Jan 31

Written by:
1/31/2012 4:07 PM 

On January 31, the Williamson County Commissioners Court unanimously agreed to send a letter to US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) opposing efforts to declare an emergency to list the Jollyville Plateau salamander as an endangered species as requested by the Save Our Springs Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity.  These groups requested that the USFWS consider an emergency listing of the species as endangered due to the ongoing construction of the City of Austin’s Water Treatment Plant 4.    Several known locations of the Jollyville Plateau salamander are located in the southwestern portion of Williamson County.  An emergency listing would affect every location where the species is found.  The Williamson County Conservation Foundation (WCCF) and the County “strongly believe that listing of these species is not warranted at this time.” 
Commissioner Lisa Birkman, who also is president of the board of the WCCF, said, “There is no immediate threat to the species that warrants an emergency listing.  By doing so, the USFWS would be able to list the species without the regular input process from the public.”

The County’s main contention is that too little is known about the species to know whether or not it is truly endangered.  There is a lack of knowledge about the species’ population size, ecological requirements, breeding habits, and threats.  In the letter signed by County Judge Dan A. Gattis, the County states, “The threats, if they exist, are at most poorly understood and both the Jollyville Plateau and Georgetown salamanders benefit from numerous conserved habitat locations, including locations in preserved lands.” 

In order to obtain better scientific information on the salamanders, the WCCF recently approved funding up to $400,000 for enhanced studies of the Georgetown and Jollyville Plateau salamanders.  As part of its Regional Habitat Conservation Plan, Williamson County agreed to fund five years of research on the Georgetown salamander.  As this research has been underway for just seventeen months, the WCCF board approved funds to accelerate and enhance the current studies.  In addition, funds will be used to study known populations of the Jollyville salamander focusing on Williamson County spring sites.  These studies will concentrate on environmental factors such as water quality and effects of urbanization.

The County and Foundation will share their research findings with USFWS at the appropriate time, but an emergency listing would cut this research short and prevent the USFWS from considering the results when they evaluate the status of the Jollyville Plateau salamander in the future.