Contacts
Patricia Foulk, Sacramento, 916/414-6566; mobile, (916) 425-0627
SACRAMENTO, California – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today its finding that a petition filed with the agency does not contain substantial information to warrant the removal of the Lost River and shortnose suckers from the Federal list of threatened and endangered species. Both fishes are found exclusively in the Klamath Basin, which straddles the Oregon-California border. They received protection as endangered species in 1988.
The petition, submitted in September 2001 by Richard A. Gierak on behalf of Interactive Citizens United, requested the delisting of these two fish species. The Service later received three more petitions with essentially the same information and format and these were considered in the review of the original petition.
In 2001, the Service completed an extensive review of the status of the Lost River and shortnose suckers as part of a consultation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for operation of the Klamath irrigation project. The conclusion of that status assessment was that the two suckers were still subject to significant threats, including: extensive loss of habitat, extremely poor water quality in Upper Klamath Lake, catastrophic fish kills, entrainment into the irrigation system and barriers to movement between different populations. The petitioners neither provided any new data nor presented any substantial information that had not already been considered in the Service’s recent assessment.
"While our 90-day finding indicates that delisting of the suckers is not appropriate at this time, the Service remains committed to the evaluation of new information as it becomes available and to the ultimate recovery and delisting of these native fish," said Steve Thompson, Acting Manager of the Service’s California-Nevada Operations Office.
The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to determine whether a delisting petition presents substantial scientific information to warrant the petitioned action, and sets a 90-day deadline within receipt of the petition for the Service to make its decision. The Service considers the information provided by the petition and any information available to the Service at the time the petition is received in its determination. A species may be delisted for one or more of the following reasons: 1) extinction; 2) recovery; 3) original data error, but only in the event that no other information substantiates the endangered or threatened status of the species.
Both the Lost River and shortnose suckers reside primarily in lake habitats and spawn in tributary streams or at springs within Upper Klamath Lake itself. Historically, the two species migrated in large numbers up the rivers of the Upper Klamath Basin to spawn, and their abundance supported a significant local fishery. Both fish were once a valuable source of food and oil and are considered sacred by the Basin’s Native American tribes. They are long-lived species and can reach the age of 30 years or older.
The Service seeks information for both sucker species on the following topics: 1) their current distribution and population numbers; 2) population characteristics, including age-frequency distribution of the populations and historic trends; 3) larval, juvenile and adult life histories, including: habitat use, movement patterns, feeding, and reproductive behavior, as well as interaction with native and exotic competitors; 4) habitat conditions throughout the Klamath Basin; 5) ongoing efforts to protect the two species and their habitat; and 6) threats to the two species and their habitat. Information on the species should be sent to the Field Supervisor, Klamath Falls Fish and Wildlife Office, 6610 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603.
In addition, the Service is now in consultation with the Bureau of Reclamation on a biological opinion covering the effects of the water management agency’s long-term operation of the Klamath Project. The final biological opinion is expected to be completed by the end of May. This opinion takes into account the recent National Academy of Science’s Interim Report as well as new information on water quality and inflow to Upper Klamath Lake. Also considered are the irrigation needs of the Klamath Basin and the conservation needs of the two endangered suckers.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
- FWS -
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