Oregon Chub Expected to Be First Fish Removed From Endangered Species List
Posted on February 4, 2014
The Oregon chub is proposed as the first fish to be removed from the Endangered Species List. The small minnow was listed as endangered in 1993. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Army Corps of Engineers and private landowners, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to have the fish removed from the list. A total of 26 creatures have been removed from the Endangered Species List since the Endangered Species Act was approved in 1973.
Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement, "This is an excellent example of how the Endangered Species Act is intended to function - partners working together to recover an endangered species. This is a tremendous success that came about from a great vision and a lot of hard work on behalf of the Service and our partners at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as private landowners and many others."
The Oregon chub was listed as endangered in 1993. At the time of listing the chub was found only in the Willamette River Basin in floodplain habitats. There were only eight known populations with fewer than 1,000 fish in 1993. Today, the chub population is over 150,000. They have 80 different locations. Habitat restoration and the introduction of chub to historical habitats were some of the methods used to grow the chub population.
A handout (PDF file) from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service provides more details about the Oregon chub recovery including a recovery timeline.
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