“Press Release –
For immediate release.”
February 6, 2007
IMPERILED CHEAT SNAIL AND INDIANA BAT
--- Land Set Aside for Endangered Species
---
On February
5th, the U.S. District Court for Northern West Virginia formally
ratified the “settlement agreement” involving Allegheny Wood Products and three
plaintiff organizations. This
settlement spells out a cooperative plan to protect the Cheat three-tooth snail
and the Indiana bat in the Cheat Canyon, in Preston County, WV. Both are on the
federal endangered species list, the snail is “threatened” and the bat is
“endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.
This lawsuit was
filed on April 6, 2005 by the Cheat Lake Environment and Recreation Association
(CLEAR), the Friends of Blackwater, and the State Chapter of the Sierra
Club. AWP and these plaintiffs have
worked hard to achieve
this settlement which was submitted to the Court on February 1st, and
it calls for continued cooperation to set up snail preserves during the remainder of 2007 and
beyond.
Paul Wilson, State Chair of
the Sierra Club, said “The Sierra Club believes that this settlement agreement
may be as good or better than the protections offered by "incidental take
permits" and “habitat conservation plans”, as called for in the federal
Endangered Species Act, particularly for the very rare Cheat three-tooth
snail with the scientific name Triodopsis platysayoides.
Three-tooth’ is a misnomer, as
this snail has a single unique denticle (bump) of shell material in its shell
opening.”
Judy Rodd, Director of the
Friends of Blackwater, said “We are very pleased that
there has been a positive outcome from our litigation and that good science will
be used to set up snail preserves.
We thank our lawyers and the many individuals who contributed to
protecting one of West Virginia’s most unique endangered species. Conservation of the unique habitat in
the Cheat Canyon will also protect other rare species of plants and
animals.”
Duane Nichols, President of CLEAR, said “This is a “groundbreaking” achievement. A unique program has been structured to bring a systematic approach to bear on the protection of imperiled species on private lands.” He is very pleased that a cooperative agreement has been reached and is looking forward to its implementation.
Initially, six Preserves and
two adjoining Adjunct preserves are being set aside for protection of the snail,
on the north side (‘river right’) of the Cheat River. One Preserve on the south side (‘river
left’) at Cornwell Cave will also offer protection for the Indiana bat. Logging will now resume in the current
area of operations with pre-selected regions being preserved to protect the
Cheat snail. These areas are
currently marked with plastic ribbons and will be marked via painting rings on
trees over the coming months.
Within 45 days a panel of
snail experts will be assembled “to determine on the basis of the best
scientific data available the proper criteria to apply to identify potential
habitat”. This applies to areas
slated for future logging that scientists believe may be especially important to
the snail. Seventy-five days have been allotted for the preparation of such a
report, fifteen days for review of the report and thirty more days to finalize
it.
A “delineation team” will then
be selected to actually visit the areas slated for future logging so as to apply
the results of the expert panel. Within 240 days, AWP and the three
named organizations will seek the advice of the panel of experts on possible
research projects related to the conservation of the snail and/or its
habitat. Further, special provisions have been made in the settlement
to limit the road building on the Allegheny Trail, on the old railroad bed, that
passes through the Canyon. This
Trail is to subsequently be opened again, although some limitations will still
prevail.
The plaintiff organizations
are represented by Joshua Barrett of the law firm DiTrapano Barrett &
DiPiero, Charleston, WV. He is
assisted by Erin Tobin and Eric Glitzenstein of the law firm Meyer Glitzenstein
& Crystal, Washington, DC.
Contacts:
Duane Nichols,
CLEAR
330 Dream Catcher
Circle
Morgantown, WV
26508
304-599-8040
Judith Rodd,
Director
Friends of
Blackwater
501 Elizabeth Street, Room
3
Charleston, WV
25311
304-345-7663
Paul Wilson, Chapter
Chair
The Sierra Club of West
Virginia
504 Jefferson
Avenue
Charles Town, WV 25414-1130
304-725-4360