Conservation group sues U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over missed decision on rare toad and fish near Beatty

What happened

A conservation group filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday accusing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of missing a legal deadline on two rare species that live near Beatty in Nye County, the Nevada Current reported. The Center for Biological Diversity says the agency violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to issue a required 12-month finding on whether the Amargosa toad and the Oasis Valley speckled dace should be listed as endangered or threatened.

The lawsuit centers on the timing of a decision that federal law requires the agency to make. According to the Nevada Current, the agency has not yet issued that final decision on either species.

How the case got here

Petitions and an initial review

The Center filed petitions seeking federal protection for both species. Last year, according to the Nevada Current, a Fish and Wildlife Service review found substantial evidence that the toad and the fish may be eligible for listing.

That review was supposed to be followed by a final decision. The agency missed the legally required deadline for it, the outlet reported, and that missed deadline is the basis for the new lawsuit.

Where the toad and fish live

A narrow stretch of spring-fed habitat

Both species depend on spring-fed habitat along the Amargosa River in Oasis Valley near Beatty. The Nevada Current reported that the Amargosa toad is found only along a 14 mile stretch of the river, with an estimated population of about 2,000.

The group's petitions argue both animals face extinction because of groundwater pumping tied to seven proposed gold mining operations along the Amargosa. The Center warned that the combined groundwater drawdown from those projects could substantially reduce flows or dry up springs that the toad and fish need to survive.

The gold mining proposals

AngloGold Ashanti's projects

Six of the seven proposed projects come from AngloGold Ashanti, a British multinational mining company, according to the Nevada Current. They include what may be the largest greenfield gold discovery in Nevada in more than a decade. The company has said its Arthur Gold Deposit could contain about 16 million ounces of gold resources, nearly five times as much gold as Nevada produces annually.

The North Bullfrog Project

The company's North Bullfrog Project is in the permitting phase and is located about nine miles north of the Town of Beatty. The Nevada Current reported it would span about 5,400 acres of public lands and withdraw up to 2,500 acre-feet of water per year from Oasis Valley, which the outlet said is perhaps enough to serve about 7,500 homes.

The Nevada Current article did not include a response from AngloGold Ashanti or the Fish and Wildlife Service. For more on groundwater and supply issues around the state, see our water coverage.

What the group is saying

Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the two species are "at the center of a bullseye surrounded by gold mining activity," according to the Nevada Current. He also said: "Endangered Species Act protections are urgently needed for these species before AngloGold's mines suck dry the water they need for survival."

Donnelly described the Amargosa River as "a crown jewel of the Mojave Desert" and called the toad and fish emblems of Nevada's biodiversity. He told the outlet the group will keep pressing until the species receive protections.

What to watch next

• How the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responds to the lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Center for Biological Diversity.
• Whether the agency issues the overdue 12-month finding on listing the Amargosa toad and Oasis Valley speckled dace as endangered or threatened.
• The permitting process for AngloGold Ashanti's North Bullfrog Project, about nine miles north of Beatty.