The Tumbling Creek cavesnails population has declined significantly in recent years, and biologists believe that the species may face imminent extinction. The Services action, outlined in a notice published today in the Federal Register, immediately places the Tumbling Creek cavesnail on the Federal endangered species list for 240 days.
During this period, Federal agencies must consult with the Service before taking any action which could impact the species or its habitat. At the same time, the Service will evaluate a proposed rule also published today that, if approved, would list the species as endangered under the regular provisions of the Act. The proposed rule opens a 60-day public comment period on the proposal to list the cavesnail as endangered.
We have been closely watching the status of the Tumbling Creek cavesnail for several years, and we are dismayed to see that the most recent surveys indicate a drastic drop in population levels, said Bill Hartwig, regional director for the Services Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region. The cavesnail needs help immediately to prevent extinction, while we complete the normal process of proposing the species for listing under the Act.
Under the Endangered Species Act, an endangered species is one that is likely to become extinct in the foreseeable future, throughout all or a portion of its range. The Act includes prohibitions on takeof listed species that preclude harming, killing, or harassing the species and require consultation with the Service to ensure that activities do not adversely affect the species. The Service can also begin developing strategies to prevent the species extinction and promote its eventual recovery.
The Tumbling Creek cavesnail measures only about 1/10th of an inch, is white in color, and is blind. Tumbling Creek Cave supports a high diversity of species; several species of invertebrates, previously unknown, have been discovered there, and the cave also hosts colonies of gray bats and Indiana bats, both federally endangered species. The cave itself is privately owned, while the land in the surrounding watershed is in both public and private ownership.
Biologists have been monitoring cavesnail populations in Tumbling Creek Cave for several years. In 1974, researchers estimated the population at 15,000 individuals. Periodic sampling of a section of the cave began in 1996. Since then, population estimates in the survey area have ranged from a high of 1,166 individuals surveyed in 1997 to the failure to find any cavesnails in 2001. Although no cavesnails were found in the survey area during several 2001 searches, 30 to 40 individuals were discovered in another section of the cave stream, indicating that an unknown number of cavesnails still survive in the cave.
The specific cause of the cavesnails decline is unknown. However, biologists believe the quality of the water in Tumbling Creek where the cavesnail lives has deteriorated and is likely linked to the downturn in the cavesnails population. Species such as the cavesnail that depend on underground water systems are highly vulnerable to changes in water quality and quantity. These underground systems are recharged by water filtering down from the surface, and land-use activities on the surface of the land can affect water quality below. Water entering Tumbling Creek Cave from the land surface around the cave may contain silt or pollutants.
The Tumbling Creek cavesnail is yet another indicator of the quality of the environment around us, said Hartwig. This species decline is telling us that something has gone wrong with the natural system supporting this cave. Ultimately, this can affect all life that depends on this system, including ourselves.
Comments on the proposal to list the Tumbling Creek cavesnail will be accepted through February 25, 2002. Comments may be mailed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Room 200, 608 East Cherry Street, Columbia, Missouri 65201-7712. Comments may also be hand-delivered to that office during normal business hours or faxed to that office at: 573-876-1914. Requests for a public hearing on the proposal must be received by February 11, 2002.
More information on the Tumbling Creek cavesnail, the emergency listing, and the proposed rule is available by calling 573-876-1911, or by visiting the Services Region 3 Web site at http://midwest.fws.gov/endangered/ . Hearing-impaired and speech-impaired individuals may reach this office through the Federal Relay Number at 1-800-877-8339.
Much of the U.S. Department of the Interior is temporarily isolated from the Internet. As a result, most Fish and Wildlife Service Web pages and many of our E-mail addresses currently are unavailable. Therefore, we recommend that you contact us by phone or facsimile to get more information on the cavesnail.
During the time that our Web pages are unavailable, Federal Register Online can be used to search for, and download, copies of the Tumbling Creek cavesnail emergency listing rule and the listing proposal. Go to http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html and use cavesnail as the search term. Check both the Final Rules and Regulations and the Proposed Rules sections to locate copies of both documents.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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