Uinta Mountain Snail Lawsuit

Forest Health May Benefit from Protecting Rare

Uinta Mountain Snail
’Canary in Coal Mine’ to Benefit from Scientific Review

Conservationists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service both reached agreement on October 4 that the Uinta mountainsnail—an extremely rare forest snail that exists only on the Ashley National Forest in the Uinta Mountains of Utah—should be reviewed for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The agreement settles a lawsuit filed in December of 2004 over the Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to respond to a citizen petition requesting the Uinta mountainsnail be protected under the Endangered Species Act. By law, the Service is required to review such petitions and make a finding whether protection may be warranted within one year. According to the agreement, the Service must issue its finding for the Uinta mountainsnail petition or before November 1, 2005, over four years after the petition was submitted.

“The Uinta mountainsnail is on the brink of extinction and desperately needs the safety net of the Endangered Species Act,” said Jeremy Nichols with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. “While we’re pleased to have reached an agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Service, their footdragging has only pushed the snail closer to extinction.”

Described as a ‘canary in the coal mine,’ because of its sensitivity to environmental change, the Uinta mountainsnail is an important indicator of forest health. The snail depends on relatively undisturbed forest habitat, making it especially vulnerable to the effects of poor forest management.

Thought to be extinct for decades, the Uinta mountainsnail was rediscovered alive in 2000 in the Hominy Creek area on the Ashley National Forest, about 20 miles north of the town of Roosevelt. Only one population is known to exist in an area less than an acre in size. Domestic livestock grazing and a proposed prescribed burn near the only known population threaten the snail with extinction.

“Healthy populations of the Uinta mountainsnail means healthy forests,” explained Kevin Mueller, Executive Director of the Utah Environmental Congress. “As a ‘canary in the coal mine,’ if it goes, we stand to lose a lot more than a snail.”

The Uinta mountainsnail is an integral part of the web of life in the Uinta Mountains. It consumes organic material on the forest floor and recycles plant and animal waste. Without the snail and other invertebrates, plant and animal waste would literally choke the forests of the Uinta Mountains. Amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals also feed on the snail, forming an important link in the food chain.

If the Fish and Wildlife Service determines that protection under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted for the Uinta mountainsnail, the agency will then undertake a thorough review of the snail’s status. According to the recent agreement, this review must be completed by September 12, 2006. As part of this review, the Service will determine whether or not to officially protect the one remaining population of this species under the Endangered Species Act.

Endangered Species Act protection for the Uinta mountainsnail would mean that its forest habitat would be protected and restored. Protection under the Endangered Species Act would ensure a valuable and integral part of the web of life in the Uinta Mountains is protected for the benefit of the health of our forest and for future generations.