BEFORE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR PETITION TO LIST 42 SPECIES OF GREAT BASIN SPRINGSNAILS FROM NEVADA, UTAH, AND CALIFORNIA AS THREATENED OR ENDANGERED UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Pyrgulopsis deaconi © Robert Hershler Scanning electron micrograph of shell. Paratype USNM 860676. Scale bar = 1.0 mm. CENTER for BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Because life is good. CENTER for BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Because life is good. February 17, 2009 Mr. Ken Salazar Department of the Interior 18th and "C" Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Mr. Salazar: The Center for Biological Diversity, Tierra Curry, Noah Greenwald, Dr. James Deacon, Don Duff, and The Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society hereby formally petition the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list 42 springsnail species from the Great Basin and Mojave ecosystems in Nevada, Utah, and California as Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and to designate critical habitat for them concurrent with listing. Petitioners file this petition under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. sections 1531- 1543 (1982). This petition is filed under 5 U.S.C. section 553(e), and 50 C.F.R. part 424.14 (1990), which grants interested parties the right to petition for issuance of a rule from the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. The petitioners request that Critical Habitat be designated as required by 16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(6)(C) and 50 CFR 424.12, and pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act (5 U.S.C. 553). Petitioners realize this petition sets in motion a specific process placing definite response requirements on the FWS and very specific time constraints upon those responses. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has long recognized the benefit of providing protection for multiple species for improving efficiency of listing and recovery and ultimately protection of ecosystems. In 1976, for instance, the FWS issued several proposed rules to list multiple species based on common threats, ecosystems, habitats, taxonomy, or other factors (e.g., USDI FWS 1976). In 1992, the FWS itself stated in a legal Settlement Agreement (1992) that: “Defendants [FWS] recognize that a multi-species, ecosystem approach to their listing responsibilities under the ESA will assist them in better analyzing the common nature and magnitude of threats facing ecosystems, help them in understanding the relationships among imperiled species in ecosystems, and be more cost-effective than a species-by-species approach to listing responsibilities” (p. 7). In 1994, the FWS (1994) specifically stated its policy to undertake “Group listing decisions on a geographic, taxonomic, or ecosystem basis where possible” (p. 34724). In furtherance of this policy, the FWS (1994) developed listing guidance that specifically encourages “Multi-species listings…when several species have common threats, habitat, Petition to List 42 Species of Great Basin Springsnails 2 distribution, landowners, or features that would group the species and provide more efficient listing and subsequent recovery” (p. iv). Accordingly, we hereby petition for 42 aquatic snail species from Great Basin and Mojave ecosystems which are threatened primarily by habitat loss and degradation due to groundwater development. Petitioners: The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 200,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org The Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society is a non-profit organization devoted to the advocacy for, public education about, and conservation science of freshwater mollusks, North America's most imperiled fauna. Dr. James E. Deacon is a retired professor from the University of Nevada Las Vegas where his research focused on ecology and conservation biology of desert fishes and on issues of sustainable use of water in the Southwest. His research and conservation efforts have been funded by The National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and a variety of other agencies. His more than 85 scientific papers, articles, and contributions to books and other compendia, have brought him awards and recognition from The American Fisheries Society, National Wildlife Federation, Nevada Department of Museums and History, Nature Conservancy, and others. Don Duff is a retired aquatic ecologist from the USDA Forest Service with some career time spent with the USDI BLM and Fish & Wildlife Service, with 43 years of government service in aquatic ecology and freshwater fishes and their riparian-aquatic ecosystems. He has worked on these desert waters and ecosystems for over 30 years and is familiar with the aquatic systems that provide occupied habitats for species in this petition. He is a Certified Fisheries Scientist with the American Fisheries Society (AFS) and his career work has brought him awards from the AFS, Trout Unlimited, Environmental Protection Agency, and others. Petition to List 42 Species of Great Basin Springsnails 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………...6 II. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..7 III. Natural History and Ecology……………………………………………….………11 A. Taxonomy…………………………………………………………………...11 B. Distribution………………………………………………………………….12 C. Description…………………………………………………………………..15 D. General habitat requirements………………………………………………..16 E. Movement……………………………………………………………………19 F. Life History…………………………………………………………………..19 IV. Legal requirements for determining if species warrant listing……………………...20 V. Threats………………………………………………………………………………..21 A. Present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of habitat…..23 1. Groundwater withdrawal……………………………………………..23 2. Spring development and diversion and water pollution……………...33 3. Recreation…………………………………………………………….34 4. Grazing……………………………………………………………….38 B. Overutilization for recreational, scientific, or educational purposes………...42 C. Disease or predation…………………………………………………………42 D. Other natural or human caused factors………………………………………43 1. Invasive species………………………………………………………43 2. Global climate change………………………………………………..46 3. Inherent vulnerability of isolated populations………………………..47 E. Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms……………………………...47 VI. Individual Species Accounts………………………………………………………..60 VII. Recommendations for Recovery…………………………………………………..114 VIII. Request for Critical Habitat Designation…………………………………………116 IX. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….116 X. References…………………………………………………………………………..117 XI. Appendix. Letter of Support from Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society……133 Petition to List 42 Species of Great Basin Springsnails 4 TABLES Table 1. Petitioned springsnail species……………………………………………….13 Table 2. Species by watershed………………………………………………………..14 Table 3. Petition species which occur on federal grazing allotments…………………41 FIGURES Figure 1. Distribution of petitioned springsnail species……………………………….17 Figure 2. Distribution of petitioned species overlaid with area of projected groundwater decline………………………………………………………………………………….31 Figure 3. Distribution of petitioned species in relation to current groundwater rights and applications……………………………………………………………………………..32 Petition to List 42 Species of Great Basin Springsnails 5 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 42 species of springsnails included in this petition are endemic to the Great Basin and Mojave ecosystems of Nevada, Utah, and California. These species are primarily distributed as isolated populations and need the protection of the Endangered Species Act to ensure their continued survival. The probability of extinction is high for all of these springsnail species because of their limited distribution and the severity of threats they face. These springsnails are threatened with extinction for several reasons. The overarching threat to the majority of the petitioned species is groundwater development which could cause the springs on which they depend to become dry. The snails are also threatened by spring development and diversion, grazing, and recreational activities. In addition, they are threatened by global climate change which will likely alter spring recharge and discharge, and by the spread of invasive species. These springsnails are intrinsically vulnerable to extinction due to their extremely limited mobility and restricted distribution as endemic species. Fourteen of the species occur at only a single location, and 39 occur at ten or fewer locations. Collectively petitioning these 42 species of springsnails allows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider their listing simultaneously which improves efficiency and conserves agency resources. The Endangered Species Act states that a species shall be determined to be endangered or threatened based on any one of five factors (16 U.S.C. § 1533 (a)(1)). Each of the 42 species meets one or more of these factors and thus warrants listing as a threatened or endangered species: A. The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of habitat or range: Most of the species of springsnails presented in this petition are threatened with habitat destruction and modification due to existing and proposed groundwater withdrawal projects. Proposed groundwater withdrawal could desiccate the springs on which these species depend for their continued existence. The snails’ habitat is also threatened by spring development and diversion and excessive anthropogenic use of spring water, recreational activities,