Bodysurfer:  "Heard a rumor that the  government may be investigating possible endangered snail at Thacker Pass"

"The Western Watersheds Project argued in its formal petition for the listing in September 2022 that the tiny snail no bigger than the tip of a ball-point pen was imperiled even before any new mining was contemplated due to livestock grazing, round-building and the anticipated impacts of climate change."

Isn't it interesting that one of the chief protangonists to development of the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine is a rancher who grazes cattle near Thacker Pass himself.  I wonder what his impact is on the Kings River pryg (the tiny little snail in question).

"It also confirmed the snail is currently known to exist in only 13 isolated springs within a 14-mile (22-km) radius of Thacker Pass and the Montana Mountains in Humboldt County.

“The petition presents credible information that all 13 known springs occupied by the Kings River pyrg exhibited signs of habitat disturbance during 2018 surveys and that the flows of 4 occupied springs have already been modified,” the agency said. It said other threats include “livestock grazing, roads, drought, climate change and the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine.”

So if we follow this contention all the way through then it must mean that the Western Watersheds Project is now advocating that Edward Bartell needs to cease and desist from allowing his cattle to graze on nearby grasslands, eh?

"Local rancher and farmer Edward Bartell’s case is summarized by Edward: “Bartell Ranch is the holder of a federal grazing permit, private ranch lands, and water rights that are imminently threatened with irreparable harm by the construction and operation of the Mine.”

This whole little "pryg" commotion isn't something new and it isn't a "rumor".  The Great Basin Resource Watch mentioned it years ago in their complaint:

"There are serious concerns about the project affecting wildlife, particularly sage grouse, big horn sheep, pronghorn, golden eagles, Lahontan cutthroat trout, and an endemic spring snail species (the Kings River Pyrg)

https://gbrw.org/proposed-thacker-pass-lithium-mine/#:~:text=Local%20rancher%20and%20farmer%20Edward%20Bartell%E2%80%99s%20case%20is,by%20the%20construction%20and%20operation%20of%20the%20Mine.%E2%80%9D

So, what has been LAC's response to this Snail Mail Conflagration claim of ultimate doom to the little Pyrgulopsis imperialis?

“There is no indication the springsnail would be impacted by the Thacker Pass Project based on more than 10 years of data collection, impact evaluation by federal regulatory agencies, and judicial review,” said Tim Crowley, the company’s vice president of government and external affairs.

“We support this additional study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are confident it will reaffirm that we’re building an environmentally responsible project with no impacts to the snail,” he said in an email to The Associated Press.

https://apnews.com/article/lithium-mine-endangered-snail-nevada-15c0008372a93a984c64ddbd741232c4

This is a grasping of straws by the environmentalist whacko Central Command at Western Watersheds Project and at Great Basin Resource Watch.

When this attack fails then DRG will gear up its own batch of extra legal friends and spur them on by proxy to do the devil's work.  DRG is careful to try and legally expunge itself as an individual entity, but they can't give enough moral support to those who are not constrained by such an outdated convention as "legality".  

The environmental whacko fringe has nothing but conviction and stubborn determination to accomplish their goals by whatever means they feel are necessary.  They are a determined foe of any mining company in any state of the U.S. and their fellow comrades extend that opposition to any mining project in the world.  They have unlimited patience and "giving up" is not in their DNA.  That is something that the mining companies need to keep in focus, their adversary has no weakness of will or determination.

Okiedo