LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥 U.S. wildlife officials want to extend federal protections to a rare Nevada fish that environmentalists say is 鈥渂arely clinging to existence” because of rapid groundwater pumping in a remote region experiencing extreme drought conditions.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to list the as an endangered species is on the Federal Register, kicking off a 60-day public comment period.
It marks the Trump administration’s first consideration to list an during his second term. The pace of listings dropped dramatically during President Donald Trump鈥檚 first term.
The Center for Biological Diversity sued in 2023 and secured a settlement last year that forced the government to decide by this month whether to list the fish under the Endangered Species Act, which makes it illegal to import, export, possess, transport or kill those species.
Patrick Donnelly, director of the center鈥檚 work across the Great Basin where the tui chub is found, said Nevada can鈥檛 afford to lose any more of its native fish species, like the Ash Meadows killifish and Raycraft Ranch springfish that became extinct decades ago.
鈥淭he Fish Lake Valley tui chub is barely clinging to existence,” he said in a statement. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled these fish are poised to get the life-saving protections they urgently need.鈥
The olive-colored minnow, which is less than 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) long, used to live in a half dozen springs in Fish Lake Valley in southwestern Nevada, near the California border. But they are now found in just one spring system between Las Vegas and Reno that the center says is threatened by groundwater pumping mostly used for the production of alfalfa. Other threats include looming lithium mining and geothermal energy projects.
While the tui chub is the 鈥渕ost significant organism鈥 living in that pond, Donnelly said its significance is 鈥渕uch broader than that.鈥 Fish Lake Valley鈥檚 wetlands that support all kinds of desert wildlife, including the pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep, are also dependent on the groundwater there.
鈥淚f the water level keeps going down and the Fish Lake Valley tui chub goes extinct, that whole ecosystem is going to crash, because it’s the same water that sustains both of them,鈥 Donnelly said. 鈥淭he Fish Lake Valley tui chub could be considered an indicator of the health of that whole ecosystem.鈥
In its proposal, the wildlife agency said the designation is warranted because of 鈥渢he destruction and modification” of the tui chub’s habitat 鈥渃aused by agricultural production or other land management practices,” as well as the effects of and competition with invasive species.
At the same time, the Trump administration is for endangered and threatened species by redefining 鈥渉arm鈥 in the Endangered Species Act, which has long included altering or destroying the places those species live.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service said in issued last month that habitat modification shouldn’t be considered harm because it isn’t the same as intentionally targeting a species, which is called 鈥渢ake.鈥
If adopted, environmentalists say it would lead to the extinction of endangered species because of logging, mining, development and other activities. They argue that the definition of 鈥渢ake鈥 has always included actions that harm species, and that the definition of 鈥渉arm鈥 has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
