The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has determined that two Texas species, the Rio Grande cooter and Blanco blind salamander, are not warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The Comptroller’s Natural Resources program funded research at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to document multiple Rio Grande cooter populations throughout their range using new and improved survey methods. The FWS determined the Blanco blind salamander was misidentified or the species is extinct and therefore not warranted for listing under the ESA. Comptroller-funded research was not part of this decision, but work is underway at the University of Texas at Austin to understand the range and distribution of salamanders and other species throughout the aquifers of Central Texas.
For more information, visit the Comptroller’s Ongoing Research webpage.