SOLC takes stewardship of fairy shrimp to the next level
Up close look at a fairy shrimp under a dissecting scope. This fairy shrimp was pickled and preserved for teaching purposes.
Earlier this year SOLC celebrated the acquisition of three beautiful properties in the Agate Desert area. With these properties, we also acquired some very special inhabitants, the Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp and Oregon Fairy Shrimp. The Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp is listed as a federally threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and Jackson County is the northern-most reach of their range.
As a species protected by the Endangered Species Act, special certification to monitor and handle these back-swimming darlings is required by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Requirements include a background in biological sciences, verification of identification skills, and several hours of supervised shrimp handling experience. In 2022, SOLC staff members Kristi and Rebekah made a trip to California to take the identification test and successfully identify 20 different species of fairy shrimp! In late September, Kristi and Rebekah received approval from the USFWS to handle fairy shrimp.
Click graphic to enlarge.
With this approval, SOLC can continue to monitor the fairy shrimp populations in the Agate Desert. Continued monitoring of endangered species is critical to understanding how these populations fluctuate throughout their range. We are looking forward to a winter filled with shrimp surveys in the vernal pools.
