Group sues to list rare aquatic insect in Glacier Park

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit seeking to force federal officials to decide if a rare aquatic insect found only in Glacier National Park should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The group asked U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington, D.C., on April 15 to declare that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated federal law by not issuing a final determination on whether the species should be listed as threatened or endangered.

Western glacier stoneflies were first identified by scientists in 1963. They live in streams fed by cold water from glaciers that are predicted to vanish by 2030, in part because of warmer weather due to climate change.

Researchers say the stoneflies could disappear with the glaciers. But if the Center for Biological Diversity prevails, it’s uncertain what can be done to preserve the insects.

“The difficult thing about listing a species based on climate change is we don’t really know what to do about it,” U.S. Geological Survey scientist Joe Giersch said.

When Giersch and other researchers recently looked for the insects in six streams that stoneflies historically had occupied, they were found in only one of the streams.

Biologists have held preliminary discussions about raising stoneflies in laboratories and seeding different streams with the insects. However, Giersch said it’s unclear if the stoneflies could survive because the new streams likely would be warmer than those with native glacier stonefly populations.

Center for Biological Diversity scientist Tierra Curry said wildlife officials have a chance to raise the profile of climate change’s impact on species around the globe with a decision on the stonefly.

“This stonefly is a story people can wrap their heads around,” she said. “It’s a specific species in a specific park that tells the story of what’s happening around the globe right now.”

Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Ryan Moehring said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.