Fish Lake Valley tui chub.
Nevada Department of Wildlife
Nevada Appeal Capitol Bureau
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says a tiny minnow that lives only in a spring in Fish Lake Valley may qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The Fish Lake Valley tui chub was once found in several springs across the valley. But the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the federal government arguing the little fish now only exists in a single spring on a ranch.
Federal officials, center scientist Krista Kemppinen said, have now agreed to open a full review and decide whether to list the fish as endangered and deserving of protection. The service has one year to complete a full status review and decide whether to protect the fish.
She said groundwater pumping in Fish Lake Valley done to grow alfalfa is threatening the tui chub’s water supply. Mining is also consuming water in the valley in Esmeralda County near the California state line.
Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said water levels are falling all across Fish Lake Valley and that federal protection would prompt smarter management of groundwater and save the fish from extinction as well as protect plants and other animals that depend on desert springs.
