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For no more than 30 minutes an evening, Andrew’s dune scarab beetles emerge from the sands of the Algodones Dunes in southeastern California. In the fading twilight, between February and May, they congregate in small breeding clusters, then disappear again beneath the dunes’ shifting sands. Over the past 30 years, off-road vehicle use has damaged the fine sands and sparse vegetation of their home.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE
PROTECTION STATUS:
Not listed
PETITIONED:
2002
RANGE:
The Algodones Dunes of Imperial County in southeastern California and northern Baja California, Mexico
THREATS:
Heavy off-road vehicle use in the Algodones Dunes
POPULATION TREND:
The population of Andrew’s dune scarab beetles on the Algodones Dunes is believed to be declining.
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SAVING THE ANDREW'S DUNE SCARAB BEETLE
Threats facing the Andrew’s dune scarab beetle were first brought to the attention of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the late 1970s; the beetle was proposed for Endangered Species Act protection in 1978. At that time, biologists noted that off-road vehicles disrupted the dunes and interfered with the accumulation of dead organic material necessary for the beetle to survive. However, by October 1980, the Service had issued a notice to withdraw the endangered species proposal because final rulemaking had not been completed on time. Essentially, the Andrew’s dune scarab beetle was denied endangered species protection because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to meet required statutory deadlines — despite the fact that new scientific data indicated a listing was needed for the beetle.
Now, about 30 years later, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to provide legal protection for the beetle has resulted in federal land management policies for the Algodones Dunes that do not take into account the impacts of off-road vehicles on the beetle and its delicate habitat.
In 2002, the Center submitted a new petition to the Service for endangered species protection and critical habitat designation for the beetle. When the Bush administration failed to respond to this petition, we went back to court in 2005 to fight for the beetle’s protections. But in May 2006, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would not consider Endangered Species Act protection for the species. Despite this denial, the Center remains committed to seeking innovative ways to protect this rare beetle, which lives nowhere in the world but the pure, golden sands of the Algodones Dunes.
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Contact: Ileene Anderson
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