Texas: Racing the drought to protect endangered species

Sitting on a submerged cradle of steel beams in the middle of the Comal River, an excavator the size of a small house dug into an island packed with invasive plants. By removing the island, the machine is helping to restore the habitat of one of the rarest and most endangered fish in Texas. If the assumptions of the biologists overseeing the work are correct, when native aquatic plants are re-established, there will be more territory for the inch-long fountain darter, raising the chances of its survival if the drought persists this summer. Across the Edwards Aquifer, projects such as these are under way as part of the first comprehensive plan to maintain springflows and protect the habitat of the eight endangered species that depend on springs in New Braunfels and San Marcos. The work is in a race against the drought, which could become the second-most severe on record in Texas this summer, the state meteorologist told the San Antonio Express-News...more