To the FWGNA group:
Last Wednesday the Snake River Office of the US Fish and Wildlife
Service announced new comprehensive status reviews for two federally
listed freshwater gastropods, the threatened hydrobiid Taylorconcha serpenticola and the endangered Valvata utahensis. Press releases are available from the Snake River FWS web site.
These actions were prompted by petitions to delist the snails from the
Idaho Governors Office of Species Conservation, Idaho Power Company,
and several state irrigation districts. The petitioners argue
that both snail populations are much larger and more broadly
distributed than previously believed, that they are not threatened by
existing dam and diversion projects, and that the danger of future
environmental degradation in the Snake River has been reduced.
The situation is quite reminiscent of Pyrgulopsis idahoensis,
which underwent a comprehensive status review in 2005 and was
ultimately recommended for delisting by the FWS last fall. That
decision was based largely on new genetic and morphological data
suggesting that P. idahoensis is not endemic to the Snake River, but rather conspecific with several other nominal Pyrgulopsis species found elsewhere in the Pacific northwest. See my posts of 28Apr05, 23Dec05, and 4Oct06 to jog your memory.
The most recent status reviews have not been precipitated by new
genetic data, nor are the petitioners challenging the present range
limitations of T. serpenticola and V. utahensis
to the Snake River. Rather, they focus on recent reports by
Richards et al. (2006) and Hinson (2006) suggesting that Snake River
populations of Taylorconcha and Valvata are simply not as rare or as endangered as previously believed.
I have been unable to learn much about the Richards and Hinson reports,
or indeed even obtain their full citations. In any case, workers with additional data or other information bearing on the conservation status of T. serpenticola and V. utahensis are encouraged to contact the FWS before the public comment period ends on September 7, 2007.
And even if you've never laid eyes on the Snake River or any element of
its controversial gastropod fauna, you may find last Wednesday's FWS
press releases to be interesting reads. Both include the complete
articles from the Federal Register, feature surprising amounts of
biological information, and offer dim windows into the forbidding world
of public policy.
We'll keep in touch,
Rob
References
Utah Valvata Snail to Undergo Comprehensive Status Review
Service to Take Further Look at Delisting Bliss Rapids Snail
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