PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The grotto sculpin has been labeled an endangered species, but Perry County is in the clear, as its land was not designated a critical habitat, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday.

The grotto sculpin is believed to be found exclusively in five Perry County caves. The fish have small eyes, a pale color and other features adapted to cave living.

Shauna Marquardt, fish and wildlife biologist for the service, said areas of Perry County were proposed as critical habitat in September 2012.

After the proposal was published, Marquardt said, Perry County officials showed the desire to do something proactive to protect the fish, and the Perry County Community Conservation Plan was created. The conservation plan was to be used as a means to potentially exclude a critical habitat designation, she said. The first draft of the plan was submitted in April.

The service took public comments on the proposal until June 6.

"If it were not for that plan, the areas proposed in September 2012 as critical habit would have been designated as critical habitat in the final rule," Marquardt said.

A critical designation would have meant regulators would have to look closer at a broader range of surface projects and how they would affect the sculpin's underground habitats, along with continuing to make sure no federally funded or federally permitted projects in the areas adversely affect the species, which the federal wildlife service already does, she said.

Another concern of a critical designation was what effect it would have on recruiting businesses to the area, Marquardt said.

Now that the grotto sculpin is listed as endangered, it is the service's responsibility to protect and recover the species, and the conservation plan will be the guide of efforts moving forward, Marquardt said.

An endangered species is a species on the brink of extinction, she said. To be reclassified, a species can no longer meet that definition, which means the threat has to be removed. The threat for the grotto sculpin stems from water quality issues.

The conservation plan includes specific plans on how to improve water quality by conducting conservation and surface activities to prevent issues below the surface.

Activities in the conservation plan include cleaning out sinkholes, creating off-source watering sources for cattle and placing vegetative buffers or filter strips around sinkholes, Marquardt said.

Action already has begun in Perry County, and now it is a matter of continuing and expanding the preventive activities, she said.

A five-year review will be conducted to study the species' status and possibly reclassify the grotto sculpin to "threatened". The wildlife service also could review the habitat designation of areas of Perry County at that time, she said. Until then, Marquardt said the service and Perry County are taking a team approach in protecting the fish.

"As long as the plan is in place and implemented, the five-year review would be on the species listing," she said.

The service is helping Perry County finalize its conservation plan by making a list of prioritized actions and developing a budget, Marquardt said.

Scott Sattler, executive director of the Perryville County Development Authority, couldn't be reached late Tuesday.

Sattler has voiced his confidence in the county and worked with the service to prevent a critical habitat designation and further decline of the grotto sculpin.

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Pertinent address:

Perryville, MO