Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Limestone salamander. © Gary Navis

The endangered limestone salamander lives nowhere else in the world except in the lower Merced River region of California. But if a local hydropower company has its way, crucial habitat for this slippery salamander will soon be underwater.

And that’s bad news for this extremely rare amphibian, which is one of the few species of salamander that survives solely on land.

Emerging during cool, damp weather, limestone salamanders dwell much of the year below ground to escape the Merced River canyon’s hot, arid climate. They breathe through their skin, and because they lack lungs or gills, they must remain moist to move oxygen out of air into their bodies.

Up until recently, the limestone salamander has had things pretty good in the canyon. Its habitat is so remarkable that it has been designated a Wild and Scenic River, which means a good stretch of it — from the beginning in Yosemite National Park to the McClure Reservoir in central California — is protected from development.

The Merced River flows through Yosemite National Park

That’s the way Wild and Scenic River protection is supposed to work, but some members of Congress have other ideas. U.S. Representative Jeff Denham of California has introduced two bills that would strip Wild and Scenic Rivers Act protections from a portion of the Merced River in the Golden State, so that the Merced Irrigation District can expand its reservoir and sell more water to make electricity.

But expanding the McClure will submerge key limestone salamander habitat at the worst possible time in the late spring and early summer — when they are cloistered underground alongside their eggs. Even if they beat the rising waters to the surface, their chances of escape are slim. They will still have to scramble to higher grounds during some of the hottest, driest, deadliest days of the year.

The first bill (HR 869) aims to make room for the expansion by rolling back protections for a section of the river directly upstream of the reservoir. If passed, Congress would set a dangerous precedent, marking the first time lawmakers have ever taken protections away from a Wild and Scenic River. Even worse is that the bill would allow the reservoir to be so vastly enlarged that it will block what is currently a free-flowing river of national and local importance.

This outrageous move completely undermines the intent of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and is likely to kill endangered limestone salamanders, which is illegal under California law.

This broad proposal could have lasting impacts on the Merced as well as other protected rivers across the country – all for the short-term gain of a single water district.

The other legislation (HR 2578) is a backdoor attack on the Merced River’s protections. It seeks to move the Merced River’s legal boundary line above the proposed hydropower project’s border. Officially, the bill would establish a policy mandating that Wild and Scenic River boundaries cannot overlap with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hydropower project boundaries. But this broad proposal could have lasting impacts on the Merced as well as other protected rivers across the country – all for the short-term gain of a single water district.

This bad news for people who cherish and depend on these special rivers, but it could doom the tiny limestone salamander to extinction. Defenders is working to put a stop to these misguided proposals. Stay tuned as the saga unfolds.

Industry report shows pesticides are good for America!

(…a special installment of “Can’t Live Without ‘Em”)

That’s right. A new report from the good folks at Crop Life America identifies a cure for our nation’s prevailing economic ills: PESTICIDES!

Bald eagles were nearly wiped out in the 1970s due to the harmful effects of the pesticide DDT. Photo courtesy US Military

Turns out, pesticides create an additional $82 billion by improving crop yields, with “spin-off effects” of $166.5 billion in related industries. The report also concludes that pesticides have produced environmental benefits by quadrupling yields of corn and wheat without having to clear additional land. Who knew?

Of course, there’s absolutely no mention of the indirect costs on America’s native wildlife or public health from spilling toxic chemicals into our waterways. Nor is there any evaluation of the long-term impacts of agribusiness and industrial-scale monoculture, both of which are responsible for dismantling local food networks and putting the small family farmer out of business.

Let’s not forget that less than 40 years ago, the widespread use of DDT had virtually eradicated bald eagles and peregrine falcons, and pesticides today continue to wreak havoc on fish and amphibian species across the country.** (Read Defenders factsheet to learn more about the real impacts that pesticides have on the environment.)

Now, we all have to eat. And certainly pesticides will continue to play an important role in feeding the country. But no economic assessment can be complete without also examining the impact that pesticides have on water quality, human health, and the myriad species that must endure these poisons in their habitat.

Crop Life America has been lobbying Congress to weaken protections from pesticides that keep our drinking water safe and our people and wildlife healthy. This one-sided report is just their latest attempt to exploit our nation’s current economic downturn in order to boost corporate profits for the pesticide manufacturers and agribusinesses they represent.

Pacific salmon are just one of many species at risk from pesticide poisoning.

At-risk species like Pacific salmon and steelhead, which have tremendous economic value of their own, are now threatened with extinction in large part because of toxic run-off into our rivers and streams from farms sprayed with pesticides. The truth is that we need stronger protections to limit the damage that pesticides inflict on the environment, not weaker ones.

If pesticides are to be used, we must do a better job of making sure they don’t harm humans and wildlife. Rolling back environmental protections and dumping ever more pesticides onto the land and into our water is not a recipe for sustainable economic growth.

