Ashy pebblesnail.(Tyson Ehlers / Tyson Ehlers)

When you think of Idaho rivers, you think of water and fish and the beauty of the landscape but down in the nooks and crannies of the waterbed are two small, slimy creatures that act as a sort of canary in the coal mine for northwest waterways.

They are the Ashy Pebblesnail and Shortface Lanx and they’re disappearing from rivers around the west thanks to warmer water and threats from dams, agriculture and people.

The Center for Biological Diversity wants to protect these snails, and the rivers they live in, under the Endangered Species Act.

Here to tell Idaho Matters more is Noah Greenwald, the Endangered Species Director for the Center.