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The Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) entered into a November 14th Stipulated Settlement Agreement and Proposed Order (“Settlement”) addressing the Arkansas Mudalia Snail (“AMS”). See Case No. 1:24-cv-00691-JEB.
The Settlement requires that the Service on or before July 19, 2028, review:
…the status of the Arkansas Mudalia and submit to the Office of the Federal Register a finding as to whether listing the Arkansas Mudalia as threatened or endangered is (a) not warranted; (b) warranted; or (c) warranted but precluded by other pending proposals, pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(B).
CBD states that the AMS is a freshwater snail found in only a few sites in Arkansas and Missouri. Such sites include the North Fork River.
The organization has argued that AMS is threatened by water pollution from grazing, logging, mining, and dam construction and operation. Other threats are stated to include rising temperatures and more severe weather events which limit remaining suitable habitat. It is noted to be sensitive to disruptions in their environment and can be indicators of stream health.
CBD had originally filed a Petition with the Service in 2018 requesting AMS’s listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). In 2011, the Service published a finding that the Petition presented substantial information that listing the species may be warranted. See 76 Fed. Reg. 59835 (Sept. 27, 2011). However, the Service concluded in 2019 that listing the AMS was not warranted under the ESA.
CBD then filed a Complaint on March 11, 2024, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Service’s not warranted 12-month finding for the AMS.
A copy of the Settlement can be downloaded here.
