Article Excerpt: "... 'This failure delays lifesaving protection for a rare fish that clings to survival in one of the last places that has not been destroyed and degraded by development,' the lawsuit said. 'The spring pygmy sunfish's very existence remains at risk until the Service fulfills its statutory duty to protect the critical habitat necessary to support its survival and recovery.'..."
Article Excerpt: "... Toyota-Mazda manufacturing plant in Huntsville-annexed Limestone County has been temporarily suspended ..."
Article Excerpt: "... Toyota issued the following response on Thursday, July 12: We are aware of the Center for Biological Diversity’s concerns regarding the sunfish. Throughout the planning and design of this project we continue to work closely with US Fish and Wildlife Service, the City of Huntsville and our joint venture partner, Mazda, to ensure that the necessary protections are in place. Mazda and Toyota continue to make environmental preservation a priority and we are committed to developing the property sustainability. We have temporarily suspended construction to allow for additional technical surveys to be completed and confirm that the sunfish will be protected. We anticipate that this will be a short-term suspension and that construction will resume shortly with minimal disruption..."
Article Excerpt: "... The fish now lives in approximately six stream miles and 1,435 acres of spring pools and associated wetlands around the Beaverdam Spring and Creek watershed. This remaining occupied habitat is at imminent risk of being destroyed by plans to build a massive automobile plant in the watershed. “Habitat destruction pushed this little fish to the brink of extinction, and it’ll be the final nail in the coffin if the Service doesn’t protect what little habitat remains,” said Elise Bennett, a staff attorney at the Center. “Allowing urban sprawl and manufacturing plants to degrade the spring pygmy sunfish’s unprotected pools and wetlands puts the entire species at risk.” ...In 2013 the Fish and Wildlife Service protected the sunfish as a threatened species and proposed protections for eight stream miles and 1,617 acres of spring pool and spring-influenced critical habitat in Limestone County, Ala..."