What about the plants? Ceratophyllum echinatum and Myriophyllum heterophyllum both have pretty limited occurrence in the Tennessee drainage and pretty specific habitat demands from what I understand. Hitting known localities for the plants may yield pygmies too.

*EDIT* Rosyside dace are a habitat associate of the spring pygmies? I wouldn't have guessed that. I usually see them in unvegetated cherty creeks up here.

Is there a "fast track" process for ESA candidate species under such imminent threat? It sounds like the fish may be gone before the normal listing process could take effect.

(1) You should inform the listing realtor, by certified letter, that the species has been recommended to USF&WS for fast-track listing as an endangered species, and while it is impossible to estimate the probability of the species being federally listed in the near future, future uses of the habitat could be limited by federal regulations or protective actions. Even better would be that letter on NANFA letterhead, from one or more group officials.

A realtor who fails to inform prospective buyers of such issues puts him/herself at considerable financial and legal risk.

(2) Do the Alabama statutes and regulations regarding STATE listing of endangered/threatened/special concern species do anything stronger than prohibit the taking of listed species? This is a state-listed fish. That's the only protection I see listed in the on-line summary of the fishing regs, but there could be other protections enacted by other state laws or regulations.

(3) In Florida, the state fish & wildlife commission is required to have a "management plan" for each state-listed species. Is the same true in Alabama, and if so, what is that plan, and who "owns it" ? This could work two ways, the existing plan may have provisions that would be helpful in the fight, or news of this imminent threat might force the mgmt plan to be updated and strengthened.

* * * And these things don't necessarily have to actually HAPPEN to have a beneficial effect, the unquantifiable future risk could influence the decision-making of potential buyers. For example, it might not stop a potential buyer, but that purchaser might feel a self-protective need to plan from the outset on putting in Best Mgmt Practices (BMP) for spring and watershed protections, to avoid bad P.R. that could happen if they were to just go in and bulldoze everything. The need to do that, with its expense and the limitation on the amount of the property that was left usable for industrial purposes, could influence the price a purchaser would be willing to pay. That in turn could temper the $$$$$-profit expectations of the property owner/s. Which could open the door for the Nature Conservancy to get in instead. Etc.

HTH

Bad PR can go both ways. I work with private land owners fairly regularly, usually to their benefit. They do not respect "tree huggers" and from I have seen, have little motivation to do so. We are more of a briar patch than a true obstacle. If we (NANFA) jump in as a "no you cannot do that group", then we loose our credibility for trying to provide alternatives to land management methods that might benefit more than just the locality at stake. Private land owners will push harder if they feel a time line can be beaten. I think this fight / opportunity is not to save a single locality / endangered taxon but promote the interest of the public and developers in at least attempting to use resources that considers at all stages the impacts said uses have on the effected ecosystems. The developers will likely invest more in one parking lot / storage facilty than we will be able to wrangle out of them through legislation for the purpose of developing a management strategy.


Since many of the laws we have regarding protection of endangered species lack teeth, we might function better to interest the concerned public of the area to at least be willing to consider alternatives.

*EDIT* Rosyside dace are a habitat associate of the spring pygmies? I wouldn't have guessed that. I usually see them in unvegetated cherty creeks up here.

No, I was talking about associates with flame chubs as a maybe kinda similiar case. You may be right with the plants, such precise habitat may exist on some private land which is unknown and may always be. But there's a limited range of possibilities since all known usable habitats have been very close to larger streams such as the Tennessee.

And Centrarchid is right, many people despise treehuggers, the ESA, etc. The TNC and FWS have been trying to work with landowners in this area for over 25 years with some success. The question now has become is the issue forced by looming megadevelopment on the site such as an auto assembly plant, which the state of Alabama and city of Huntsville are pursuing in a big way. The situation might be that if you don't hug those trees today, they're gone tomorrow, and thanks for playing.

And Doug, you're right to assume that Alabama state listings of species have few teeth. Your suggestion of notifying realtors in a formal way is a good one, since we have to assume they have the ethics of their industry.

This is quite troubling. Do we know of a specific auto manufacturer that's interested in the land? A letter to them might be helpful in addition to other ideas discussed here.

