Little Snail vs. Big Business

NZ environmental groups are at war with Solid Energy over the power company’s intention to mine the only known habitat of the endangered brown snail, Powelliphanta Augustus. The entire snail population, believed to total just 800-1000, is located on a 5-hectare stretch of Happy Valley, on the West Coast of the South Island. Solid Energy wants to mine $300 to $540 million in high-grade coal that lies beneath the surface of the habitat. The company has proposed moving some of the topsoil, along with 100 snails, to a new fenced-off location. They would then fund an incubation project to breed them. The Forest and Bird Society, however, remains unimpressed. “Solid Energy’s proposals would effectively kill off all but the 100 snails it wants to move,” says field officer Eugenie Sage. “It is uncertain that these would survive translocation. This could pose a real risk of extinction.”