Speak Up For The Mojave Desert's Mountain Snails
- by: Center for Biological Diversity
- recipient: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Mohave shoulderband snail is a tiny tan-and-pink snail that lives on just a few mountaintops in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Its entire global range is less than eight square miles.
Shoulderband snails have survived their extreme desert environment for tens of thousands of years, but their future is now threatened by climate change, industrial wind development, and mining.
The Center for Biological Diversity is working to gain Endangered Species Act protection for the snail and to develop a conservation plan to ensure its survival. As a first step, we need the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fund biological surveys to determine the snail's range and critical habitat needs.
Snails may not be charismatic, but they play critical roles in building and maintaining the web of life, and they deserve our help. They decompose vegetative litter, recycle nutrients, build soils and provide food and calcium for many other animals including birds, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and other invertebrates.
Take action today: Please send an email to the Fish and Wildlife Service urging it to prioritize funding for surveys so that we have the information to ensure that the Mohave shoulderband survives for future generations.
Shoulderband snails have survived their extreme desert environment for tens of thousands of years, but their future is now threatened by climate change, industrial wind development, and mining.
The Center for Biological Diversity is working to gain Endangered Species Act protection for the snail and to develop a conservation plan to ensure its survival. As a first step, we need the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fund biological surveys to determine the snail's range and critical habitat needs.
Snails may not be charismatic, but they play critical roles in building and maintaining the web of life, and they deserve our help. They decompose vegetative litter, recycle nutrients, build soils and provide food and calcium for many other animals including birds, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and other invertebrates.
Take action today: Please send an email to the Fish and Wildlife Service urging it to prioritize funding for surveys so that we have the information to ensure that the Mohave shoulderband survives for future generations.
I'm writing to urge you to designate funding to conduct biological surveys to determine the Mohave shoulderband snail's range and critical habitat needs. This research is necessary to ensure that these snails are not lost to extinction.
Because they are particularly vulnerable to changes in the environment brought about by humans, mollusks are one of the most imperiled groups of animals on a global scale. Approximately 40 percent of recorded extinctions since the year 1500 have been of mollusks, including 260 species of slugs and snails.
[Your comment will be added here]
The future of Mohave shoulderband snails is now threatened by climate change which is making the desert even hotter and rains more erratic. These snails are also threatened by industrial wind development, which will make its habitat drier, and by mining.
Snails play critical roles in the environment, supporting life for other plants and animals. They decompose vegetative litter, recycle nutrients, build soils and provide food and calcium for birds, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and other invertebrates. They also help disperse seeds and fungi. Empty snail shells are used as shelters and egg-laying sites by insects and other arthropods; broken-down shells return calcium to the soil. Snail shells are the primary calcium source for the eggs of some bird species.
I urge you to act quickly to safeguard the Mohave shoulderband so that this irreplaceable part of California's natural history and ecosystem isn't lost forever. Please designate funding needed to conduct biological surveys to determine the snail's range and critical habitat needs.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Sign PetitionSign PetitionBecause they are particularly vulnerable to changes in the environment brought about by humans, mollusks are one of the most imperiled groups of animals on a global scale. Approximately 40 percent of recorded extinctions since the year 1500 have been of mollusks, including 260 species of slugs and snails.
[Your comment will be added here]
The future of Mohave shoulderband snails is now threatened by climate change which is making the desert even hotter and rains more erratic. These snails are also threatened by industrial wind development, which will make its habitat drier, and by mining.
Snails play critical roles in the environment, supporting life for other plants and animals. They decompose vegetative litter, recycle nutrients, build soils and provide food and calcium for birds, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and other invertebrates. They also help disperse seeds and fungi. Empty snail shells are used as shelters and egg-laying sites by insects and other arthropods; broken-down shells return calcium to the soil. Snail shells are the primary calcium source for the eggs of some bird species.
I urge you to act quickly to safeguard the Mohave shoulderband so that this irreplaceable part of California's natural history and ecosystem isn't lost forever. Please designate funding needed to conduct biological surveys to determine the snail's range and critical habitat needs.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
See more petitions:
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.