News
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Ozark chub. Photo by Dustin Lynch, Arkansas Natural Heritage Comission.
Improved science and conservation partnerships mean a Southeastern fish and flowering plant do not need Endangered Species Act protections
December 18, 2019 | 3 minute read
Based on an extensive review of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the Ozark chub and the purpledisk honeycombhead do not face the threat of extinction now or in the foreseeable future. Protection of these species on conservation lands and new survey data helped inform the Service’s decisions not to list these species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These not warranted findings are due in part to ESA-inspired partnerships between local, state and federal stakeholders, who collaborated to protect and conserve these species before they required federal protections. Read the full story...
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Suwannee moccasinshell in its natural habitat. Photo by FWC.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes critical habitat for freshwater mussel in Georgia and Florida
November 26, 2019 | 4 minute read
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed critical habitat for the Suwannee moccasinshell, a freshwater mussel protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since 2016. The Service is also making available a draft economic analysis that assesses the potential impact of the Suwannee moccasinshell’s critical habitat designation on various sectors of the economy. Members of the public are invited to comment on the proposal to help inform future conservation of this aquatic species and its habitat in southwest Georgia and northwest Florida. Read the full story...
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Nashville crayfish. Photo by Phil Kloer, USFWS.
Nashville crayfish proposed delisting is a hometown success story
November 25, 2019 | 3 minute read
The Nashville crayfish lives in only one place in the world: the Mill Creek watershed in metropolitan Nashville. Despite the urban setting, the crayfish is doing just fine. So much so that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to delist it under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), following a science-based status review. The review found that populations are healthy, stable and robust and that it no longer meets the definition of an endangered or a threatened species under the ESA. Read the full story...
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Service staff gather around the new Green River National Wildlife Refuge welcome sign. Photo by Stacey Haden, USFWS.
Secretary Bernhardt Unveils New National Wildlife Refuge in Kentucky
November 22, 2019 | 5 minute read
Henderson, Kentucky — Friday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, along with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials, and their counterparts from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, announced the establishment of the Green River National Wildlife Refuge near the confluence of the Ohio and Green rivers in Henderson, Kentucky. “Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the Department of the Interior has opened and expanded nearly 1. Read the full story...
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Electrofishing demonstration at Barkley Dam resulted in dozens of Asian carp jumping out of water. Photo by USFWS.
Bio-acoustic fish fence now operational at Lake Barkley
November 8, 2019 | 8 minute read
Grand Rivers, Kentucky — An experimental project designed to keep invasive Asian carp from moving farther up the Cumberland River was unveiled Friday at Lake Barkley. A bio-acoustic fish fence (BAFF) was deployed on the downstream side of Barkley Lock. U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and U.S. Congressman James Comer along with project partners, ceremonially inaugurated the BAFF system as part of a three-year evaluation to deter Asian carp from migrating through the navigation lock. Read the full story...
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Interior least tern. Photo by USFWS.
Recovery of America’s smallest tern prompts proposal to delist
October 23, 2019 | 5 minute read
When the interior least tern was listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1985, there were fewer than 2,000 birds and only a few dozen nesting sites scattered across a once-expansive range that covered America’s Great Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley. Today there are more than 18,000 interior least terns at more than 480 nesting sites in 18 states, thanks to decades of innovative conservation efforts and diverse partnerships among local, state and federal stakeholders. Read the full story...
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Barrens topminnows are small, colorful fish that live only in a few springs and creeks in central Tennessee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the fish as endangered. Photo by Emily Granstaff, USFWS.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalizes rule to protect fish unique to Tennessee under Endangered Species Act
October 18, 2019 | 2 minute read
The Barrens topminnow, a beautiful, iridescent fish found only in four Tennessee counties, was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act today. The final listing follows a rigorous review of the best available science and information that determined it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The topminnow was once found at 18 sites on Tennessee’s Barrens Plateau, but recent surveys indicate it is down to just five sites. Read the full story...
