Monetary valuation of rare species and imperiled habitats as a basis for economically evaluating conservation approaches

The Alabama cavefish, Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni, is one on of the most endangered species of fish in the world due to its low population size, restriction to a single cave (Key Cave), and threats to the cave’s recharge area. The recharge area has historically been altered by deforestation and reservoir construction. There is a proposal to construct the Eddie Frost Commerce Park west of Florence, Alabama within part of the recharge area of Key Cave. The construction of this industrial park will have negative affects on the Key Cave aquifer and S. poulsoni, including unsuccessful reproduction from changes to flood cycles within the aquifer, degradation of groundwater, drainage and hydrologic alterations, and lower ground water levels. Environmental pollution is a major threat to the Alabama cavefish, and this threat will be magnified with the proposed industrial park, any growth surrounding the park, and pollutants from adjoining roadways. Proposals to divert pollutants out of Key Cave’s recharge area and into the Cypress Creek drainage are flawed; dye-tracing tests indicate that the surface drainage divide between the Key Cave and Cypress Creek aquifers are meaningless with regards to subsurface water flow. One acute pollution event, even if detected by proposed monitoring stations, could not be stopped from reaching Key Cave, and could lead to the death of Alabama cavefish. Even if users of the industrial park are restricted to “clean” industry, the proposed park will likely disturb the critical habitat of S. poulsoni and may cause its extinction. Bernard R. Kuhajda Department of Biological Sciences Box 870345 University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0345 [email protected]