Deal saves endangered fox species on private farmland

FRESNO, Calif. -- The federal government and a private farming company have reached an agreement to protect the endangered San Joaquin kit fox in Kern County, the first time such a deal has been struck to protect endangered species on private land, wildlife officials said.

Environmental Defense, a national conservation group that helped broker the deal, created the so-called "Safe Harbor" agreement in 1995 that allows landowners to create or improve habitat for endangered species without fear of new restrictions.

Similar agreements have been reached with ranchers, timber companies and individual property owners around the country, the group said in a statement.

The deal with Paramount Farming Company announced last week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the first in the country within the private agriculture industry.

Small groups of kit foxes live on grassland near Paramount's Kern County fields where the company grows nuts and pomegranates. Under the agreement, Paramount has installed a series of artificial "escape dens" on its land to protect the foxes from coyotes.

The entrances to the dens are large enough to allow foxes to enter but too small for coyotes. Officials hope the plan will allow the foxes to more easily -- and safely -- traverse fields.

"This project demonstrates that agricultural practices can coexist with the protection of endangered species," said Paramount President Joseph MacIlvaine.

The deal is only the second Safe Harbor agreement approved in California. A deal reached last year with the timber company Forster-Gill, Inc. seeks to protect the habitat of the northern spotted owl, wildlife Service spokesman Jim Nickles said Monday.

"We really need the help of private landowners to recover these species because most endangered species in California are found on private land," Nickles said. "We hope the deal with Paramount is the first of many in the Central Valley."