This small (6-8mm), dark brownish to chestnut amphibious snail lives on the lower stems and within the upper few inches of the substrate in permanent wetlands near the Delaware River in Atchison County. This animal requires high moisture and humidity levels within its habitat. It is most abundant where the wetland substrate is sand with a high proportion of dead plant material.

The major distribution of the Slender Walker is throughout the eastern U.S. Isolated populations have been documented in Kansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Within Kansas, the only known population occurs in artesian wetlands in Atchison County.

Slender Walker Snails are protected by the Kansas Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act and administrative regulations applicable thereto. Any time an eligible project is proposed that will impact the species’ preferred habitats within its probable range, the project sponsor must contact the Ecological Services Section, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, 512 SE 25th Ave., Pratt, Kansas 67124-8174. Department personnel can then advise the project sponsor on permit requirements.

As defined by Kansas Administrative Regulations, critical habitats include those areas documented as currently supporting self-sustaining population(s) of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife as well as those areas determined by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to be essential for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife.

Currently, the following areas are designated critical for Slender Walker Snails:

All wetlands and their contiguous drainageways lying within the west half of Sec. 15 and that portion of Sec. 16 east of the left bank ordinary high water mark of the Delaware River, Township 6 South, Range 17 East, Atchison County, Kansas.