Its population has since been expanded to Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. These steps helped boost the fish’s recovery, allowing the snail darter to recolonize in Tennessee waterways. However, the TVA worked to transplant the snail darter to other rivers and streams.įederal officials say the TVA also worked to improve water flows and increase oxygen in more than 300 miles of river downstream from their dams. In 1978, the court ruled in favor of protections for the fish and halted work on the nearly completed dam.Ĭongress later exempted the dam from the law to allow the project to be completed. Supreme Court, marking the first time the nation’s highest court took up an ESA case. Percina tanasi is found over gravel and sand shoals with moderate. The case eventually made its way to the U.S. HABITAT AND BIOLOGY: Starnes (1977) presents a comprehensive life study of the snail darter. “It is very fitting that this fish, which was once a source of controversy, became the subject of cooperation and partnerships to save it.”Ĭonstruction of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Tellico Dam in eastern Tennessee threatened the habitat of the newly discovered fish, located just above the site of the project.
“The Endangered Species Act was passed to ensure all wildlife, even species that some might view as insignificant, deserve to be preserved for future generations,” said Martha Williams, the federal agency’s service principle deputy director. It led to many legal battles, but the struggle over the lowly darter became one of the most notable. The law made it illegal to “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect” endangered animals, and forbid the elimination of their habitats. Hill, shaped environmental law in the country for the better, but Hill, then a law student who became the sole named plaintiff, said during a 2008, 30-year retrospective of the case that they 'won all the battles but lost the war. The fish garnered national attention shortly after the passage of the landmark 1973 Endangered Species Act. The snail darter, the bald eagle and the Endangered Species Act offer perfect examples. The darter was first listed as a federally endangered species in 1975, but later moved to “threatened” in 1984, meaning the species still faced a danger of extinction in the foreseeable future. Snail darters, a member of the perch family, grow up to 3.5 inches (9 centimeters) long and mostly eat fresh-water snails. “Thanks to the persistence of many people, the extinction of the snail darter was ultimately avoided, and today we can celebrate its recovery,” said Zygmunt Plater, the attorney who wrote the citizens’ petition to save the snail darter in 1975. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun the process to delist the species, a move backed by the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that has favored lifting protections for the fish since 2019. (AP) - The snail darter, a tiny fish that notoriously blocked a federal dam project in Tennessee decades ago, should no longer be on the endangered species list, federal officials announced on Tuesday.Īrguing that the fish is no longer in danger of extinction, the U.S. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Documents: lralvol20_1_229.pdf (101.This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. This Review urges everyone who wishes to enter the public sphere to have their voices heard to read The Snail Darter and the Dam for its inspirational and instructive importance. This Review highlights the most important aspects of Plater’s story, but it also examines the ways in which Plater and his team could have improved the public perception of the TVA v. He also exposes the perverse pork-barrel politics behind the Tellico Dam, and reveals the power of media on the public’s perception of the snail darter case that resonates to this day. Hill case in The Snail Darter and the Dam: How Pork-Barrel Politics Endangered a Little Fish and Killed a River, by recounting the history of the region and evolution of the case. Plater reveals the truth behind the landmark TVA v. Plater, the law professor who, along with ordinary citizens, fought their case all the way to the United States Supreme Court in defense of their river, the snail darter, and the Endangered Species Act. This Book Review examines the work of Zygmunt J.B. In reality, however, the farmers, members of the Cherokee Nation, and concerned citizens were simply fighting to keep the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)’s Tellico Dam from destroying the last free-flowing miles of the Little Tennessee River. The snail darter has become a symbol of environmental extremism.