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Feds propose adding two Arizona fish to threatened list

PHOENIX  - The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed listing two small species of Southwest fish as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The proposal follows pressure from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), whose legal agreement with the federal agency hastened the designation of hundreds of imperiled species.

Roundtail and headwater chubs were added to a long list of endangered fresh

water species in the Southwest, where most native aquatic and amphibious species that depend on the region's streams and rivers are at risk.

Steve Spangle, field supervisor for the Wildlife Service, compared the minnows' designation to moving a patient into an intensive care unit.

"We don't consider listing the species as a win," Spangle said. "You want to try to cure the patient before you have to use intensive care. But if you need to use it, you're glad it's there."

The Fish and Wildlife Service's decision did not receive unanimous support.

Chris Cantrell, the chief of the fisheries branch for Arizona Game and Fish Department, said the finding was rushed and flawed.

"They failed to take into account all of the conservation efforts we've implemented in the past 10 years. The Service tracked the fish incorrectly, they did not take into account the ephemeral (seasonally dry) areas that these two species historically occupied," Cantrell said.

The primary threat to these species is predation by non-native fish introduced to Arizona streams by fisherman looking to improve sportfishing, Spangle said. Headwater and roundtail chubs faced little predation previous to the introduction of smallmouth bass and German brown trout. With little instinct to escape, the populations dwindled as foreign predators hunted the chubs.

Members of the public are urged to submit comments and information concerning the proposed listing at www.regulations.gov. under Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2015-0148.


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