ELKO - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comment through March 15 on its proposed increase in habitat protections for bull trout.
Among other things, the proposal would designate 85 miles of the Jarbidge River in extreme northeast Nevada as critical habitat for the fish, which is listed as a threatened species.
At a meeting Wednesday in Elko, Ted Koch of the fish and wildlife service said his agency doesn't believe "there will be a signficant change in management on the ground" as a result of the proposal.
The agency wants to more than quadruple habitat protections for the fish that has been harmed by logging, mining and grazing on federal lands.
Koch says the agency has received about 15 comments so far.
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Information from: Elko Daily Free Press