With this property acquisition, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County safeguards critical habitat for this endangered, federally and state-listed species.
October 15, 2024—Located in the forested hills near Rio Del Mar about one-half mile inland from La Selva Beach, the property now known as weelili onyenmak has been on the map for conservation organizations for years because it is one of only a few large land holdings in the northern range of Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (SCLTS) habitat that hasn’t been subdivided.
In September, with funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County acquired the property, which will now be protected and managed in perpetuity for the benefit of the SCLTS and other wildlife.
The Land Trust has been collaborating with the USFWS and other organizations including the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Caltrans Region 5, and the Santa Cruz County RCD to facilitate the recovery of the SCLTS. The plan includes wildlife crossings under Highway 1, including one that would lead directly to weelili onyenmak. This would enable individuals from the Calabasas Pond breeding population to mate with individuals from weelili onyenmak and increase biodiversity in the species.
About the Name
The Land Trust worked with the Amah Mutsun Tribe to name this property in the Mutsun language. In English, weelili onyenmak translates directly to salamander relatives, but it means our relatives, the salamanders. The Mutsun people see the protection of their four-legged, winged, finned, and plant kin as their sacred responsibility.
Why This Property is Important
The SCLTS was discovered in a pond at Valencia Lagoon in Aptos in 1954. Since then, their habitat has been fragmented by highways and roads, creating meta populations that can’t breed with each other. Crossings underneath or above the highway would allow these meta populations to join others.
The Recovery Plan for the SCLTS states the need for at least one more large preserve for the SCLTS in addition to others held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Center for Natural Lands Management. This property fits the bill as it is just a half mile from the Calabasas Pond unit of the Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge—the home of a healthy breeding population of the species.
An Ideal Habitat
The known range of the SCLTS is only 50 square miles spread between Aptos and Castroville. The species needs wooded upland habitat where they can spend the summer within a mile of the breeding ponds they return to every rainy season. This property has everything a little salamander could need: two seasonally ponding areas for breeding, private places to hunt for food, and deep layers of mulch in the understory of the mixed hardwood forest for over-summering.
The land protection project is the product of a collaboration between the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County and the Trust for Public Land who provided support in securing a purchase contract to buy the property. The Trust for Public Land also provided a generous stewardship fund that will help the Land Trust manage the property in perpetuity.
About the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
The Land Trust is focused on preserving and maintaining large intact patches of habitat and the connections between them that are critical for all wildlife. The Santa Cruz long-toed salamander habitat conservation initiative is part of the Land Trust’s 2023-2027 Conservation Roadmap and vision of a future in which the fantastic diversity of lands that define and connect people to the Santa Cruz County region—the wild and working forests, globally unique wildlife habitats, coastal landscape, and rich farming and ranching heritage—are cared for and preserved far into the future.
To learn more or become a member, visit landtrustsantacruz.org.
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