TEMPLE, Texas — The video above was posted in 2019.
Georgetown and Salado salamanders are getting 1,315 acres of critical habitat, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
The protected land will be divided with the 732 acres going to Georgetown salamander and 583 acres going to the Salado salamander.
“The Georgetown and Salado salamanders are found nowhere else in the world but in springs and caves fed by the northern segment of the Edwards Aquifer,” said Adam Zerrenner, the Service’s Austin Field Office Supervisor. “Identifying and protecting areas essential to their survival is an important step in the recovery process. We will continue to work with our federal, state and local partners and private landowners to address threats across the two species ranges in the San Gabriel and Salado Creek watersheds.”
According to FWS, critical habitat is defined by the Endangered Species Act as the geographic areas containing essential features for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species.
Due to changes in water flow and quality, both salamanders were federally listed as threatened for extinction in 2014.
Healthy springs are not only important for the salamanders and other aquatic life but to humans as well.
"Efforts and actions to protect and conserve the Edwards Aquifer will also benefit the human communities and businesses dependent on these water sources," the FWS says.
The FWS doesn't predict the designation of critical habitat having any affect on land ownership and has no impact on private landowners taking actions on their land that do not require federal funding or permits.
The critical habitat for the Georgetown and Salado salamanders will publish in the Federal Register on Aug. 18. The rule becomes effective on Sept. 17.