALIFORNIA PRISON PLAN ENDANGERS NATIVE MAMMALS

The California Department of Corrections (CDC) is planning to build a new prison capable of holding 5,160 inmates on 480 acres near Delano, CA. Though its own figures show that the prison is not needed, CDC is pushing to build the prison on the home of one of the few remaining populations of the endangered Tipton kangaroo-rat. The kangaroo rat has already be extirpated from 96% of its historic range. The site is also foraging habitat for the endangered San Joaquin kit fox. The Center has advised CDC to cancel the pork-barrel project rather than jeopardize California's natural heritage. The agency must respond to our objections and review the project's impact on endangered species before proceeding. It wants to break ground by February 2001.