The salamanders have been a contentious issue for both environmentalists and some community officials, who have struggled over how to protect the animals while preserving development opportunities. The full impact of the decision won't be clear until the Fish and Wildlife service sets rules for how the salamanders will be protected, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman.

In the case of the Georgetown salamander, the agency may allow local Georgetown's local protections to remain in place. Those regulations prevent development within 80 meters of a salamander site and within 50 meters of a spring as well as limited development up to 300 meters upstream. The city passed those rules in December hoping to fend off federal protection, the Statesman report said. If the federal agency decides the local ordinances are sufficient, local developers won't need a federal permit for building.