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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Susan’s Purse-Making Caddisfly May Get Help

WASHINGTON (CN) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that a petition from the Xerces Society contains enough information to initiate a status review of the Susan's Purse-Making Caddisfly, to determine if it should be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The caddis fly's name comes from its creation of a silken purse shaped cocoon during its development from larvae to adult.

Susan's purse-making caddisfly was identified as a new species in 1976, and has only been found in two sites in central Colorado. The petition argues that the species is seriously threatened by habitat loss, primarily due to the effects of livestock grazing and timbering projects.

The Xerces Society says that the limited habitat of Susan's purse-making caddisfly also is threatened by groundwater depletion due to increasing use by surrounding cities, damage from unregulated off-road recreational vehicle use and hiking, and the effects of drought. Changing water temperature likely to occur in the mountainous West due to global climate change also may affect the insect.

The USFWS requests public comments on critical habitat, which may be designated if the caddis fly is listed.

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