LAS VEGAS (AP) — Federal protections could soon be extended to a rare Nevada fish that environmentalists say is “barely clinging to existence” because of rapid groundwater pumping in a remote region experiencing extreme drought conditions.
A proposal to list the tiny Fish Lake Valley tui chub as an endangered species was issued Wednesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, kicking off a 60-day public comment period.
It marks the Trump administration’s first consideration to list an endangered species during his second term. But it comes as a result of a yearslong legal fight: The Center for Biological Diversity, which sued in 2023, won a settlement last year that forced the government to decide by this month whether to list the fish.
In its proposal, the wildlife agency said the endangered species designation is warranted because of “the destruction and modification” of the tui chub’s habitat “caused by agricultural production or other land management practices,” as well as the effects of climate change and competition with invasive species.
Yet at the same time, the Trump administration has been trying to eliminate habitat protections for endangered and threatened species. Environmentalists say habitat destruction is the biggest cause of extinction.
Patrick Donnelly, director of the center’s work across the Great Basin where the tui chub is found, said Nevada can’t afford to lose any more of its native fish species, like the Ash Meadows killifish and Raycraft Ranch springfish that became extinct decades ago.
“The Fish Lake Valley tui chub is barely clinging to existence,” he said. “I’m thrilled these fish are poised to get the life-saving protections they urgently need.”
Under the Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to kill, import, export, possess or transport those species.
The olive-colored minnow, which is less than 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) long, used to live in a half dozen springs in Nevada’s Fish Lake Valley, near the California border. But they are now found in just one pond between Las Vegas and Reno that environmentalists say is threatened by groundwater pumping, mainly for the production of alfalfa. Other threats include looming lithium mining and geothermal energy projects.
The fish are widely considered a health indicator for Fish Lake Valley, Donnelly said. The valley’s wetlands, which support all kinds of desert wildlife, including the pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep, are…
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