PORTLAND, OR – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has completed its review of a petition to list the Columbia Oregonian under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Columbia Oregonian is a small terrestrial gastropod (snail) associated with riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian habitat that is found along the moist edges of seeps, springs, and streams. Based on this review, the Service finds that the Columbia Oregonian petitioned action is not warranted at this time.
The description of this species’ range varies, but generally the range includes the area along the central and eastern Columbia River Gorge, from The Dalles in Oregon east along the Columbia and Snake Rivers, through northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington to the Washington-Oregon border, and finally extending into portions of Idaho including Hells Canyon and northern Idaho. The primary stressors affecting the Columbia Oregonian are the climate-mediated impacts of wildfire and drought, livestock grazing, and the conversion of riparian habitat. These stressors will likely diminish the quality and quantity of the resources relied upon by the species into the future. Despite these losses, the Service expects that the Columbia Oregonian will maintain multiple, well-distributed, resilient populations across its known spatial and ecological range into the foreseeable future and therefore find that listing the species is not warranted.
Under the ESA, the Service is required to determine if a petitioned action is warranted within 12 months after receiving any petition for which it is determined contains substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. This not warranted decision represents the Service’s 12-month finding. The Service’s findings are based on a recently completed Species Status Assessment of the species and include input and review from academia, state agencies, species experts, and others. The in-depth review of the species’ taxonomy, habitat, stressors, and resources needed to maintain long-term persistence can be found here.
A notice of the not warranted finding on the petition to list the Columbia Oregonian can be found in the Federal Register.
