Arkansas mountain snail may drop from endangered list

A little snail that only lives on Mount Magazine is on the verge of achieving an important distinction: it could be removed from the endangered species list.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last week that the Magazine Mountain shagreen has demonstrated a stable population for the past 16 years. The service says the little snail’s habitat on the north slope of the mountain is protected.

The snail is only about a half-inch long and isn’t under immediate threat. No Mount Magazine State Park trails lead to where it lives on the rocky and wooded slopes above 2,200 feet.

The Fish and Wildlife Service says a comment period runs through Aug. 20, after which the snail may become the first invertebrate to be scratched off the list.

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