Help Defenders stand up to powerful special interests like Crop Life by supporting better protections from pesticides.

**NOTE: A recent survey of 583 conservation scientists found that 99.5% of respondents believe that a serious loss of biological diversity is imminent.

The Value of Conserving Wildlife

by Jamie Rappaport Clark

(This post originally appeared on Huffington Post on October 4, 2011)

Why save a lizard? Who cares about some little fly? What difference does it make if we kill off a few unwanted prairie dogs?

These are fair questions. At a time when nine percent of Americans are unemployed, another seven percent are marginally employed or working only part-time, and millions more are struggling to stay afloat, protecting obscure endangered species probably isn’t the first thing on people’s minds. But that doesn’t mean we should turn our backs on the countless species, large and small, that still need our help.

Nearly 40 years ago, our government made a commitment in the form of the Endangered Species Act to preserve all native wildlife for the benefit of future generations. And since that time the Act has been 99 percent effective in preventing the extinction of the plants and animals it protects. But tragically, Congress is preparing to use our current economic crisis as an excuse to abandon America’s commitment to preventing extinction.

Before the August recess, no fewer than 13 different proposals had been introduced to limit the federal government’s ability to protect endangered species (see Assault on Wildlife: The Endangered Species Act Under Attack). Since Congress returned from recess, another four have been added to the list, and more will no doubt surface long before a comprehensive funding bill is finally passed this fall.

At the center of nearly all of these attacks on our landmark wildlife conservation law is the implicit argument that saving imperiled plants and animals is simply a luxury we can no longer afford. Some members of Congress are taking it a step further, exploiting our country’s very real financial difficulties by pinning job losses on endangered species protections. Of course, this sham calculus disguises the fact that many of these politicians rely on certain big corporate interests hostile to the Endangered Species Act to line their campaign coffers.

Despite the protestations of anti-wildlife politicians, there are very good reasons to protect a lizard, or a fly or a prairie dog. Though they may seem trivial, these animals are an integral part of the web of life that sustains us all. Lizards control insect pests and provide food for hawks. Flies feed reptiles and can help pollinate crops. Prairie dogs mow down prairie grasses, reducing risk of wildfire, and they provide food for ferrets, badgers and owls. What’s more, by fighting to save these species, we are preserving the vitality of the entire ecosystems that they inhabit.

Madagascar periwinkle

There are also practical reasons for saving as many imperiled species as we can. The ESA acknowledges the direct link between maintaining biodiversity and our own well-being. For example, one economist has estimated that America’s plants and animals provide us with “ecosystem services” (such as erosion control, flood protection, air and water filtration, sedimentation, carbon sequestration, providing nutrients, crop pollination, etc.) totaling $33 trillion per year. Plants like the Pacific yew tree, Madagascar periwinkle and mamala tree have all led to promising treatments for diseases like cancer, leukemia and AIDS. And expenditures for wildlife-related recreation accounted for more than $122 billion in 2006 — about one percent of our GDP.

What doesn’t show up on the ledger though is the value of upholding the principles of good stewardship. The great conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote, “The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, ‘What good is it?’ If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not.”

We should ask ourselves instead, what will be left when all the lizards, and flies and prairie dogs are gone? What will happen to our lakes and forests, our deserts and oceans, our rivers and prairies, when fewer and fewer living creatures call them home? If we allow piecemeal changes now to our most important environmental laws, what else might politicians find inconvenient to protect?

The attacks on America’s great conservation legacy may seem small and insignificant. But each one tugs at a thread that could unravel the entire fabric of the great safety net we have built over four decades. Killing off a few lizards or flies or prairie dogs isn’t going to rescue our flailing economy. But it could very well ruin us all.

Barton Springs salamander

A weekly homage to endangered species, large and small.

What do Robert Redford and a two-inch salamander have in common? They both learned to swim in Barton Springs pool in Austin, Texas. True to its name, the Barton Springs’ salamander is found only in Barton Springs­—a set of four natural water springs where Redford supposedly learn to swim when he was 5 years old.

Salamanders are amphibians, meaning they spend at least part of their lives in the water. Typically they have long tails, moist skin, and slender bodies. Adults can grow up to 2.5 inches long and usually have a purplish grey coloring. The tiny critters feed on brine shrimp, and other small crustaceans underwater. They have bright red external gills and unlike many other species that move from the water to the land during adulthood, Barton Springs salamanders remain in the water their entire lives.

One thing not unique about the salamanders is that they—like so many related species—are critically endangered. Nearly one third of all documented amphibian species around the world face extinction, and the Barton Springs salamander is no exception. They rely on the pure, flowing currents of the Barton Springs to survive, and urban expansion and development in the area continues to severely contaminate the water.  According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the sediment runoff from construction clogs the salamanders’ gills, smothers their eggs, reduces the availability of spawning sites, and lessens water circulation and oxygen. In 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Barton Springs salamander as an endangered species.

