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| Yummy looking, but it takes a bunch to make a decent meal |
A rare shrimplike creature found in Rock Creek Park — believed to be its only location in the world — could end up taking center stage in a fight against a proposed light-rail Purple Line in the Maryland suburbs.
The tiny Hay’s Spring amphipod has been listed as a federally protected endangered species since 1982 and has been spotted in Rock Creek Park in the District, downstream of where Purple Line trains would cross the park in Montgomery County.
The recently released final study of a Purple Line’s environmental impact, some activists say, erred in omitting the colorless crustacean as an endangered species that must be avoided or protected.
John M. Fitzgerald, a Chevy Chase resident and lawyer, said he and other environmentalists are contemplating a lawsuit to require the Maryland Transit Administration to consider a light-rail line’s impact on the animal. The little-known crustacean is significant because it signals good water quality, he said.
Will this become the Washington D.C. region's equivalent of the mighty Snail Darter? Don't count on it. Stopping a power project in rural America is one thing, obstructing urban planning near D.C is quite another.
My own view is that species that evolve to occupy small niche environments are expendable. New niches will open, and similar species will evolve to exploit them.
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