For Immediate Release
July 13, 2004

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copy of the notice

Laramie, WY - Immediate action is required to prevent the extinction of a land snail that is known from only a single location in the Uinta Mountains of northwestern Utah, a coalition of conservation groups charged today. The groups today formally notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that they intend to take legal action to require improved forest management, including protections for this highly imperiled snail.

Thought to be extinct for decades, the Uinta mountain snail was rediscovered alive in 2000 in the Uinta Mountains in the Ashley National Forest. Only one population is known to exist in an area less than an acre in size. In 2001, the Utah Environmental Congress submitted a petition to protect the snail under the Endangered Species Act. Although the Fish and Wildlife Service is required by law to make a preliminary finding on such petitions within 90 days, after more than two years the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to refuse to make this finding.

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

"The Uinta mountain snail and other land snails are the building blocks of a healthy forest," said Jeremy Nichols, Endangered Species Program Director for Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. "If it goes, we stand to lose a lot more than a snail."

Land snails, like the Uinta mountain snail, are an integral part of the web of life in the Uinta Mountains and the Ashley National Forest. They consume organic material on the forest floor and recycle plant and animal waste. Without snails and other invertebrates, plant and animal waste would literally choke the forest. Amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals also feed on land snails, forming an important link in the food chain.

The Uinta mountain snail is at great risk of extinction because of a number of threats. Domestic livestock grazing in particular threatens to trample the only known population of the species. Although the U.S. Forest Service constructed a fence to protect the snail's habitat, it has failed to maintain the fence and it has become completely ineffective as a result. The Forest Service is also planning a prescribed fire near the snail's only population, which threatens its extinction. Despite these imminent threats, the Fish and Wildlife Service has not taken any action to protect the rare mountain snail or its habitat.

"Conservation delayed is conservation denied," said Nichols. "The safety net of the Endangered Species Act is desperately needed, yet the Fish and Wildlife Service's foot dragging has only pushed this species closer to the brink of extinction."

The Fish and Wildlife Service typically cites budget constraints as the reason for ignoring petitions, but in cases where a species faces an immediate risk of extinction (such as this snail, reduced to one very small population) it has access to separate funds specifically set aside for emergency purposes.

"The Fish and Wildlife Service is, as usual, employing all of its stall, delay, and obstruct tactics," said Jacob Smith, Executive Director with Center for Native Ecosystems. "But extinction is forever. Once this native species is gone it is gone forever."

Endangered Species Act protection for the Uinta mountain snail 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.

The coalition include Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, a citizen group based in Laramie, Wyoming dedicated to protecting native species and their habitats, Center for Native Ecosystems, a Denver-based group dedicated to protecting native species and their habitats in Colorado and western Utah, and the Utah Environmental Congress, a Salt Lake City-based group dedicated to protecting the health of Utah's National Forests. A copy of the notice can be found at Biodiversity Conservation Alliance's website.