WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, August 4, 2011
Feds Agree to Consider Four of Six Sand Dune Beetles for Protection

Fish and Wildlife Rejects Two Petitioned Scarabs for Further Review
Contact: Mark Salvo (503) 757-4221

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to consider four sand dune beetles in Nevada for listing under the Endangered Species Act. WildEarth Guardians petitioned to list six scarabs under the act in January 2010: Crescent Dunes aegialian scarab, Crescent Dunes serican scarab, Giuliani's dune, large aegialian scarab, Sand Mountain serican scarab, and Hardy’s aegialian scarab. Each beetle is endemic to the sand dunes where it occurs, and each is considered extremely rare, but the Service has declared that the last two, Sand Mountain and Hardy’s, do not warrant further review.

“We are surprised that the agency excluded the Hardy’s and Sand Mountain beetles from further review,” said Mark Salvo, Sagebrush Sea Campaign Director for WildEarth Guardians. “We documented and observed greater threats to these two species than any of the others.”

Sand dunes in the Great Basin support unique flora and fauna, including a host of imperiled beetles. Each has evolved to use these hot, dry, sandy environments and the limited vegetation that grows there. All six beetles Guardians petitioned are considered “critically imperiled” by NatureServe.

The beetles occur at three dune systems or complexes in Nevada.

1. Sand Mountain/Blowsand Mountains (Sand Mountain serican scarab, Hardy’s aegialian scarab)
2. Crescent Dunes (Crescent Dunes aegialian scarab, Crescent Dunes serican scarab)
3. Big Dune/Lava Dune (Giuliani's dune, large aegialian scarab)

Sand dunes in the Great Basin are favorite areas for off-road vehicle (ORV) recreation, often attracting thousands of riders on a single weekend. ORV use can reduce or eliminate beetle populations by destroying dune vegetation and disturbing intact dunes. ORV users often ignore restrictions to protect important dune habitat, including at Sand Mountain, where the Sand Mountain serican scarab and Hardy’s aegialian scarab occur.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will now initiate 12-month status reviews to determine if listing the four scarabs that the agency found warranted further review should be listed as “threatened” or “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.