WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, January 6, 2009
More Bush Midnight Giveaways: 270 Critically Imperiled Species Turned Away From Federal Protection

Species Denied Federal Protection Include Plants Not Seen in Decades
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

DENVER-Another in a string of midnight giveaways, today the Bush administration denied 270 critically endangered plants and animals protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The decision was made by Bush’s Interior Department, which has been racked by scandal, including political interference in ESA listing decisions.

The 270 species include some that remain at only one place in the world. Many are little-known species, which will continue to fall through the cracks until one day they are pronounced extinct. WildEarth Guardians requested federal protection for these species and 400 others in 2007 by filing petitions with the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), the Interior agency charged with most ESA listing decisions. The Service has not yet issued findings on the other 400 species.

“In a last-minute move, the Bush administration has turned away 270 needy passengers from the nation’s Ark,” stated Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians. “While Bush has padlocked the Ark, it is up to Obama to fling its doors wide open so that the nation’s multitude of vanishing animals and plants can get the help they need.”

Highlights from today’s decision by the Service:

The decision denies ESA protection for 270 of 475 species petitioned by WildEarth Guardians in the Service’s Southwest Region in 2007.

The decision cited too little information as the primary reason for denying the 270 species federal listing. Most of these species were invertebrates (215 species or 80%). Others were plants (52 species or 19%) and 3 vertebrates (1%).

The Service found that 5 additional species are not listable for various reasons.

The remaining 200 species will be addressed in a future petition finding.

The decision found that NatureServe - the source on which WildEarth Guardians relied - is a “reputable” and “reliable” source of scientific information.

Eight of the 270 species were also petitioned for emergency listing by WildEarth Guardians in 2008. These provide a snapshot on how little known, but highly endangered, species are being refused passage on the nation’s Ark. They include plants not seen since the 1960s or 1970s, a mayfly recently re-discovered after 70 years of absence, a unique moss found at a single spring in danger of drying. See details on each in the background section below.

The rejection of 270 species for federal protection comes just two weeks before Obama’s inauguration, and on the heels of significant nationwide developments on the endangered species program. On December 15, the Interior Inspector General released a report showing that political interference in ESA listing decisions is more widespread than previously thought. On December 16, the Bush administration finalized rules that would destroy key ESA provisions requiring federal agencies to ensure projects they approve do not jeopardize federally protected plants and animals. Conservationists and the State of California have gone to court to fight this last-ditch attempt to weaken the ESA.

On December 17, Obama nominated Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) for Interior Secretary. Green groups were mixed on the nomination, with WildEarth Guardians and others pointing to Salazar’s own record in obstructing species protection: in 1999, then Colorado Attorney General Salazar threatened the Service with a lawsuit if the agency listed the black-tailed prairie dog.

“Obama has a huge mess to clean up at Interior, including addressing hundreds of endangered species not yet protected under the nation’s endangered species law. We needed a watchdog to protect endangered species. In Salazar, we’re afraid we got a lapdog,” stated Rosmarino.

Background

Among the 270 species denied protection in today’s decision were 8 species for which WildEarth Guardians requested emergency protection:

The cylindrical vertigo (Vertigo binneyana) is a terrestrial snail that historically occurred in Iowa, Kansas, Montana, and New Mexico in the U.S., and in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario, Canada. While possibly extant in Alberta, it could be extinct, as no populations were known as of 2004. New Mexico’s Drought Task Force considers drought to be a threat to another member of this genus (V. ovata), causing the diminishment of suitable habitat. Vertigo binneyana is not included in the state wildlife conservation strategies for any of the four U.S. states in its historic range.

Mccart’s whitlow-wort (Paronychia maccartii) is a plant in the pink family that is found in Webb County, Texas on hard-packed sand on grasslands or shrublands on the Rio Grande plains. Only one occurrence was reported, but it hasn’t been seen since 1962. Given its restriction to one site, it is vulnerable to total extirpation. This plant was previously a candidate for ESA protection, but the Service removed it in 1996.

Watson’s false-clappia (Pseudoclappia watsonii) is a member of the aster family that occurs in Hudspeth and Jeff Davis counties in Texas. Its habitat is hills and arroyos in Chihuahuan Desert shrublands. There were two collections of this plant in the 1970s, but it has not been seen since.

The Nueces crayfish (Procambarus nueces) occurs in spring/creek habitat on the Nueces River in Atascosa County, Texas. As of 1996, there was one occurrence. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department describes its only location as a small sluggish stream tributary to the Nueces River. Surveys have not found additional populations. The single site where it occurs is not protected. The species is classified by the IUCN as critically endangered. NatureServe recommends protecting the single existing population. The American Fisheries Society classifies this species as endangered and criticizes the gap between U.S. crayfish species recognized as biologically imperiled and the number of species listed under the federal ESA. Some 48% of crayfish species are at-risk. Given the restriction of the Nueces crayfish to one site, it is vulnerable to total extirpation. The Texas Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy ranks this species as a high priority and cites threats of a wide array of threats, including development.

Isoperla jewetti is a stonefly that historically occurred in aquatic habitat in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. It occurred at Radium Springs, Dona Ana County, NM; El Paso County, TX; and Huerfano County, CO. The El Paso site has been completely destroyed by agriculture. As of 2005, no occurrences or individuals were known. It was last collected in 1980 and may be extinct. The New Mexico Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy ranks this stonefly as a species of greatest conservation need and describes it as a declining, vulnerable endemic.

Fallceon eatoni is a mayfly that historically occurred in Arizona and Mexico. This mayfly had not been seen since 1934 (in northern Sonora) when a single specimen was collected in 2005 in the Salt River Canyon in Gila County, Arizona. Given its known occurrence at only one site, it is vulnerable to total extirpation. This species is only found in Arizona, and the state’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy does not include insects.

Donrichardsia macroneuron is a moss that currently only occurs at the Seven Hundred Springs in Edwards County, Texas. It has survived at this spring because the spring has never dried up. It is threatened by drought or other factors that cause spring-drying. As of 1998, a single clone remained at this site, and NatureServe reported that the prognosis for its survival was “not good.” The IUCN classifies this species as vulnerable, reports that only one locality remains, and list threats of development, dam construction, and water pollution. This species comprises a monotypic genus: if it goes extinct, an entire genus would vanish. Given its restriction to one site, it is vulnerable to total extirpation.

The many-flowered unicorn-plant (Proboscidea spicata) historically occurred in Texas and Coahuila, Mexico in terraces along the Rio Grande as well as roadsides. There have been four total historical collections. Although it has been searched for, it hasn’t been seen since 1967. It was previously an ESA candidate, but the Service removed it from the candidate list in 1996.

In today’s finding, the Service also found that 5 additional species are not listable for various reasons: 1 species (a mussel) had two different scientific names, and 1 was therefore omitted; 1 species (a fish) was listed under a different scientific name; 2 species (a salamander and a springsnail) are now ESA candidates (they were not candidates at the time WildEarth Guardians petition was filed); and 1 plant species was delisted.

To view the federal register notice, click here.