The Darter Fish Makes News

Dec 30, 2018 at 08:45 am by bryan


In response to a petition and litigation from conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized protection for the trispot darter fish under the Endangered Species Act. More than 180 miles of river were also proposed for protection as critical habitat for this fish.

If you're pondering, where have I heard about the darter fish before?

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TVA purchased land in nearby Hartsville, Tennessee in the 1960s for a nuclear energy plant. Construction of the massive facility near Lebanon began in 1975. Discovery of the snail darter stopped construction on March 22, 1983.

In 1973 the snail darter controvery also brought to a halt construction on the Little Tennessee River's Tellico Dam project.

The trispot darter is unique from other darters, because it acts like a tiny salmon, migrating upstream annually from the larger river habitat where it spends most of its life to small tributaries and seeps to spawn. Culverts, dams and other modifications can block its passage.

The trispot darter is threatened by urban sprawl, since stormwater runoff from development degrades the water quality it needs to survive. It is also threatened by runoff from logging and agriculture, and by dams and drought. The fish's habitat becomes unsuitable when silt and sediment fills in the spaces between rocks, burying the spaces they need for shelter and egg-laying.

In fact, the Trispot Darter Fish Gains Endangered Species Act Protection is in effect for the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Of the four waterways where it survives -- Little Canoe Creek Basin, Ballplay Creek Basin, Conasauga River Basin and Coosawattee River Basin -- only the Little Canoe Creek is considered to be moderately healthy. The other three populations are in poor condition.

The proposed critical habitat is in Big Canoe, Ballplay, Mill and Coahulla creeks, and in the Conasauga and Coosawattae rivers in Etowah, Cherokee, Calhoun, St. Clair, Whitfield, Murray, Polk, Bradley and Murray counties. Critical habitat designation requires managers of any federal project to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure the darter's habitat is not harmed.

Background
The trispot darter was first identified as needing federal protection in 1982. The Center sued the Service in 2015 to get a legally binding date for a decision on its protection.

The trispot darter grows to about 1.5 inches long and eats midge-fly larvae. It is eaten, in turn, by black bass and other large fish prized by anglers.

Freshwater species are being lost to extinction at 1,000 times the natural background extinction rate because of dams, pollution, climate change and the ever-increasing use of water to meet the demands of human population growth.

The Southeast is home to more kinds of freshwater animals than anywhere else in the country, but the region has recently lost more than 50 freshwater animals to extinction.

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