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Native to the Gila River basin, the loach minnow and spikedace are adapted to the beautiful yet vulnerable ecology of southwestern desert rivers. These rare, pint-sized fish are just two of many river-dependent species disappearing where they once flourished, left behind to wade and wander through only occasional pockets of undisturbed habitat. For loach minnows and spikedace to prosper once again, the delicate fabric of the entire Gila watershed urgently needs protection.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE
PROTECTION STATUS: Threatened
YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 1986
CRITICAL HABITAT: 522.2 Arizona and New Mexico river miles designated in 2007
RECOVERY PLAN: 1991
RANGE: The Gila River basin in western New Mexico and Arizona
THREATS: Livestock grazing, dams, mining, logging, groundwater pumping, water diversion, and the introduction of nonnative species
POPULATION TREND: Loach minnows and spikedace were once common throughout much of the Verde, Salt, San Pedro, San Francisco, and Gila rivers. This range has been dramatically reduced and fragmented , and all existing populations are under threat.
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SAVING THE SPIKEDACE
Eliminated throughout most of their range due to habitat destruction and the introduction of nonnative species, loach minnows and spikedace are federally listed as threatened, though endangered listings are warranted. The Center brought about critical habitat designation for these river-dwelling fish in 1994, but it was overturned on a technicality. Five years later, in response to another Center lawsuit, habitat was redesignated to the tune of 900 river miles. The livestock industry later intervened, the designation was again overturned and revisited, and a little more than 500 river miles were granted protection in March 2007. Less than a year later, the Center filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for illegally slashing the fishes’ critical habitat.
While the Service vacillated on securing protections for loach minnow and spikedace habitat, we successfully challenged livestock grazing in Arizona and New Mexico. As a result of our litigation, cattle have been banned from sensitive streamside habitats on dozens of grazing allotments in the Southwest.
A coalition of counties in New Mexico and Arizona and the cantankerous New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association are peeved that grazing has been interrupted even minutely, and they don’t want protections guaranteed for the loach minnow and spikedace. They’re challenging the most recent critical habitat designation in court, and we’ll be there every step of the way to ensure that vital fish habitat prevails.
In spring 2008, six months after the spikedace and loach minnow were reintroduced into Fossil Creek, the U.S. Forest Service had taken no steps to protect these and other native fish from increasing threats in the area — including trash, off-road vehicles, firearm use, and user-created trails. In late May, the Center filed a notice of intent to sue the Forest Service if it didn’t consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service, complete management plans to address recreation and protect listed species, and impose and enforce camping restrictions as necessary to protect Fossil Creek until a management plan is implemented.
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Contact:
Noah Greenwald/Michael Robinson
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