The Center for Biological Diversity this week petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the highly imperiled Alvord chub under the Endangered Species Act. The chub is a freshwater fish that exists only in the Alvord Basin in Oregon and Nevada.
Alvord chub were once considered widespread in the basin, which stretches across southeastern Oregon and northwestern Nevada, but their populations have declined significantly. Threats to the fish include cattle grazing, water withdrawals, introduced species and climate change.
“These little glittery, freckled fish mastered living in a harsh desert environment but now they need our help,” said Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an attorney at the Center. “They’re no match for cows and irrigation pumps that are decimating the streams where they live. Only Endangered Species Act protections can save these intrepid desert fish.”
The Alvord chub can live only in the small number of ponds, streams and wetlands that contain water year-round. Many of the waters where the chub live are located on public lands the Bureau of Land Management leases to cattle owners for grazing. This grazing has destroyed streambanks, reduced water quality and caused hotter and drier conditions, says the petition.
In addition to cattle grazing, says the petition, Alvord chub habitat has been degraded by water diversions and is threatened by higher temperatures and extended periods of drought. Introduced fish also prey on the Alvord chub and compete with the species for resources. In surveys conducted in 2013, chub were found in just 16 habitats and had disappeared from 61% of the places they had previously occupied.
The Borax Lake chub, also native to the Alvord Basin, was listed as an endangered species in 1982. Once threats from grazing, geothermal energy development and water depletion were remedied, the species rebounded and was removed from the endangered species list in 2020.
“Alvord chub are part of what makes their namesake basin so special and they deserve to be protected,” said Stewart-Fusek. “The Alvord chub could become another Endangered Species Act success story if the Service acts swiftly to protect them.”
See the petition here. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/fish/pdfs/2024.08.29.AlvordChubPetition.pdf?_gl=1*1p588wf*_gcl_au*OTU5OTc2Njc0LjE3MjQ3Nzg0ODY
Also see:
–CBB, June 12, 2020, Borax Lake Chub Delisted From Endangered Species Act; Fourth Oregon Fish Delisted In Last Five Years https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/borax-lake-chub-delisted-from-endangered-species-act-fourth-oregon-fish-delisted-in-last-five-years/