WHAT GOOD ARE THEY?

The cleanliness of the Barton Springs is a critical issue for both salamanders and humans since the springs provide much of Austin’s municipal water supply. Salamanders are particularly sensitive to contaminants and the Barton Springs salamander serves as a very important indicator of the health of a water supply used by much of southern Austin. Even while they distribute clean water to the city, the springs themselves are also a treasured place that people want to see protected, and the Barton Springs salamander is a key indicator of the springs’ health. Researching them has even led to the discovery of another endangered species—the Austin blind salamander.

The Barton Springs salamander evolved under such unique and specific conditions that they might also provide valuable information to scientists about the development of the ecosystem and possibly even help in the development of modern medicine.

Luckily for us, there are a number of things people can do to help the salamanders, and none of them involve abstaining from swimming in the popular Barton Springs pool. The salamanders require clean and consistent water flow which means no dumping chemicals or waste into the springs. There are even things you can do at home to help. Little changes like shutting off water while brushing your teeth or washing dishes helps reduce the amount of water used which helps keep it in the springs for the salamanders.

Continual monitoring and protection efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the local communities will be essential if we hope to continue swimming with these special and rare creatures in the future.

Houston toad

Recently, wildfires raged throughout Bastrop State Park–considered the last remaining stronghold for the Houston toad featured in our recent “Can’t Live Without ‘Em” blog. Biologists are currently investigating the damage to the toad’s habitat and population. Hopefully these resourceful critters aren’t among the things we lost in the fire. Firefighters worked tirelessly to save the 6,000-acre Bastrop State Park after fires burned through much of the area located just east of Austin, Texas. According to reports, more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed throughout the affected area along with buildings and habitats inside Bastrop State Park. Read the full article.

Watch the full story as Texas Wildlife officials try to stop the blaze:

Houston toad

A weekly homage to endangered species, large and small.

(Based on research by Ben Ikenson)

Houston toads are an endangered species native to the midlands of Texas. Masters of disguise, they can range in color from bluish- grey to speckled red, or even dark brown and black. These little guys don’t have powerful hind legs like frogs so they rely heavily on camouflage and their poisonous skin secretions to protect them from predators. Adult females grow up to four inches long (males are slightly smaller). During scorching hot summers and bitter winters, the toads bury their tiny bodies under loose sand and hibernate to protect themselves from the extreme weather.

Unfortunately, one threat these miniature marvels can’t seem to outwit is industrialization. Rapid development in Houston, Texas and the surrounding areas has destroyed much of the toad’s habitat. Wetlands were replaced by roads, and forests were replaced by shopping centers as cities grew. By the 1960s, the toads had seemingly vanished. Once thought to number in the tens of thousands, some researchers estimated that there were as few as 3,000 Houston toads remaining. In 1970, they were federally listed as an endangered species with habitat loss cited as the primary cause of decline. Some isolated populations of the toad in and around Houston had been completely wiped out. And although the toads are now protected under the Endangered Species Act, the largest remaining population in Bastrop County is still under intense threat from urban development according to reports from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

WHAT GOOD ARE THEY?

You’ll probably never hear a doctor say “lick two toads and call me in the morning,” but toads are known to carry toxins that are pharmaceutically important. Many modern medicines contain active ingredients derived from these chemicals. The Houston toad in particular, secretes serotonin—an essential chemical in our brains—and alkaloids used to treat heart and neurological disease. The alkaloids are thought to have analgesic properties quite possibly more powerful than morphine.

Of course, their chemical cures aren’t their only talent. Houston toads help manage the ecosystem by keeping the insect population down. And despite their many defense mechanisms, spiders, raccoons, turtles, snakes, owls, and even fire ants have been known to prey on the amphibians. However with so few toads to study, it’s hard for scientists to accurately estimate the Houston toad’s impact on the environment. Often toads provide key linkages in nutrient cycles because they carry substances from the water to land during metamorphosis from the tadpole stage to being fully terrestrial adults.

As studies continue, Houston toads might prove valuable in other ways to the environment and for practical uses like medicine.

Still despite their helpfulness, urbanization and even agricultural development continue to intrude on the toad’s habitat. Recently more and more forests have been turned into fields or pastures for farming. Unfortunately, livestock often overgraze these areas and leave the toads with little resources for food and shelter. But there are ways that people can help. Replanting native bunchgrasses instead of sod-forming plants and limiting livestock numbers can help the toad’s populations grow in these areas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and USFWS jointly prepared a brochure for private landowners who wish to implement their agricultural practices in ways that are compatible with the needs of the Houston toad. With the assistance and involvement of a dedicated community, perhaps these little amphibians will be able to make the leap from brink of disaster to the threshold of recovery.

Recently, wildfires have raged throughout Bastrop State Park–considered the last remaining stronghold for the Houston toad. Read the  full article here.