Photo: Conservation Fisheries via the Center for Biological Diversity.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Tennessee Riverkeeper reached an agreement with Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, U.S.A. (MTMUS) to protect the critically endangered spring pygmy sunfish and minimize impacts from a planned automobile manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Ala.
The agreement will protect at least 1,100 acres of the Beaverdam Spring and Creek Complex where the sunfish lives and provide $6 million to conserve the species and its habitat. The land will be protected in its natural state and restricted to low-impact uses.
This agreement was reached after the Center raised concerns in a notice of intent to sue related to the Endangered Species Act implications of the development of a manufacturing plant in the area. The factory will be built adjacent to Beaverdam Creek west of Huntsville, which is one of only two places the spring pygmy sunfish survives.
“We’re happy Toyota and Mazda have committed to doing the right thing for this pretty little sunfish and the unique spring where it survives,” said Elise Bennett, a staff attorney at the Center. “With this agreement, the sunfish has more than a fighting chance to make it.”