WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Two Imperiled Missouri River Fish One Step Closer to Protection

Sturgeon Chub and Sicklefin Chub Will Be Considered for Endangered Species Act Protections
Contact: Taylor Jones, (720) 443-2615, tjones@wildearthguardians.org

Washington, DC—Two Missouri River fish facing extinction may gain Endangered Species Act protections; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today it will consider protecting the sturgeon chub and sicklefin chub under the Endangered Species Act. 

“These rare fish are struggling in the fragmented Missouri River,” said Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “We are thrilled that these fish are one step closer to the protections they need to survive.” 

The sturgeon chub and sicklefin chub once thrived in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and several of their tributaries. Dams, altered water flows, diversion, and water contamination have all pushed the species to the brink. Both species have declined by nearly 50% and occupy a fraction of their former range. 

These rare fish were denied Endangered Species Act protections in 2000. Since then, their populations have continued to shrink. Guardians petitioned the Service to list both species in August of 2016. These small fish are important prey species for another imperiled animal, the pallid sturgeon. Pallid sturgeon are protected as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. 

The decline of the sturgeon chub and sicklefin chub is a sign of flagging river health in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Over the years, dams and other developments have transformed the once free-flowing waters into extensive pools of slackwater and silt. For the imperiled fish, which need long, unbroken stretches of unaltered river to complete their lifecycles, the future is bleak without protection. 

“These fish are bellwethers for the health of the entire Missouri river ecosystem,” said Jones. “This is an important step towards protecting and restoring healthy, unfragmented rivers.” 

Protection under the ESA is an effective safety net for imperiled species: more than 99 percent of plants and animals protected by the law exist today. The law is especially important as a defense against the current extinction crisis; species are disappearing at a rate much higher than the natural rate of extinction due to human activities. Scientists estimate that 227 species would have gone extinct by 2006 if not for ESA protections.