There's not a specific auto maker at the moment. But the city is proceeding with the plan of attracting one, since they almost got VW to move there. Hopefully Mike will post something soon about his experience talking to the Huntsville City Council meeting last night, which may shed some light on this.

Doug Dame,

Very good ideas. Thanks!

Newt,

There ARE neotenic Eurycea in these springs. As far as I know, Ron Bonnett at Univ. of Tulsa is still working on the genetics to try to figure out what species they belong to. I believe they align with E. aquatica based on my gut, but they could just be some neotenic population of E. quadridigitata or something. There is a case to be made for the salamanders too. And yes, the entire system is in real trouble. Volkswagen was set to buy the land, but backed out. Now the mayor of Huntsville is trying to prep the site for "the next Volkswagen". I watched the entire Pryor Spring population get wiped out last year. Luckily, they were not of much genetic value, because they were stocked from the Beaverdam System. During the drought, farmers pumped the type locality until there was nearly no water left, and at another spring the pumps made the spring flow backwards (during a rainstorm), filling the pools with sediment laden reservoir water.

...

Habitat associates of pygmies are, in order of frequency:
Gambusia ugghhh
Tuscumbia darter
Palaemonetes shrimp (could also be distinct here, quite weird looking)
Eurycea sp. neotenic salamander
Lepomis miniatus
Lepomis gulosus
Fundulus olivaceous
Esox niger
Campeloma decampi (federally endangered, but only recently discovered here)

All,

Many of you have made good comments regarding the need to get connected with folks and work together. This has been our approach since 2006, when I was first funded for this work (by USFWS and NANFA I do not want to come across as holding an extreme and unyielding position, but the bar has been raised recently with these new development pressures, and federal legislation is now just one part of an integrative solution. The first approach has simply not yielded any results, and now there is too much money at stake to get the job done without government help. Right now, as we read this, construction is taking place that is (using the information available to me) not in line with federal law (too close to a stream with endangered species). Since the petition was released, there has been a sense of urgency among the consulting firms to get the work done now. Why the rush now? I think we all know. I am still eager to work with the city engineering department and any other party involved, and I'm hoping that NANFA might also have some influential role. I agree with the opinions that we need to find solutions that meet the needs of all of the parties involved, but at this point I'm strongly suggesting that the conservation of the natural ecosystem gets top priority.

One more thing. At a think tank meeting in Jan 2008, we chewed on the idea of expanding Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge to encompass the Beaverdam Swamp. It was not discussed in detail, but I think it is worthy of reconsideration. The fish has been found on the refuge once, but only once, and a breeding population has not been confirmed. Why should any species go extinct when its entire distribution is within 5 miles of a National Wildlife Refuge? I think this idea could take flight with the local community, many of whom are very proud of Wheeler. I don't know where the money would come from, or how high up such a plan would have to go, but I think it should be put back on the table, because it is now or never.

Edited by Elassoman, 04 December 2009 - 10:41 AM.

I think I miscommunicated; I didn't mean to imply that the salamanders weren't in your springs, just that they were also present further northeast in north GA and southeast TN and so your pygmies might also be found at those sites; but I had not remembered until I rechecked the paper that those northeastern E. aquatica complex populations were in the Coosa/Conasauga drainage.

That'd be a big range and habitat leap for the E. quadridigitata group. Not impossible, but I find it more plausible that they would be in the E. aquatica group as you suggested. I suspect there is a lot of undescribed plethodontid diversity on the Highland Rim. I know a couple of unique Desmognathus genotypes were found in what was supposed to be an outgroup sample of D. conanti from the Eastern Rim in TN a few years back. As far as I know nobody has followed up on those.

Sorry about the salamander diversion, I'll get back on topic now.

Absorbing the land into Wheeler is a great idea- but still requires purchase of all the relevant properties. It'll be a hard sell for USFWS and might also see opposition from the local gov't. if it interferes with their industrial site development. I'm trying to think of other groups that might put up that kind of money but nothing is coming to mind. Have you talked to TVA? They are the parties who inundated most of the historic habitat, not that that means much to them. But it could be a good PR move for them, to help overcome the lingering snail darter and Columbia Dam damage. They have several Habitat Protection Areas and Small Wild Areas, but I'm not sure whether they only establish those on land they already control or not. At any rate they could be asked for funds to help protect the habitat.

