PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for failing to protect five imperiled freshwater species from the Great Basin under the Endangered Species Act.
The Service failed to issue timely findings on the Center's petitions to protect the Alvord chub, a desert fish from Oregon and Nevada, and four springsnails from Oregon and California — the cinnamon juga, Donner und Blitzen pebblesnail, Great Basin ramshorn and banded juga.
“The Endangered Species Act doesn't allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to put these imperiled Great Basin species on an indefinite waiting list,” said Tara Zuardo, a senior advocate at the Center. “Every month of delay leaves these rare freshwater species without the safeguards they urgently need, increasing the risk that they could be lost forever.”
The Alvord chub, cinnamon juga, Donner und Blitzen pebblesnail, Great Basin ramshorn and banded juga live in isolated springs, streams and wetlands scattered across the Great Basin, a massive region that includes most of Nevada and parts of Oregon, California and three other states.
Because these species often exist in only a handful of locations — or even a single watershed — they are especially vulnerable to groundwater pumping, water diversions, livestock grazing, habitat degradation, pollution, invasive species and the intensifying effects of climate change.
“Freshwater species are disappearing faster than almost any other group of animals on Earth,” said Zuardo. “Yet despite overwhelming scientific evidence that they’re in crisis, the Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to meet basic deadlines mandated to prevent extinction.”
Endangered Species Act protection would grant critical safeguards, including protection from activities that could further jeopardize their survival, require science-based recovery planning and demand that federal agencies avoid actions likely to drive them closer to extinction. The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the Service has violated the Endangered Species Act and to compel the agency to promptly issue the overdue findings.
The current Trump administration has not extended Endangered Species Act protection to a single plant or animal. The last time political delays logjammed the listing program this long was 1982, which led to a congressional amendment to the Endangered Species Act establishing firm timelines for listing species and litigation consequences for violating the deadlines.
Today’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division.
Species Background
Alvord chubs are slender, sparkly fish that can reach 5 inches in length. They are one of only two surviving fish species found only in the Alvord Basin, a desert valley that runs from southeastern Oregon through northwestern Nevada. The Center petitioned for their protection in August 2024, and in January 2026 the Service determined that protection may be warranted. Today’s lawsuit will result in a deadline for the Service to publish a “12-month” finding on the petition which should bring a listing proposal.
Banded jugas are freshwater snails that survive only in the lower Deschutes River. They have 1-inch-long conical shells with three yellow bands separated by brown bands. The Center petitioned for their protection in August 2024. Today’s lawsuit will result in a deadline for the Service to publish a “90-day” finding on the petition which should determine if the snail moves forward in the listing process.
Cinnamon jugas live in the Shasta River watershed, upper Sacramento River watershed and Upper Klamath Lake. They have conical 1-inch-long shells that are cinnamon brown in color with reddish purple streaks. The Center first petitioned for their protection in 2008, but in 2012 the Service denied the petition. In March 2024 the Center again petitioned for their protection, and in August 2025 the Service determined that protection may be warranted. Today’s lawsuit will result in a deadline for the Service to publish a “12-month” finding on the petition which should bring a listing proposal.
Donner und Blitzen pebblesnails are also known as “strange pebblesnails” because their scraping teeth are shaped differently than other species in their genus. They are less than half an inch long with wide turban-shaped shells. These tiny mollusks are found only at Page Springs in the Donner und Blitzen River watershed in southeast Oregon. The Center petitioned for their protection in February 2024, and in August 2025 the Service determined that protection may be warranted. Today’s lawsuit will result in a deadline for the Service to publish a “12-month” finding on the petition which should bring a listing proposal.
Great Basin ramshorns were once found in six states but have been wiped out in Idaho, Nevada and Utah, and barely survive in Wyoming. Remaining populations are concentrated in the Upper Klamath Lake and Pit River drainages in northeastern California and south-central Oregon. Their sturdy tan shells are about half an inch long and whorled like the rams of bighorn sheep. The Center petitioned for their protection in March 2024, and the Service determined that protection may be warranted. Today’s lawsuit should result in deadline for the Service to publish a “12-month” finding on the petition which should bring a listing proposal.
