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ivironment News Service: AmeriScan: March 22, 2001 wysiwyg : / /l/http: / /ens.lycos.com/ ens /mar200l/2001L- 03 -22 -09 html GO grapes, vineyards around the country also create wildlife habitat and open space for their communities. Threats from development are putting pressure on some landowners, who seek ways to protect their vineyard land and its environmental benefits for future generations. Two: land preservation examples are Boordy Vineyards in Maryland, which donated a 240 acre conservation easement to the Maryland Environmental Trust, and Jayson Pahlmeyer of Pahlmeyer Winery, who donated 57 acres of his Napa Valley vineyard to the Land Trust of Napa County, California. "We want to preserve in perpetuity a large farming community just half an hour from Baltimore, and we hope when our neighbors see what we've done they'll follow suit," said Rob Deford, president of Boordy Vineyards and chairman of the AVA Board of Directors. "The future of Napa Valley is truly in our hands and I'm proud to do my part," added Pahlmeyer. Given the unique nature of vineyard land, some landowners are placing conservation easements specific to agriculture on their land, to ensure the land can be used for growing by future generations. The donor may get tax benefits, but comments from vintners indicate that their prime motivations are environmental preservation and protection from development. FIELD GUIDE HIGHLIGHTS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS SAN DIEGO, California, March 22, 2001 (ENS) - A new illustrated field guide, available on the web, can help users identify 64 native reptile and amphibian species and seven introduced species found in coastal southern California. This urbanized region is host to one of the richest varieties of amphibians and reptiles in the U.S., and includes several species protected by state and federal laws. The new guide, developed by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and University of California, San Diego, covers species found in the counties of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside and San Diego. "A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Coastal Southern California" is available at: http: / /www.werc.uscis._ciov. "Since 1995, we have been conducting an intensive study of reptile and amphibian communities in the coastal southern California region," said Dr. Robert Fisher, a USGS zoologist with the Western Ecological Research Center in San Diego, and coauthor of the guide. Fisher said scientists "saw the pressing need for a well illustrated field guide to help train students, researchers, reserve managers, regulators and others to identify the local herpetofauna, with emphasis on sensitive species." „f a v?,in.nm n•nr, AM