ROUND ROCK LEADER (Texas) 31 December 13 Salamanders doing fine or are they in hot water? Feds offer protection to pair, ruling still to come on 2 more.
Salamanders don’t know about biology or economics. But with Williamson County at odds with advocacy groups and the federal government - regarding the tiny creatures’ scientific status and economic impact - county commissioners decided it’s time to discuss both topics with a high-ranking official.
In March, Pct. 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey of Georgetown and Pct. 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long of Cedar Park booked a meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., with Benjamin Tuggle, regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The topic: the tiny creatures, which grow to about one-inch long, live in springs and natural pools throughout three local counties and never leave the water.
This year, however, salamanders have been the subject of many a government meeting room, including that of county commissioners.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife is expected to make a ruling on Feb. 22 on whether to list the Georgetown and Salado salamanders as endangered or threatened, said Tom Buckley, a spokesman for the federal agency.
An endangered species is in immediate danger of going extinct. A threatened species faces a future of extinction. The federal agency is currently reviewing the public comments it has received about the tiny amphibians, said Buckley.
Earlier this year, U.S. Fish and Wildlife extended protections to two other area salamanders, placing the Austin blind salamander on the endangered species list and adding the Jollyville Plateau salamander to the threatened species list. That decision designated 4,451 acres in Travis and Williamson counties as critical habitat for those two species.
The Austin blind salamander, found in the Travis County’s Barton Springs area, has been listed as “endangered.” The Jollyville Plateau salamander, found in northwest Williamson County, is deemed “threatened.”
Williamson County has spent thousands of dollars on studies to convince officials that the salamanders should not be listed.
“They don’t understand that the bottom line is the people and development and the salamander can exist together,” Covey said in March. “They’re assuming our development will cause the decline of the salamander. on the other hand, they’re not including the economic impact of the development.”
In January 2012, the Austin-based Save Our Springs Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit with Fish and Wildlife, calling for the salamanders to be given endangered-species protection. SOS has been working since 2005 to preserve the Jollyville salamander, in ways similar to how the Barton Springs salamander was added to the endangered species list in 1997.
In August 2012, Fish and Wildlife Services announced it wanted to set aside about 6,000 acres for salamander habitat in Williamson, Travis and Bell counties.
Kemble White, an environmental scientist working with county, told Fish and Wildlife representatives last year: “Our data … indicate that the salamander population in Williamson County are steady … and the water quality remains excellent. These species developed a resilience that is overlooked.”
Regarding the economic development aspect: In January, Fish and Wildlife put the cost of setting aside 6,475 acres for salamander habitat at $29 million.
Williamson County puts that figure at close to $500 million.
“Their calculation is administrative cost only - not taking the land off the tax rolls,” Covey said. “They’re assuming we’re not going to develop the land.”
Various local government and business groups have joined in opposition to the proposed endangered species listing. These include the Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander and Georgetown city councils; the Round Rock, Leander and Georgetown school districts; and the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce.
Former Round Rock schools superintendent Jesús H. Chávez has said an endangered species listing for salamanders could interfere with the district’s plans to build new schools.
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