Monday, April 16, 2012
Feds List, Designate Critical Habitat for Imperiled Southwest Springsnails

Species Threatened by Habitat Loss, Invasive Species and Climate Change
Contact: Mark Salvo (503) 757-4221

Washington, DC – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will list the Three Forks springsnail (Pyrgulopsis trivialis) as “endangered” and the San Bernardino springsnail (Pyrgulopsis bernardina) as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and designated critical habitat for both species in southern Arizona.

“We are pleased that these snails will be listed and receive critical habitat,” said Mark Salvo, Wildlife Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “Federal protection will be key to their survival and recovery.”

The Three Forks springsnail historically occurred in numerous springs and seeps in Apache County, Arizona. The species’ current range has been reduced to just two spring complexes, Boneyard Creek Springs and Boneyard Bog Springs along Boneyard Creek and the North Fork East Fork Black River. A high-intensity fire recently burned around the only remaining populations of the Three Forks springsnail, resulting in soil erosion and sedimentation that eliminates and degrades snail habitat during storm events. FWS also identified predation by nonnative crayfish as a threat to the species across its range, and potential future effects of fire retardant chemicals used to suppress wildfires, climate change and drought, and competition with New Zealand springsnails as additional factors for listing.

The San Bernardino springsnail may have historically occurred in several springs in Cochise County, Arizona. The current range of the species in the U.S. has been reduced to two springs: Goat Tank Spring and Horse Spring at the state-owned John Slaughter Ranch Museum. The San Bernardino springsnail was also recently discovered to occur at five sites in Sonora, Mexico, in at least nine springs. FWS described potential springhead inundation, and water depletion and diversion in both the United States and Mexico as a primary threat to the species. The agency also identified potential future threats of predation by nonnative crayfish, fire retardant chemicals used to suppress wildfires, climate change and drought, and competition with New Zealand springsnails as additional factors for listing.

FWS had previously proposed to list the San Bernardino springsnail as “endangered” under the ESA, but reduced its status to “threatened” in the final rule after more springsnails were identified in Mexico. The San Bernardino springsnail was first made a candidate for listing more than 23 years ago.

The agency identified approximately 17.2 acres at three sites as critical habitat for the Three Forks springnail in Apache County and approximately 2.0 acres at four sites for the San Bernardino springsnail in Cochise County. All sites are on federal or state land.

The San Bernardino springsnail and Three Forks springsnail are two of more than 800 species covered in WildEarth Guardians’ settlement agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Service, announced on May 10, 2011, and approved by a federal court on September 9, 2011. The agreement obligates the agency to make final listing determinations for 253 species by September 2016, all but one of which are formal candidates for ESA protection. The settlement resolved 12 lawsuits that Guardians filed challenging the government’s failure to timely list species under the act, and attempts to fix a listing program that has failed to function properly since the Reagan Administration. It also schedules petition findings, 12-month listing determinations, and critical habitat designations for more than 600 additional species. In return, WildEarth Guardians consented to dismiss its lawsuits and will refrain from suing Interior over missed listing deadlines for the next six years. The Service met all of its obligations under the agreement for FY 2011, taking action on 730 species.