West Virginia fish May become protected under Endangered Species Act

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed that the diamond darter be protected as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and that a total of 123 river miles be designated as critical habitat in West Virginia and Kentucky.

This small fish, a member of the perch family named for its sparkling reflections, could once be found along the southern Appalachians from Ohio to Tennessee, but years of changes from dams and channeling restricted this native fish to one stream along the Elk River in West Virginia. Fewer than 50 diamond darters have been collected in the river during the last 30 years.