Delisting Petition Found to be Not Warranted
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the Bliss Rapids snail (Taylorconcha serpenticola) will remain federally protected as a threatened species.
The “not warranted” 12-month finding for the Bliss Rapids snail is in response to a December 2006 petition to delist the species filed by the State of Idaho Governor’s Office of Species Conservation and the Idaho Power Company.
“Based upon our analysis of the species’ status and the factors that affect it, the Bliss Rapids snail continues to meet the definition of a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act,” said Jeff Foss, the Service’s Idaho State Supervisor. “The Service appreciates the conservation efforts by the State of Idaho, the Idaho Power Company and other interested parties for the Bliss Rapids snail and its habitat. We look forward to continued cooperative conservation efforts in the future.”
In examining whether the Bliss Rapids snail should be delisted or still needs protection, Service scientists did a thorough review of the best available information and scientific literature, a peer review of that information, public review and comment and conducted a structured decision-making workshop.
The Bliss Rapids snail is a small snail (2.0 to 4.0 mm in height) that occurs discontinuously in cold springs and spring-influenced riverine habitats along the Snake River in the Hagerman area of southern Idaho. It was listed on December 14, 1992, as a threatened species due to threats from proposed hydroelectric development, operation of existing hydroelectric dams, degraded water quality, diversion of water for irrigation and aquaculture, lack of regulatory protections for spring habitats and invasion of the introduced New Zealand mudsnail.
The species continues to be restricted to a small geographic area in the middle-Snake River, Idaho, where it is dependent upon cool-water spring outflows. Although some threats identified in 1992 no longer exist or have been moderated (declining ground water levels and spring outflows, impaired water quality and competition from non-native species still threaten the Bliss Rapids snail and are expected to continue to impact the species and its habitat into the future.
Ground water in the Eastern Snake River Aquifer provides many spring outflows in the Hagerman area. The dependence of the Bliss Rapids snail on cold water spring outflows makes the species particularly vulnerable to changes in water quality and ground water levels. Ground water levels are declining, and it is expected that the downward trend will continue into the future.
For further information, please contact Jeffery (L. Foss, State Supervisor, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office, 1387 S. Vinnell Way, Room 368, Boise, Idaho 83709, 208-378-5243.
