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ESA Status: Endangered
The endemic Bruneau hot springsnail (Pyrgulopsis bruneauensis) resides in geothermal springs and seeps along the Bruneau River in southwest Idaho. The snail prefers wet rock faces on large cobbles and boulders in flowing water.
The Bruneau hot springsnail was listed as Endangered on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1993 and has upheld this listing. Despite ongoing conservation efforts and the creation of a Recovery Plan in 2002, the 2007 Five-Year Status Review reported an overall declining population trend. Additionally, the most recent Five-Year Status Review, completed in 2018, found that Bruneau hot springsnail populations are continuing to decline as their geothermal spring habitat is lost and fragmented.
Priority conservation actions include increasing and stabilizing geothermal water levels through voluntary conservation easements, irrigation systems improvements to reduce agricultural water use, continued monitoring of water levels and snail distribution, control of non-native predation, and the establishment of regulatory measures.
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More Information:
Species Profile for Bruneau Hot Springsnail – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Photo Credit: U.S Fish & Wildlife Service
Map Credit: Idaho Department of Fish and Game