Nonprofit files new suit to save namesake freshwater snails in Quitobaquito Springs

The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity is suing the federal government over allegedly delaying to protect a threatened aquatic animal that lives in the dry Sonoran Desert.

The Quitobaquito tryonia is a tiny freshwater springsnail — no bigger than the size of a poppyseed — that can only be found inside Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under President Joe Biden, sought to protect this small desert snail by labeling it an endangered species. The proposed rule from 2023 also suggested setting aside 6,095 square feet as a critical habitat within the existing national monument near Mexico.

But the Quitobaquito tryonia was never officially added to the list.

In the 11-page complaint filed Thursday, the Center for Biological Diversity claims that the federal agency has violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to “issue a final listing rule” before a congressionally mandated deadline.

Not doing so “delays lifesaving protections for the species, thereby increasing its risk of extinction,” the suit contends. Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to reply to KJZZ when asked to weigh in on the legal matter.

This court challenge comes as the Trump administration looks to keep building up the border wall. Arizona Democratic Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva voiced her concern about Quitobaquito being possibly damaged during a House hearing.

Thirty miles west of Quitobaquito Springs — the fragile ecosystem that’s home to this namesake snail — is where border wall contractors recently destroyed a 1,000-year-old geoglyph of deep cultural significance to O’odhams.