Oregon Chub Fish to be Delisted From Endangered Species List

There is a proposal to delist the Oregon Chub, a tiny minnow, from the endangered species list thanks to recovery efforts, announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tuesday.

The scaly Oregon chub, which grows less than 9 centimetres in length, was federally listed as an endangered species in 1993. But on Tuesday, the U.S. officials proposed to remove these small minnows from the endangered species list due to good recovery of the species.

The Oregon chub is found in the Willamette River Basin in the floodplain habitats with not much water flow. Their numbers dropped due to the periodic flooding of the rive that led to the chub population drifting to new regions to form new populations. The construction of dams on the river also prevented the fishes to form a habitat. Other factors that contributed to the decline of the chubs was the introduction of non-native predatory fishes, habitat alteration, chemical spills and run off of pesticides from farms.

The growing threats harmed the existing population and in the year 2010 the species was reclassified as threatened species.  But a collaborative effort by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Army Corps of Engineers and private landowners, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helped in the recovery of the chub population.

"For two decades, this extraordinary partnership that includes federal and state agencies, landowners and others stakeholders has served as a model of how we can use the Endangered Species Act as a tool to bring a species back from the brink of extinction," said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. "The success we have had with the Oregon chub reinforces that, working together, we can recover species that currently are threatened or endangered."

As a part of the recovery effort the federal and state agencies worked toward promoting natural water flows, restoring and acquiring habitat, educating the local landowners and local residents and lastly reintroducing the cub species into the historical habitat.

In the year 1993, when the fish was listed, there were less than  eight populations of the fish with barely 1,000 each but after the recovery efforts there are over 150,000 fish at 80 sites with a wide range of habitat. Apart from the Oregon chub, 26 other species have been successfully recovered and delisted from the Endangered Species List. The agency is also planning to remove the specie's critical habitat designation throughout the range.

Paul Henson, State Supervisor, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office said, "While the chub isn't an iconic fish species that many think about in the Pacific Northwest, it is a very important part of the ecosystem and indicator of good water quality and ecosystem health. By successfully recovering the chub, we're helping many iconic wildlife species and improving the watershed for all Oregonians."