By the way- do you have any photos of the neotenic salamanders and grass shrimp?

I think I miscommunicated; I didn't mean to imply that the salamanders weren't in your springs, just that they were also present further northeast in north GA and southeast TN and so your pygmies might also be found at those sites; but I had not remembered until I rechecked the paper that those northeastern E. aquatica complex populations were in the Coosa/Conasauga drainage.

Gotcha.

That'd be a big range and habitat leap for the E. quadridigitata group. Not impossible, but I find it more plausible that they would be in the E. aquatica group as you suggested. I suspect there is a lot of undescribed plethodontid diversity on the Highland Rim. I know a couple of unique Desmognathus genotypes were found in what was supposed to be an outgroup sample of D. conanti from the Eastern Rim in TN a few years back. As far as I know nobody has followed up on those.

My mistake. I meant they could be neotenic E. bislineata or cirrigera (see kozak 2006). Either way, they are weird little critters.

By the way- do you have any photos of the neotenic salamanders and grass shrimp?

Not yet but I'll get you some.

Edited by Elassoman, 04 December 2009 - 11:51 AM.

Has anyone contacted the newspapers in that area? If there is one that does good investigative reporting, it might be helpful. So long as the exact locaton of the species can remain vauge (I don't know how the habitat maps out). Maybe as a story about the special nature of the spring, the species it supports, and the current threats?

The Huntsville Times has several editors who would likely be sympathetic to our view (don't tell the publisher...). That's in the works.

Since Huntsville already has the dubious distinction of having been the first town to make a fish species extinct, maybe you could play on this to help let guilt keep it from happening again.

I have to say, though, that no politician is going to make himself very popular in today's economy by blocking a car factory for the sake of some fish. It's gonna be a tough sell.

Since Huntsville already has the dubious distinction of having been the first town to make a fish species extinct, maybe you could play on this to help let guilt keep it from happening again.

Good thinking Mysteryman. I presented multiple copies of the attached flyer to the city council on December 3rd. I also described the whiteline topminnow in a letter to the mayor. So far, I have not gotten a response from anyone in Huntsville. Not the engineering department, not the city council, no one.

I have to say, though, that no politician is going to make himself very popular in today's economy by blocking a car factory for the sake of some fish. It's gonna be a tough sell.

I hate the thought of being perceived as someone who wants to keep jobs from the area. I have a lot of respect for the folks that have preserved the land thus far, and I hope that we can work this out without serious detriment to either side. I would encourage responsible development of a facility outside of a reasonable buffer area. But without input from the city of Huntsville, I have no reason to believe that they have this as a priority. Their actions thus far have shown disregard for the system's well being, and when I provided the information at the council meeting, they showed disregard for me. This is why I hope to find some like minded folks in northern Alabama, who are willing to state their case as well.

I can guarantee that right now the political and business powers that be in the Huntsville area think any and all of us are out of our minds to worry about some aquatic animals they've never heard of. I know some local people who are and will be our allies. But we will have to aggressively present our case, hope that the FWS can be pushed to do something like listing the species, and find one or more good lawyers like Ned Mudd (I don't know if we'll need guns, but money would help(!)). The reality is that most people think small creek fishes are either bait or baby bass, so we have a major education campaign to communicate why this is important.

Merging the alabamae site into the NWR sounds like a sensible approach, since there's an existing framework and staff. But identifying what land is needed to protect a limestone spring is gonna be tricky. This isn't just your average riparian buffer situation where everything filters through the adjacent soil. Does anyone in AL understand (or think they understand) the hydro-geology of these springs? My guess is it'll need careful land management (not necessarily NO development) over a pretty wide land area.

If anyone has composed and submitted a letter to FWS in support of endangered listing, you could post or attach it in this thread for others of us to use as a model. Mike, is there any particular date letters must be received by?

