Preble's meadow jumping mouse is a species native to Colorado's Front Range. It was declared a threatened species in 1998, and its habitat has been federally protected since then. Since this habitat includes populated areas around Denver this federal protection has been a major obstacle to some construction. You can imagine the consternation of some land owners who find their property held hostage to a rare rodent.
The scientist who first classified the Preble's meadow jumping mouse as a distinct subspecies now believes the mouse is no different from a species found widely in North America, according to Gov. Dave Freudenthal's office.
There's no way the scientist, Philip Krutzsch, could have known in 1954 that his mistaken identification of a new species would have caused so much havoc decades later. He's trying to make amends now:
In a March 31 e-mail to Rob Roy Ramey, who conducted the new study, Krutzsch said the research clearly invalidates his own findings of almost 50 years ago. He called Ramey's methods "cutting edge" and his analysis "in-depth and reproducible."
Ramey testified in Washington, D.C., before the House Resources Committee on Wednesday on a bill involving designations of critical wildlife habitat under the Endangered Species Act.
He used Krutzsch's endorsement of the new study to call for using better scientific information and methods in making Endangered Species Act decisions.
