Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program, or RIP, protects endangered and threatened species in the Edwards Aquifer.

Many of these species are no more than an inch long. The Comal springs riffle beetle is even smaller…only two millimeters long.

But Parks and Wildlife water resources branch chief, Cindy Loeffler, says preserving the species is crucial to the ecosystem.

These are, you know, you’ve heard the cliché canary in the coal mine. If we want to truly protect natural resources, fish and wildlife, these unique ecosystems. These species are indicators of the health of those ecosystems.

Loeffler also says if the program protects the identified species, it will most likely save many more in the process.

We have some species that there’s very little known about. And these are in a way the tip of the iceberg of the threatened and endangered species that are found associated with the Edwards Aquifer. There are many more species that are not listed that are found no where else.

Many of these species are found no where else in the world…like the San Marcos blind salamander and Texas wild rice. And pumping water from the Edwards Aquifer alters the habitat, putting these species in an unstable environment.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan. Discover how you can help at passporttotexas.org. For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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