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Millions of the two-inch (5-cm) fish, the Oregon
chub, once swam in waters surrounding Western Oregon's
Willamette River. But their numbers declined sharply over the
past century as wetlands were drained for development and due to
predation by nonnative fish like largemouth bass.
Fewer than 1,000 remained in just eight wetlands in 1993 when
the chub gained protection under the Endangered Species Act. The
fish was upgraded from "endangered" to "threatened" status in
2004, as populations began to rebound.
Today, more than 150,000 chubs are estimated in 80 sites along
the river valley because of recovery efforts like restoring
water flows, floodplain reconstruction and stocking in private
ponds.
The fish's resurgence shows that habitat improvement and species
recovery efforts can succeed even in areas heavily impacted by
agriculture and urban development, said Paul Henson, Oregon
supervisor with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service.
"This shows the public that you can recover species and do it in
a way that works with local communities in a positive way, as
opposed to being a contentious big event," Henson said.
The Oregon chub is not fished commercially, and improvements to
its habitat could be made at minimal cost to private landowners,
both factors that aided in efforts to boost its population, said
Paul Sheerer, leader of the native fish project for the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife.
State officials had been cheering the Oregon chub's recovery as
other fish – including a trout and a sucker - also showed signs
of recovery under the Endangered Species Act, Sheerer said.
"It wasn't really a race, but we were feeling a little pressure,
thinking maybe we won't be the first," Sheerer said.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe was scheduled
to formally announce the removal of the Oregon minnow from the
endangered species list at an event on Tuesday, but his flight
from Washington, D.C., was canceled due to snow.
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)
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