BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— Following 13 years of advocacy by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to protect coal darters as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

“Endangered Species Act protection for coal darters will save this little fish from extinction and protect drinking water for Alabamans,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center. “By protecting this fish, we’re protecting ourselves, too.”

As their name suggests, coal darters have dark blotches and a dusky coloration. Small freshwater fish who live near the bottoms of clean, flowing rivers over gravel substrate, they feed on insects and worms and are only found in the Mobile River Basin of northern Alabama.

Coal darters have already disappeared from half of their range and cling to survival in small portions of the Cahaba, Coosa, and Black Warrior river watersheds. They no longer survive in the mainstems of the Coosa or Black Warrior rivers and are only found in a few tributaries.

Threatened by dams, runoff from industrial poultry farms, climate change, development, and ironically, coal mining, the three remaining populations are also at risk from logging and sedimentation. Despite this the Fish and Wildlife Service exempted industrial logging from coal darter protections.

The Center petitioned for the species’ federal protection in 2010. Since then all three populations have continued to decline steeply as their home waters became further impaired.

Alabama’s rivers and streams are global hotspots of aquatic biodiversity: the state is home to 463 species of fish — more than any other state in the nation.

“Safeguarding coal darters will protect so many other irreplaceable aquatic plants and animals,” said Harlan. “Alabama’s waterways are a treasure trove of biodiversity, and any protection we can provide them will pay off in spades.”