A subspecies no more? A mouse,its unstable taxonomy,and western riparian resource conflict

Abstract

The Preble's meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei) and issues surrounding its listing as a federally threatened species provide a contemporary case study that contributes insights toward the construction of nature and the social construction of science. Designating the mouse as a subspecies and the attack on its taxonomic validity illustrates the contentious and uneven transfer of biological knowledge from the field of taxonomy to the public realm of environmental politics, regional development and species conservation. Listing the mouse set off a process where federal, state, and local governments, plus dozens of others spent millions of dollars and an extraordinary amount of time in a chaotic and often contentious mouse conservation effort. From naming the mouse to listing it under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the author traces a chain of events that has affected both the landscape and institutions along the Colorado and Wyoming Front Range. This article shows how and why a political struggle over land use transformed into a scientific debate over taxonomy. It describes how economic forces and ideological perspectives influence taxonomists and the names they give plants and animals. In the western US, taxonomists are becoming key actors in struggles over access to riparian resources. The author discusses how using single species listings under the ESA as a tool to combat urban sprawl or to influence land use decisions undermine political support for both the ESA and other species conservation efforts.