FAIRFIELD, IOWA – According to Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) officials, news reports regarding the impact of the crawfish frog (Iowa endangered species) on the construction of the Fairfield highway bypass have been exaggerated. Environmental studies pertaining to the frog are considered routine and not the precipitating factor in rescheduling completion of the highway.

The U.S. 34 bypass of the city of Fairfield is one segment of the 155-mile Des Moines to Burlington highway corridor. In 1996 the Iowa Transportation Commission designated this route as a “high priority” corridor, placing an emphasis on improving and completing the highway as a four-lane facility.

Segments of this major highway corridor are in various stages of design and construction, other portions have been completed. The Fairfield bypass is currently in the design phase. During the highway development process, the DOT is required by federal and state laws to conduct a range of environmental reviews including studies of historic, cultural, and natural resources.

While studying the proposed Fairfield bypass highway alignment, it was determined that an historic site with structures eligible for the National Historic Registry was more encompassing than originally thought. To avoid and protect these historic resources, the DOT must adjust its original highway alignment, redesign portions of the project and conduct additional studies of the newly impacted areas.

Contrary to what has been reported in the news, it is the change in the highway alignment and subsequent required studies, and not the crawfish frog, that will impact the project's completion date.

One of the steps in the environmental review process for the modified highway alignment involves a field study of plants and animals in the area. The study will determine if any state or federally protected plant or animal species might be present, in areas where there is evidence that suitable habitat exists or a protected species is believed to inhabit the area.

The study will locate and identify the species, if present, or its habitat. Data from the field study will be included in the project's environmental documentation and be made available to resource agencies for their review and comment. This is a routine process used for all major highway projects and has been successful in the past in protecting endangered and threatened species.

Because the endangered crawfish frog is known to have previously inhabited the study area, this species will be included in the field study. Although no official records document the frog's existence in this range since the 1940s, there have been some unofficial sightings in the state. The purpose of the field review is to provide a scientific review of the area and prevent highway construction from inadvertently impacting this important species or its habitat.

Crawfish frogs spend most of their lives underground in pastures, prairie remnants, moist woodlands and grasslands, often living in the burrows made by small mammals or crawfish. The frogs emerge from their underground chambers during the breeding period, which begins in early March and ends by late April. After breeding, crawfish frogs retreat back to their underground homes.

Considering the species' life cycle, the DOT's field study can not be conducted until next spring. Without the study results, it is premature to assess what, if any, impact the findings would have on the project and its schedule. In the meantime, the DOT is proceeding with the necessary steps to complete the entire highway corridor by 2006.