Photo by Doug Backlund
The Black Hills mountainsnail was once common throughout the northern
and central Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, but has experienced
significant declines over the years. Only 32 colonies are known to exist
today and at over half of these colonies, the snail is considered rare.
The snail depends on undisturbed forest and streamside habitat, making
it especially vulnerable to the effects of habitat degradation and environmental
change.
Over a century of widespread domestic livestock grazing, intensive logging,
and road construction in the Black Hills has seriously degraded the health
of the forest, leading to the decline and endangerment of the Black Hills
mountainsnail.
To learn more:
Conservationists act to save declining Black Hills snail (2003)