Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Monday, August 1, 2011
Feds Propose to List Chupadera Springsnail as “Endangered”

Two Tiny Springs also Proposed as Critical Habitat for the Species
Contact: Mark Salvo (503) 757-4221

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to list the highlyimperiled Chupadera springsnail as “endangered” under the Endangered SpeciesAct (ESA) and proposed to designate 1.9 acres as critical habitat at the onlytwo springs where the species has been known to occur. The springsnail wasinitially made a candidate for protection under the ESA in 1984.

“Listing is long overdue for the Chupadera springsnail,”said Mark Salvo of WildEarth Guardians. “Twenty-seven years is a long time towait, particularly for such an imperiled species.”

The Chupadera springsnail is endemic to Willow Spring and anunnamed spring on private land at the southeast end of the Chupadera Mountainsin Socorro County, New Mexico. The two hillside groundwater discharges are locateda third of a mile apart. The Fish and Wildlife Service believes the snail hasbeen extirpated from the unnamed spring, but might still occur at WillowSpring. Unfortunately, the agency cannot confirm the species’ status because biologistshave been barred from monitoring either spring since 1999 when a new ownerbegan denying access to the property. The springsnail has not been seen formore than a decade.

The Chupadera springsnail is a small to medium-sizedhydrobiid snail, which are distinguished by the presence of eyes on longantennae and their conical shell. The Chupadera springsnail’s shell colorvaries from tan to brown, making it darker in color than any other snail in itsgenus. Little is known about the Chupadera springsnail, although its biologyand habitat requirements appear to be similar to other freshwater snails. It isfound on firm surfaces, such as rocks, dead wood, and plants at the springsource. It is probably an herbivore or detritivore that feeds on algae,bacteria, and decaying organic material, or that passively ingests smallinvertebrates while feeding. The snail almost certainly depends on a constantflow of clean, cold water to persist.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has identified a number ofthreats to the Chupadera springsnail, including intensive livestock grazingthat degrades riparian habitat; groundwater pumping; spring impoundment anddewatering; water contamination; restricted range and mobility; fragmentedhabitat; and drought.

TheNew Mexico Department of Game and Fish petitioned to list the Chupaderaspringsnail under the Endangered Species Act in 1985, a year after the Fish andWildlife Service designated the species a candidate for listing. The agencyfound listing “warranted, but precluded” in 1988 and left the species on thecandidate list for the next 23 years. Both the International Union forConservation of Nature and NatureServe list the snail as “criticallyendangered.” WildEarth Guardians identified the Chupadera springsnail as amongthe “Top 40” most imperiled candidate species in 2009.