Thacker Pass, near the Nevada-Oregon border, is an area rich with lithium ore. This is the material needed for rechargeable batteries that we see in everything from cars and trucks to phones, bicycles to wheelchairs, power tools, scooters and so much more.
And it’s considered one of the keys to lowering greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, part of the effort to slow global warming.
However, environmentalists and tribes have fought the effort for years now, arguing that mining will infringe not only on sacred sites but will destroy habitat for animals and plants.
Bolstering that effort, the Western Watersheds Project this month notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of its intent to sue them over the protection of the Kings River pyrg, a tiny snail they say is endangered by the mine.
According to USFW, the snail is found in 13 isolated springs within a 14-mile radius of Thacker Pass in Humboldt County, Nevada. They're the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen, "yet they play an important role in their habitat as primary consumers, eating algae and maintaining water quality."
Guest: Will Falk, attorney and co-founder, Protect Thacker Pass
