U.S. wildlife officials say greater protections are needed for two rare aquatic insects in Glacier National Park as climate change melts their icy habitat.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday proposed adding the western glacier stonefly and the meltwater lednian stonefly to the government’s list of threatened species.
The stoneflies live in streams fed by cold water from glaciers in northwest Montana.
Those glaciers are predicted to largely disappear by 2030, in part due to climate change. Researchers say the stoneflies also could disappear.
It’s uncertain what measures could be taken to preserve the insects. There have been preliminary discussions among biologists about raising stoneflies in laboratories and seeding different streams with them.
But those streams also could dry up as climate change drives global temperatures higher.