WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Glaciers & Extinction: Ultimate Climate Change Victim Latest ESA Candidate

Feds Place Glacier National Park's Meltwater Lednian Stonefly in Species Waiting Line
Contact: Nicole Rosmarino (303) 573-4898 x1163

Washington, DC-April 5. U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar published a decision in today’s Federal Register that the meltwater lednian stonefly, also known as the mist forestfly (Lednia tumana), warrants protection (listing) under the Endangered Species Act, but he declined actual protection, citing higher priorities. The decision comes in response to a July 2007 petition filed by WildEarth Guardians. Unfortunately, this rare stonefly will receive no federal safeguards until it is actually listed as endangered or threatened. That is despite recognition that the Glacier National Park habitat on which it depends may disappear in less than two decades.

“While we are pleased that Secretary Salazar recognizes this species is endangered due to climate change, the next step is crucial: actual protection,” stated Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians. “The mist forestfly’s fate is intertwined with Glacier National Park’s glaciers, which are rapidly disappearing due to the climate crisis.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers the mist forestfly to be the only species in its genus, Lednia. The species reaches a maximum size of just ¼ inch in its adult stage. The mist forestfly is aquatic and lives in glacier-fed streams in Glacier National Park. It is dependent on cool, clean, running water, usually in close proximity to glaciers.

In today’s finding, Interior Secretary Salazar recognized threats to the mist forestfly from climate change, particularly from the loss of glaciers; the failure of the U.S. federal government to address climate change; and the species’ narrow distribution.

Glacier National Park is ground zero for the climate crisis. Since 1900, air temperatures in Glacier National Park have risen almost double the global mean increase and are expected to increase even more rapidly. As a result, all glaciers are expected to be lost in Glacier National Park by 2030. As the glaciers disappear, streams they feed will heat up and in some cases dry out. The mist forestfly likely cannot survive these changes.

The mist forestfly acutely exposes the danger of climate change to biodiversity, as its Glacier National Park habitat is relatively pristine. Climate change, alone, is driving this species extinct. This insect’s plight underscores the wisdom of the Endangered Species Act’s stated purpose of protecting endangered species and the ecosystems on which they depend. The future of the mist forestfly is fundamentally linked to the fate of the iconic landscape on which it depends.

But protection is still a ways off for this species. There are now 262 species of plants and wildlife that are formal “candidates” awaiting federal listing. Over 80 percent of these species were first recognized as needing federal protection more than a decade ago. Outside of Hawaii, Salazar has listed only 4 new U.S. species under the Act since taking office. At the current pace, it would take a century to get through the backlog of candidate species in the continental U.S.

A surprising part of today’s decision was Secretary Salazar’s finding that the mist forestfly does not face imminent threats and is therefore relegated to lower priority status than most other candidates. This stands in contrast with his discussion of the impacts of climate change to this species:

“…we expect that the environmental changes resulting from climate change will significantly alter the habitat of all extant populations of the meltwater lednian stonefly, and we conclude that the loss of glaciers represents a high-intensity threat (i.e., one that results in dramatic changes to the species’ habitat and distribution) and that this threat is, and will continue to be, large in scope (most, if not all, known populations will be affected) now and into the foreseeable future.”

In today’s decision, Secretary Salazar rejected federal listing for two other Montana species, the Bearmouth mountainsnail and the Byrne Resort mountainsnail, on the basis that more genetic testing is required to evaluate their taxonomy.

For background information, including the 2007 petition which prompted today’s finding, contact Nicole Rosmarino at nrosmarino@wildearthguardians.org or 505-699-7404.