The U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service issued two press releases earlier this week after deciding that one local species is not threatened with extinction and another southern Arizona species should be considered endangered.
The Huachuca springsnail, found in Cochise County as well as Santa Cruz County and northern Sonora, Mexico, was one of nine species the service recently determined does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The small aquatic snail — measuring just 1.7 to 3.2 millimeters — continues to occupy a large portion of its historical range and its habitat remains substantially intact. Currently, it is found in 23 of 29 spring sites studied since 2004, and 25 of those 29 sites are “high- or medium-quality habitat,” according to the species status assessment released by the service.
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