Conservation Efforts
Springsnail Conservation
All twelve springsnail species populations in Arizona are in decline. The Arizona Game and Fish Department considers the Page springsnail a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" while the Three Forks springsnail is a candidate for listing as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Reasons for the decline of the Page and Three Forks springsnails include ground water depletion, predation by invasive species such as crayfish, habitat destruction by elk and cattle and the effects of wildfire on stream quality and flooding.
There are conservation efforts in place to help slow or reverse the factors affecting springsnail species declines. Field conservation efforts include controlling invasive crayfish species populations and non-native fish, and restoring springsnail habitats. Protecting habitats from cattle and elk is achieved by installing fencing to keep elk and cattle from wallowing in the streams and seeps that are home to springsnails. At the Phoenix Zoo's Conservation Center, we maintain a refuge population of both Page springsnails, and Three Forks springsnails. We are also developing important care and reproductive management guidelines for both species. The care and propagation techniques that we develop will help insure that these snails will survive and reproduce, and possibly be able repopulate areas in the field where they have been lost. In addition, by studying these snails at the Conservation Center we are able to learn about their life history, and reproductive seasons in a way that informs the field biologists so that they can understand population trends they may observe in the field.
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