A federal appeals court recently backed the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to keep the Tucson shovel-nosed snake off the endangered species list, despite advocates’ claims the Service misinterpreted key data, grouping the subspecies with other snakes that they argue are distinct.
The Center for Biological Diversity’s Endangered Species Director Noah Greenwald said there’s no way to get an accurate count on the snakes, which bury themselves in the sand and prefer flat areas near valley floors.
But heavy development between Phoenix and Tucson is threatening their habitat.
“Interstate 11 is proposed and under consideration, and would be a massive impact to the snakes’ remaining habitat,” said Greenwald.
With a natural diet that includes scorpions, he said the tough little subspecies has an even tougher road ahead.
“Unfortunately, there's not much that's protecting its habitat in the absence of the Endangered Species Act,” Greenwald said. “And we're in the position of having to wait for new genetic information, which will hopefully be forthcoming in the next couple years.”
“If the Endangered Species Act covered the subspecies,” he said, “It would spur surveys. We would know where they are. We would know how to protect them. Hopefully Interstate 11 wouldn't happen. But if it did, at least we'd be able to try and mitigate the impacts.”
Greenwald said legal challenges are exhausted, so the focus now is on funding further research.
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Relaxed gun restrictions on public lands worries conservation groups about safety to public and wildlife -
Indigenous leaders say that federal contractors are desecrating sacred Native American places and cultural sites at an unprecedented pace in the rush to build more walls on the U.S.-Mexico border. -
Water users from Arizona and beyond are calling on Congress for big spending that could help the region cope with drought. -
Valley residents will feel a brief cooldown this week. The National Weather Service predicts high temperatures in the high 80s to lower 90s in the early weekdays. But it's temporary solace as the summer season approaches. -
The House Natural Resources Committee met to review President Donald Trump’s funding proposal for the Interior Department, but Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva took that opportunity to talk about Las Playas Intaglio.
