By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – The Biden administration has taken another approach to block Texas law enforcement officers from accessing the Rio Grande River, according to Texas officials: protecting freshwater river mussels.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing listing two species of freshwater mussels – the Salina mucket and Mexican fawnsfoot – as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It’s also proposing designating critical habitats for each in two areas of the border where Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star is actively interdicting illegal activity.
The proposal to list these species under the ESA “is based on the best scientific and commercial data available and recently completed Species Status Assessment,” USFWS said. “After careful examination of the best available scientific information for the two freshwater mussels, including estimates of current and future conditions, the Service determined that Salina mucket and Mexican fawnsfoot are in danger of extinction throughout all of their range and meet the definition of endangered under the Endangered Species Act.”
The Biden administration also sued the state of Texas last month in an attempt to stop it from implementing certain border security measures.
The Salina mucket lives in the Lower Canyons and Martin Canyon portions of the Rio Grande downstream of Big Bend National Park. USFWS is proposing designating nearly 200 river miles of critical habitat for it in the Texas border counties of Brewster, Terrell, and Val Verde, where heavy foot traffic of illegal activity is occurring from mostly military age men engaged in human and drug smuggling.
Former Border Patrol agent and Terrell County Sheriff Thad Cochran told The Center Square, “Past administrations worked with various federal agencies to ensure Border Patrol Agents could exercise their authorities to the fullest extent by exempting them from various acts and laws protecting endangered species and delicate lands. This administration again shows its unwillingness to secure our southern border with Mexico by trying to prevent Governor Abbott and the State of Texas from filling the gap President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have created. They continue to dismantle the most secure border the United States has ever had.
“If they were really concerned about the mussels in the Rio Grande, they would prevent illegal aliens from crossing. They leave trash, clothing and human waste that is far more damaging to our environment.”
The Mexican fawnsfoot lives in heavily trafficked area of Eagle Pass, downstream to San Ygnacio, including from Maverick to Webb and Zapata counties. USFWS is proposing designating roughly 186 river miles of critical habitat for it in these three border counties. In this area, heavy foot traffic of illegal foreign nationals stems from an area starting near Eagle Pass that includes routes through private property and county roads in neighboring Kinney County.
Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith told The Center Square, “the USFW’s proposed listing is just another example of a federal bureaucracy putting politics in front of the safety and security of Americans. Their goal is to prevent Texas from securing its own sovereign border by any method or means. If the federal government put as much effort into upholding their constitutional oath, we would not be in this situation. These people must be held accountable for their actions.”
USFWS Southwest Regional Director Amy Lueders said USFWS “carefully assessed the status of the Rio Grande mussels, including the past, present and future threats that they face. Because the single existing populations of both species have low abundance, limited recruitment, and no ability to disperse into new areas, they are extremely vulnerable to extinction.”
It published the proposed listing in the Federal Register July 25; public comments are accepted until Sept. 25. “A final decision to list or withdraw the proposal is typically made within a year after the proposal is published in the Federal Register,” USFWS said.
This proposal follows a previous one issued last year to list the prostrate milkweed, a wildflower, as an endangered species under the ESA to designate over 690 acres in two Texas border counties as critical habitat.