The modest Fish Lake Valley tui chub can now claim some bragging rights, as the Nevada fish on Tuesday became the first animal or plant to be proposed for Endangered Species Act protections during the second Trump administration.
Prompted by a March 2021 petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and further goosed by a subsequent lawsuit filed two years later by the same group, the Fish and Wildlife Service said it has determined the fish warrants listing as endangered.
“We identified agricultural production, lithium mining, geothermal development, changes in habitat management, climate change, and invasive species as the primary threats currently affecting the Fish Lake Valley tui chub,” the Fish and Wildlife Service stated in a notice set for publication in the Federal Register on Wednesday.
The fish is a small minnow native to the Fish Lake Valley basin, which includes parts of both Nevada and California. All of the tui chubs in the valley have been found in Esmeralda County, Nevada.
