It seems a lifetime ago since George W. took over the White House – plenty of time, one would think, to beef up protective measures for endangered species. You know where we’re going with this thought, don’t you? Of course. In a nutshell, the Bush administration has moved to protect a grand total of 56 species, compared to 234 under Father Bush, and 512 under Clinton. Seeking to reverse the administration’s foot-dragging on the species front, the Save Our Springs Alliance filed suit last week against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to respond to SOS’ petitions to add two Hill Country species to the endangered list – the rare Jollyville salamander and Val Verde County’s San Felipe gambusia, one of a few life-bearing fish that reproduce through fertilization.
Both species face the threat of decreasing populations due to water pollution from sprawl and overpumping of groundwater, according to environmentalists in Travis and Val Verde counties. The Jollyville salamander, a small, neotenic critter, is found only in the springs of the Jollyville Plateau region in Travis and Williamson counties. Some 250 miles south, the gambusia, or “mosquito fish,” is struggling for survival in San Felipe Creek, located below San Felipe Springs. The spring, the third largest in Texas, flows through the heart of Del Rio before dipping into the Rio Grande River. The gambusia earns its keep by feeding on mosquito larvae. But in these parts, proposed water transfers are all the rage, so do you think people in the H2O trade care about gambusia? “San Felipe Springs is Del Rio’s most important resource,” said Jane Moran, of the San Felipe Creek Task Force Commission, in a statement on the lawsuit. “By protecting the San Felipe gambusia, we will also protect the springs for our children, ourselves, and the future.”
SOS filed its petitions and supporting documents in June 2005, and then waited 90 days for the agency to respond, as the federal Endangered Species Act requires. Now, 390-odd days later, SOS is still waiting. “FWS has been promising to take action, but so far they have ignored the clear deadlines set out by Congress,” said SOS attorney Dan Gildor. The enviro group hopes the lawsuit might serve to rattle the old giant awake.
This article appears in August 18 • 2006.
