The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially identified the Page springsnail as a candidate for ESA protection in 1989. In 2002, as they do with nearly every other species, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Service to list the springsnail under emergency provisions of the ESA and designate critical habitat.
On Wednesday, after review of the best scientific and commercial data, including the conservation efforts being undertaken by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD), the Service determined that the Page springsnail does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The Service’s decision was published in the Federal Register.
The one-tenth inch snail is historically and presently found only in a complex of springs along Oak Creek and Spring Creek in Yavapai County, central Arizona. As part of our status assessment, the Service analyzed the potential for future loss of spring habitat resulting from groundwater depletion, drought and climate change scenarios, and the threat of non-native snail invasions, and the influence of existing conservation efforts.
Formalized in 2009, the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) includes management actions undertaken by AGFD that protect, conserve, and enhance Page springsnail populations. AGFD has restored much of the spring habitat on their lands by restoring springs, adding substrate preferred by springsnails and eradicating non-native species in a manner that minimizes effects to springsnails. The Department annually monitors all known springsnail populations and habitats on their lands. The management actions in the CCAA have resulted in 8 of the 10 Page springsnail populations being stable or increasing in abundance and secured from threats due to spring modification.
“We applaud the efforts undertaken by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to promote the conservation of the Page springsnail,” said Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor for the Service’s Arizona Ecological Services Office. “For more than 15 years, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has implemented conservation measures along with annual monitoring, all formalized in a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances, which have resulted in the majority of Page springsnail populations being secure from spring modification, aquatic vegetation removal, and water contamination in the future.”
“Although at this time we believe the scientific information shows the Page spingsnail does not warrant listing as an endangered or threatened species, we encourage the public to continue to submit any new information concerning the status of or threats to the species,” added Spangle.