Testifiers bash plan to designate critical habitat for tiger beetle

It was a tough night for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle.

At a public hearing Tuesday evening in Lincoln, a half dozen speakers blasted the federal agency and its plans to spend millions of dollars to try and save the species from extinction.

“This is an insect,” said Harry Muhlbach, who lives north of Lincoln. “I think this ought to be dropped now. It’s not responsible. It’s got to be let go. We got young kids who think the tiger beetle is more important than their own survival.”

The USFWS is proposing to designate 1,795 acres in Lancaster and Saunders counties as critical habitat for the beetle. These are geographic areas made up of mostly wetlands that the federal agency considers essential to the continued survival of the insect.

 Most of the remaining tiger beetle population is found along the Little Salt Creek north of Lincoln and Rock Creek, south of  Ceresco. The insect prefers to live and hunt in rare salt flats that are now mostly gone.

 Due mostly to development and changes in hydrology, the tiger beetle population numbers have been steadily in decline. Last year, surveys showed a total population of 263 beetles. This year  less than 100 were counted, USFWS biologist Bob Harms told an audience of about 40 people who attended the public hearing. The hearing was recessed after an hour and no one spoke in support of the proposal.

 Harms said the 1,795 acres is just a “starting point” and the figure may go up or down, based on the information received in the coming months. A final ruling on acres is expected in December.

 Considered one of the rarest insects in the United States, the Salt Creek tiger beetle received federal protection under the Endangered Species Act in October 2005. The agency estimates that the potential economic costs to protect the species could be between $18.6 million and $23.1 million over the next 20 years.

 Longtime Lincoln developer Joe Hampton told the agency that the money could be put to better use, like flood protection.

“From my perspective, are we talking about $1.3 to $2 million a year to preserve 263 critters that contribute little or nothing to the well-being of this community?” Hampton asked.

 Jack Nagel, who farms near Davey and owns land in Saunders County,  said he is against spending more money on the beetle. He said this insect has not been able to make it on its own and should go the way of the woolly mammoth.

“The tiger beetle is vulnerable like many creatures on this planet,” Nagel said.

 He said it would be different if the Salt Creek tiger beetle were the last such insect on Earth, but he checked and there are about 2,500 tiger species worldwide.

Gary Hellerich, speaking on behalf of the Lancaster County Farm Bureau, said the federal listing already affords the beetle enough protection and any further help should come from the private sector and voluntary partnerships.

“It’s not fiscally responsible to landowners and taxpayers in Lancaster County to spend that amount of money to protect the small number of beetles that remain,” he said.

Hellerich calculated that based on last year’s population of 263, the amount of money spent over 20 years to protect each insect would amount to about $88,000. He said his organization supports taking no action and encourages the federal agency to forego its critical habitat designation.

Doug Nagel, a farmer and the son of Jack Nagel, said the $20 million should be spent on curing heart disease or paying down the national debt.

“Millions of dollars will be spent to no avail,” he said. “I think we need a basic reality check when it comes to the beetle. It won’t be saved. It will go down in history as another failure of the Endangered Species Act.”

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 402-473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.