Petition triggers broader study of rare stonefly

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it will initiate a more extensive review on the status of a rare stonefly found only in Glacier National Park to determine if it warrants a listing under the Endangered Species Act.

The agency has determined that “substantial biological information exists” to warrant the official status review of the lednian meltwater stonefly, which is known to be found only in streams that are fed by glaciers in the park.

A petition for listing was filed by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the Center for Biological Diversity, environmental groups that contend the species is facing extinction from glacial melt accelerated by climate change.

“Without major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, researchers predict that more than one third of all plants and animals will go extinct by 2050,” said Sarah Foltz Jordan, a conservation associate with the Xerces Society. “This species is just one more example of why we need to address climate change before it is too late.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service emphasized that a listing is not certain.

“The finding on the petition does not mean that we have decided it is appropriate to list the western glacier stonefly,” an agency press release states. “Rather, this finding is the first step in a long process that triggers a more thorough review of the biological information available.”