The hydrogeology is poorly known. I have discharge rates for the stream itself, which is nearly completely spring fed, but no data for individual springs. I also have done some GIS work to determine the area of the watershed. We need to do dye traces to determine the area of recharge. This is something that has been talked about for two years, but never done. If anyone knows geologists who can do this, please let me know. There is a geochemist at UA who is willing to run the trace elements and water quality. That is the current state of my knowledge, and I've beat a lot of bushes. Right now the recommendations are admittedly insufficient for long term persistance, including the typical riparian buffer zones, keeping cattle out of the water, etc. I've listed a few more things, such as limiting groundwater withdraw, stormwater runoff, and total impervious surface limits for the watershed. There is no regional precedent for any of these, and I've been told the ESA simply can't go that far. Of course, it went that far with Cyprinodon diabolis, but we don't want to repeat that circus.

Regarding letters; USFWS should give a 90-day review, so letters would be most influential prior to this date. I was hoping that NANFA would send one letter, but if anyone wants to send an individual letter, that would be strongly encouraged too! I'll get the contact information and post it here.

Edited by Elassoman, 18 December 2009 - 10:09 AM.

News on the ground: the Huntsville sewer line along Beaverdam Creek is nearly complete, and the wastewater treatment plant on I-565 is at least half-way complete. The wastewater treatment plant is located about 1/4 mile from Beaverdam Creek, and now I need to find out where the discharge from this system will empty. My guess is right in the middle of Elassoma territory. There has been little news from USFWS, but I have heard rumors that they are pushing for a normal listing process, as opposed to an emergency listing. This is not an indication of whether they will grant protection for the spring pygmy, it simply means they are choosing the slower of two paths which will lead to some sort of decision. In my best estimation, if they take the "normal" route, we are talking about a process that can take decades before a resolution is reached. On the other hand, the emergency listing process could take less than two years. In the opinion of every qualified biologist concerned with this situation (and anyone else who can think without dollar signs in their eyes), this listing is already 20 years overdue. The conservation measures associated with the ESA need to be in place before this area is developed. Otherwise the survival of this species will be left to the mercy of Huntsville and/or the next automobile manufacturer that shows an interest. Huntsville has been ranked among the 10 fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. Infrastructure construction for this expansion has already begun, the remaining tracts are for sale on industrial realty sites, and we know that after the money has changed hands and facility construction has begun, USFWS will have little to say about it.

Please consider writing a letter in support of the EMERGENCY LISTING of Elassoma alabamae. These letters can come from individuals or organizations.

Send letters to:

Janet Mizzi
USFWS Southeast Regional Headquarters
1875 Century Blvd., Suite 400
Atlanta, GA 30345

Edited by Elassoman, 02 June 2010 - 06:29 PM.

Michael,

Interestingly, I was just out sampling today in western Maryland because of a state issued Jeopardy opinion related to a mine stormwater discharge permit. At the least, you should be able to locate the treatment plants discharge because of their NPDES permit. It should also list their monitoring plan, monitoring requirements, limits, etc., which should be useful to you.

Here is a bit of what we documented at Beaverdam Creek Thursday, June 10th. You see the riparian zone in piles nearly as big as a house, an enormous sediment load coming from Moore Branch, and faulty silt fences. In the reeds we incidentally collected and immediately released 17 endangered snails (Campeloma decampi). We failed to collect pygmy sunfish here, though they were once common. It is not surprising, given that they inhabit cool clear habitats with submerged filamentous vegetation. These plants don't do well with 1/2" of silt covering them. The snails will not be here very long if nothing is done to correct this situation. The bottom photo shows Beaverdam Creek at a bridge crossing, where we have consistently documented spring pygmies for over six years. You can clearly see the atrociously elevated silt load even over a mile downstream of the construction. Thursday was the first time in over 25 visits that I failed to document the spring pygmy at this bridge...

Edited by Elassoman, 14 June 2010 - 11:12 AM.

Watch some videos here:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgIDvt7sYJg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGYC2v0rF0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgFVEykYW0g

Edited by Elassoman, 14 June 2010 - 12:27 PM.