Williamson County officials want more time for their own look at whether a little-known salamander species should wind up on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species list.
Commissioners in the county directly north of Austin decided Tuesday to ask federal authorities to withhold a decision until later in the summer so they can have the best available science when making the endangered species call.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, the county already has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to investigate whether four separate species of the amphibian are not endangered.
Developers building in the booming county are paying for the research through fees they are charged.
Commissioner Lisa Birkman says research so far disputes the idea that development alone is putting the salamanders at risk.
