The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today published a final recovery plan for the Bruneau hot springsnail (Pyrgulopsis bruneauensis). The snail was listed as endangered on June 17, 1998 under the Endangered Species Act.
In general, the recovery plan calls for maintaining specific flows in Hot Creek, implementing conservation measures that would increase water levels in the regional geothermal aquifer, monitoring, protecting and managing springsnail habitat and developing a habitat restoration plan. The principal threat to the springsnail is the reduction and/or elimination of their geothermal spring habitat as a result of agricultural groundwater withdrawals.
"This plan was developed to provide guidance to bagencies and other parties interested in the conservation of this species. We are hopeful that when the tasks identified in the recovery plan are accomplished, we can move toward delisting," said Anne Badgley, regional director of the Service
