COLORADO SPRINGS — The City Council might ask the federal government to remove the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse from the threatened-species list.
In its Jan. 27 meeting, the council is expected to discuss petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove federal protection for the 3-inch mouse, which has a tail twice the length of its body and can jump as high as 3 feet.
City officials say restrictions on development to protect the mouse have cost the area millions of dollars. The mouse is thought to exist only along creeks and streams on Colorado’s Front Range and part of eastern Wyoming.
The Preble’s mouse was first listed as a threatened species in 1998.
The Fish and Wildlife Service later recommended removing the mouse from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act after a debate over whether it is a distinct subspecies or is genetically indistinguishable from other subspecies of jumping mice.
After review, federal officials removed the Preble’s mouse from the threatened- species list in Wyoming, but kept it on the list in Colorado. The Fish and Wildlife Service said new populations of the mouse were confirmed in Wyoming, but development continued to threaten it in Colorado.
Some of the biggest populations of the mouse have been found in northern El Paso County, particularly Monument Creek and its tributaries.
“I’m not opposed to the mouse. But the fact of the matter is the mouse is costing this community hundreds of millions of dollars,” Colorado Springs Councilman Tom Gallagher said.
Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Diane Katzenberger said anyone can submit a petition seeking a change to the threatened-species list.
