Salamanders, salamanders everywhere ...

- AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL  (Texas)  22 February 99 - New!

Landowners in Georgetown, Northwest Austin and Salado could see their own version of the Barton Springs Salamander make it onto the federal government's Endangered Species List in coming years, following the completion of a study that identifies salamanders in those areas as distinct species.

Such a listing may not occur for many years, if at all, but it could mean restrictions on development similar to those faced by landowners in Southwest Austin's Barton Springs Watershed.

A paper submitted for publication in the journal Herpetological Monographs in January claims salamander populations found in Georgetown, the Jollyville area of Northwest Austin and Salado are three separate species, distinct from one another and the already protected Barton Springs Salamander. The paper was co-authored by Paul Chippindale, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Texas in Arlington; David Hillis, a professor of biology at UT-Austin; and Andy Price, a conservation scientist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The paper is still subject to peer review before publication, but such a publication is often seen as a precursor to a petition to put an animal on the Endangered Species List, says Alan Glen, an Austin attorney who works with development issues surrounding endangered species.

"The news here is that this paper is out there, which could eventually bring up a whole constellation of issues relative to the northern Edwards Aquifer that landowners and governments need to be aware of," Glen says.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Matt Lechner says his office has not received a petition to list any of the salamanders and is not aware of any specific plans to do so. To many involved in the seven-year battle to list the Barton Springs Salamander, however, such petitions seem likely.

"There's been lots of correspondences and other information over the years, suggesting a filing will come," Glen says. "It's just a matter of whether it would take place before or after a formal description is published."

The Barton Springs Salamander and the three other salamander populations are similar in a number of ways. They are part of the same genus, eurycea, and are all neotenic, meaning they stay in a non-mature state with external gills and other features.

Co-author Price says many of the differences between the amphibians are found in both their DNA and physical appearance.

Unlike the Barton Springs Salamander, the Georgetown and Jollyville salamanders tend to have larger eyes, thicker legs and more pigmentation because they spend less time underground. The Salado Salamander is smaller than the others, with a thinner body and smaller eyes. The two other non-listed populations also tend to have different body proportions from one another, Price says.

UT-Arlington's Chippindale says the work is the culmination of data collected since 1990.

“I believe we have ample evidence that these are different species, but that's all subject to peer review," he says. "That can take a year or more. Until that has happened, nothing systematic can really happen."

The researchers say they are not aware of specific plans to petition the federal government to list the salamanders as endangered, either.

The Jollyville Salamander is found in three or four drainages in northwest Travis County and southwest Williamson County, including Bull Creek and Cypress Creek. According to Robert Hansen, the city's aquatic biologist, the City of Austin completed a two-year study of the Jollyville Salamander in December, and will prepare a report for the City Council by June.

The Georgetown Salamander is found in springs and creeks along the middle fork of the San Gabriel River, west of Georgetown.

"Some of the springs are still pretty much pristine, but the population in [Georgetown's San Gabriel Park] is pretty well gone," Price says. "We haven't found them there in a long time."

Glen believes measures taken to protect the Golden Cheeked Warbler through the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan may already be helping the Jollyville Salamander as much as the Endangered Species Act would.

"The Balcones Plan does not specifically address the salamander, but much of its habitat is within the protected area," Glen says.

None of Williamson County is protected by similar measures, however, so an endangered species listing for the Georgetown Salamander might come as somewhat of a shock to area landowners. Impervious cover issues, ground water use, sewer collection and disposal, and general land use are all subject to change in areas around an endangered species habitat, Glen says.

"The Barton Springs Salamander listing is a good example of what could happen," Glen says. "Fish and Wildlife now wants a consultation in every development of five acres or more in the entire 300-mile watershed."

Any individual or group can file a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to have a species put on the Endangered Species List, says Lechner. The department has 90 days following the filing to determine if there is substantial evidence to give the filing further consideration. If so, the department then conducts a 12-month finding. At the end of that time, the department issues a decision whether the species should be listed as endangered or threatened or not given any special status. Another 12-month period then begins, leading up to a final status determination.

The entire process can take from two to four years or more, depending on issues that come up during the study.

The value in being aware of the issue now, Glen says, is that landowners could take measures to avoid many of the problems faced by those in the Barton Creek Watershed.

"With Barton Springs it's always been a reactive situation on the part of developers and landowners," he says. "It's better to be prepared and take action now to avoid problems in the future."