Plight of imperiled Montana aquatic insect draws lawsuit
<p>Sunrise is reflected in the waters of Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park, Mont., July 22, 1998.</p>
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Wildlife advocates want a judge to force federal officials to decide if a rare aquatic insect that's found only in Montana's Glacier National Park should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
The Center for Biological Diversity said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to follow through on a 2011 finding that protections might be needed for the western glacier stonefly.
The stoneflies were first identified in 1963. They live in streams fed by cold water from glaciers in northwest Montana.
Those glaciers are predicted to disappear by 2030, in part because of climate change. Researchers say the stoneflies also could disappear.
Yet it's uncertain what can be done to preserve them. If they were transferred to different streams, researchers say they might not survive.