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Activists are seeking Endangered Species Act protection for an extremely small snail.
活动人士正在为一种极小的蜗牛寻求《濒危物种保护法》的保护。
The tiny, shelled animal is only known to exist in water sources along the Nevada-Oregon border in the western United States.
这种微小的有壳动物已知只存在于美国西部内华达州和俄勒冈州边界的水源中。
The snail species is called the Kings River pyrg.
这种蜗牛叫做Kings River pyrg。
The Western Watersheds Project sent in the request for protection to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week.
“西部分水岭”上周向美国鱼类及野生动植物管理局提交了保护申请。
The Kings River pyrg is a springsnail found in 13 distant springs around 321 kilometers northeast of Reno, Nevada.
在内华达州里诺市东北方向约321公里处的13个不同的泉中发现了一种名为Kings River pyrg的春蜗牛。
There are plans to open a huge mine in the area for processing the metal lithium.
美国计划在该地区建设一个大矿场来加工金属锂。
The Western Watersheds Project says the biggest threat to the snail’s survival is changes to groundwater flows caused by the 113-meter open-air mine.
“西部分水岭”表示，对蜗牛生存造成最大威胁的是113米长的露天矿引起的地下水流量的变化。
The Bureau of Land Management approved the mine plan last year, but it is currently being disputed in U.S. District Court in Reno.
美国土地管理局去年批准了该矿场的建设计划，但目前雷诺市地区法院对该计划存在争议。
Erik Molvar is a wildlife biologist and executive director of the Western Watersheds Project.
埃里克·莫尔瓦是一位野生生物学家，也是“西部分水岭”的执行主任。
He said federal officials put the snail at risk of extinction by quickly approving the large lithium mine.
他说，联邦官员迅速批准了这个大型锂矿的建设计划，却将这种蜗牛置于灭绝的危险之中。
Increased U.S. production of lithium is central to President Joe Biden’s plan for a more environmentally friendly future.
增加美国锂的产量是美国总统乔·拜登建设更环保未来计划的核心。
Lithium is an important element in the production of electric vehicles.
锂是生产电动汽车的重要元素。
Worldwide demand for lithium is estimated to increase by six times by the year 2030.
据估计，到2030年，全球对锂的需求量将增加6倍。
Molvar said he agrees the U.S. must make the change to renewable energy -- but not by mining in sensitive environments.
莫尔瓦说，他同意美国必须转向使用可再生能源，但不能通过在敏感环境中采矿的方式。
The group’s request says that groundwater pumping used by the mining project will reduce or stop flows to the springs that support the snails.
该组织在申请中说，采矿项目需要抽取地下水，这将减少或阻止流向供养蜗牛的泉水的流量。
The legal case against Lithium Americas’ project was sent in by a Nevada animal farmer on February 11, 2021.
2021年2月11日，内华达州一名动物农场主提交了针对Lithium Americas公司项目的法律诉讼。
It was later joined by area tribes and other groups, including Western Watersheds Project.
后来，包括“西部分水岭”在内的地区部落和其他组织也加入了该案件。
The case claims the mining would violate federal protections of many kinds of animals.
该案件声称，采矿将违反联邦政府对多种动物保护的法规。
Lithium Americas and the Bureau of Land Management say that none of the springs would suffer effects that would hurt the snails.
Lithium Americas和美国土地管理局表示，没有一个泉会产生伤害蜗牛的影响。
They add that claims saying otherwise were based on an incorrect use of groundwater models.
他们还说，其他说法是基于对地下水模型的错误使用。
Those models were sent in after the government’s environmental examination was completed.
这些模型是在政府完成环境审查后发送的。
Tim Crowley is a Reno spokesman for the Canada-based Lithium Americas.
蒂姆·克劳利是总部位于加拿大的Lithium Americas公司在雷诺的发言人。
He said, “Lithium Nevada has done extensive work to design a project that avoids impacts to the springs…”
他说，“Lithium Nevada分公司已经做了大量的工作来设计一个项目，以避免对泉水造成影响。”
He added that the springs are more than 1.6 kilometers away from the mining location and that the location was chosen after extensive research.
他还说，这些泉距离采矿地点超过1.6公里，选址是经过广泛研究后选定的。
Molvar said the snails were at risk even before any new mining was thought about.
莫尔瓦说，在考虑任何新的采矿地址之前，蜗牛就已经处于危险之中。
He said, “We’re down to a very few, tiny little habitats in only 13 springs, so we can’t afford to lose a single population.”
他说：“我们只在这13个泉中发现了非常少、非常小的栖息地，所以我们不能失去一个种群。”
I’m Andrew Smith.
安德鲁·史密斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
