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

Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Front Range rivers and streams to receive added protection from Endangered Species Act habitat protections

for Preble’s meadow jumping mouseFederal agency corrects many omissions from the past; leaves Wyoming off the map again
Contact: Nicole Rosmarino 505 699-7404

Denver – The U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service added significant protection to more than 400 milesof streamside habitats along the Front Range of Colorado today by updatingtheir critical habitat designation for the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse.

“This is a good day for Front Range residents, and anyonewho cares about clean water and healthy wildlife and grasslands in Colorado,”said Josh Pollock, Conservation Director at Center for Native Ecosystems. “Today’s rule will protect the mostimportant places for the survival and recovery of the Preble’s meadow jumpingmouse, and in doing so, ensure the Front Range continues to be a great place tolive for all of us.”

Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, a threatened species, livesin the tall grasses and brush along streams and rivers from south of Pueblo tosouthern Wyoming. Today’s ruledesignates 411 miles of streams and rivers and 34,935 acres of streamsidehabitat as critical for the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. These stream corridors are distributedacross federal, state, and private land in Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas, ElPaso, Jefferson, Larimer, and Teller counties.

The revision announced today represents about a 40% increaseover the first habitat designation made in 2003. Since that date, the Fish and Wildlife Service hasacknowledged that a political appointee, former Deputy Assistant SecretaryJulie MacDonald, forced the omission of several qualifying areas during theoriginal consideration.

“Today’s announcement finally corrects one of the Fish andWildlife Service’s critical missteps of the past that left the Preble’s meadowjumping mouse underprotected,” said Pollock. “Now what remains is to extend the same Endangered SpeciesAct protections into Wyoming. Preble’s should not lose their protections just because they jump overthe state border.”

A coalition of conservation organizations, including Centerfor Native Ecosystems, are in federal court challenging the exclusion ofWyoming from the Endangered Species Act listing of the Preble’s meadow jumpingmouse in 2008.

The updated habitat designation maintains or restorescritical habitat protections in several places where special interestsattempted to have them removed or excluded in order to pave the way fordevelopment projects that could threaten Front Range waterways and streamsideopen spaces. On the North Fork ofthe Cache la Poudre River, the City of Greeley argued against designation ofcritical habitat along a stretch targeted for building a new and much largerSeaman reservoir. But in 2010, theFish and Wildlife Service found and captured a Preble’s mouse in the exact areaproposed to be inundated by the new Seaman reservoir project – the Fish andWildlife Service thus concluded it would be “inappropriate to exclude thisreach [of river] from critical habitat” designation.

“It is a benefit to all Coloradoans and all Americans thatwe protect the Poudre River and all the species that depend on it, includingthe Preble’s meadow jumping mouse,” said Gary Wockner, of Save the Poudre:Poudre Waterkeeper in Fort Collins. “The City of Greeley should not get an exemption for a water projectthat would drown important endangered species habitat and forever change thePoudre River ecosystem.”

On the east side of the Rocky Flats National WildlifeRefuge, proponents of a multilane tollroad proposal have argued to keepcritical habitat designation away from the grassland corridor targeted for theroadway. The Fish and WildlifeService concluded that “the area in question contain the physical andbiological features essential to conservation of the Preble’s meadow jumpingmouse.”

“Criticalhabitat is absolutely vital for bringing imperiled species back from the brink.Science and common sense would suggest that the best way to save endangeredspecies is to protect the places they live. For the Preble’s, that need forhabitat safeguards is especially urgent,” stated Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarthGuardians.

Preble’s meadow jumping mice are approximately 3 inches longbut with a 4 to 6-inch long tail. As the name suggests, they can jump 18 inches into the air and evenchange direction mid-flight.

See more background information about the Preble’s meadowjumping mouse, including high resolution digital images available for download here.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s media release,Frequently Asked Questions, and other materials can be found here.